An email update from a crazy land...

I haven't written for ages for several reasons -- one being that internet has been down for a few weeks. Another has been, how to prioritise what to say: so much has happened in Zim in the past few weeks it's hard to know where to start. So I've taken the easy way out, here's an email I sent to a friend in the USA a few days ago, which will hopefully give some insight into what we're dealing with here. Like I say in the email, life is a bit surreal, because with all this going on, my week has been busy with music eistedfodd practices with the school orchestra. A surprisingly peaceful, enjoyable pursuit while the country falls apart. The only noticeable disturbances I've experienced personally are:
-- more frequent electricity cuts
-- prices in the shops doubling every few days (has increased over last week to a scrazy level)
-- notable increase in police/military presence, everywhere

Am a little nervous to post this posting because everything's being watched, censored, etc.....but I also feel if my personal "freedom of speech" starts being imposed upon, what's the point in me being here. So....enjoy!

"...Here things are interesting. To be honest, things have been MUCH tougher than I expected and to all appearances the country seems to be imploding by the day. Inflation has hit astronomical heights -- it is said to be over 1,600% per year, but the actual cost of goods in the shops is often doubling every week, or even overnight. So going shopping has become a pretty scary experience, and one to be avoided as much as possible!! (which is obviously tricky!!) You get into "hoarding" mode....if you see something you think MAY be cheaper in relation to everything else, you buy large quantities of it and then hand some out to your friends, or just keep it until the prices go up! Is kinda crazy, and really messes with your head. Oh, the one thing that doesn't go up is.....salaries! On the "unofficial" or black market exchange rate (which is the most realistic gauge of the value of the Zim currency right now) I'm earning less than US$50 per month at this moment!!!! Seriously scary!! However, by the same token, my rent for last month was around US$6.....for a two-bedroom cottage, water electricity, garden, and garage included!!!!! hee hee....so very strange economics!

Then there's the actual situation on the ground. This past weekend was momentous -- apparently there was an opposition rally in one of the high density areas and all the opposition leaders have been arrested -- all of them, can you imagine??!!! We are almost existing under a state of emergency. All political rallys have been banned; there is a curfew in some areas; opponents to the government have been threatened with extreme violence -- which we saw evidence of this past weekend, when the ralley took place despite warnings. Someone was shot dead by police. It is so weird listening to the news reports about it (all media is state-run) They literally don't know what to tell the population. In some reports they deny that the ralley took place and say it was a flop and nobody showed up -- and on TV they show us video footage (no doubt pre-recorded!) of the area completely deserted. But in other reports they allege that the opposition protesters were attacking cops in the hundreds and overturning buses etc etc etc -- and that because of this one of them was shot dead. Will be interesting to see what happens today....we're anticipating people taking to the streets in solidarity with the arrested leaders and those injured or killed yesterday. But you can never actually tell what will happen here.

So yes, is a very interesting situation.

Me personally, am enjoying being here despite the struggles. School is going surprisingly well, and this week is looking like it will be hectic, with several of my students participating in the music eisteddfod. It is so weird going on with these "normal" things when we feel the country on teh brink of burning. But that's the game we play in Zim -- we are "civilized" so we keep going with "civilized" activities!!!!

I haven't had internet for almsot 2 weeks, so got a million emails to reply to...."


Subsequent to this email being sent we have now seen footage and photographs of the opposition leaders who were "released" on Tuesday -- they had all been severely beaten while in police custody, something that has riled up the public even more. People are becoming bold. Police are getting beaten up too. This may be the moment Zimbabwe has been waiting for. The moment of change.