A story from a rural area
My friend went to visit her mother this weekend at her rural home. She arrived home this evening broke and full of stories. She is over three hours late. The taxi had no fuel for the return journey so they had to wait in a queue. The trip which is about a two hour drive cost her $120,000. It was a treat. She says she will not return for a long time, as the transport costs are beyond her budget.
She said that the area is very unsettled. The families living in the village were recently ordered by the headman to pay $10000 each towards the “independence day celebrations”. People who live in the rural area are unemployed. A few have family members who live in the cities to work and earn money, but like my friend few can afford the trip home. With inflation eating away at wages earned, there is little money left (if any) to send back home. This particular area is an MDC area and the village is still angry at their stolen vote. The residents refused to pay the headman.
My friend said her home is dry and desolate. There has been no rain. There are no crops growing and no food stored. Two family members have been refused service in the local store as they have been marked ‘MDC supporters’. My friend worries about her mother’s future and how her family are going to survive. She commented that mugabe said that only the mdc supporters will suffer in retribution for voting for the opposition. She said that if the election result was genuine, it would infer that her village is a zanu stronghold. She asks, if that is the case, then
why are they suffering?
