- Life is strange, almost surreal, in Zimbabwe this winter
2009. A week into June and the weather still can't quite decide if its
winter or not. Mosquitoes, usually long gone by now, continue to emerge
at dusk and come into our houses, sitting on ceilings and roofs waiting
for victims. The weather isn't the only thing that's weird at the moment.
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- Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara came to our town this
week. One port of call was the local government hospital which has been
in a state of near collapse for a couple of years. Gaping potholes that
littered the road leading to the hospital were hastily filled before the
Deputy PM's visit but the patching stopped a couple of metres past the
main entrance gate. You fall into the holes on this main road just a corner
away. The mentality of making things look good just for the leaders and
only when VIP's visit, continues to haunt us and the rights and needs of
ratepayers and members of the community remains elusive.
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- There's a notable increase in the amount of big 4x4 vehicles
belonging to international charities on our roads. UN departments, food
programmes, medical organizations, religious charities. We hear this week
that the ICRC are feeding our prisoners, providing inmates with blankets,
soap and clothing. Unicef are drilling boreholes at the University and
our supermarkets are filled with South African goods.
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- 'Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans,' the much quoted Mugabe mantra,
is never more hollow than now.
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- So destroyed is our agricultural foundation and so collapsed
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- our production at home, that imported South African goods
are cheaper than home grown food. Imported frozen chickens continue to
be 2 US dollars (20 SA Rand) cheaper than birds grown in our back yards.
Its a surreal situation not likely to improve any time soon as farm grabs
by senior political and security men continue unashamedly even as we try
to put the country back together again.
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- Perhaps the most surreal and frightening thing of all
is that 4 months into Zimbabwe's unity government, truth, justice and accountability
is simply not featuring. The very men and women who led us to this diabolical
state; the ones who stole, beat, burnt and killed are walking amongst us
untouched - as if nothing happened. Zimbabwe cannot be allowed to move
on without truth, justice and accountability.
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- Until next week, thanks for reading,
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- love cathy.
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- Copyright cathy buckle 6th June 2009
- www.cathybuckle.com
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- For information on my new book: "INNOCENT VICTIMS"
or any of my other books, or to subscribe/unsubscribe to this newsletter,
please write to:
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- cbuckle@mango.zw
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