The political picture clears

For a long time Zimbabwe was, as it was described to me on a long ride between Harare and Mutare, the “Bread Basket of Africa.” It is no small wonder. Things grow here effortlessly. As you travel east, dramatic grass plains are broken up leisurely by lush green forests. Acacia trees grow up sharply rising hillscapes and at each of their peaks is the indisputable evidence in relief of an ancient history of dramatic volcanic activity. At one point I meditated on an exposed rock formation which consumed the peak of a distant hill for what felt like half an hour. It looks like full lips, pleasantly and gently kissing the sky. Forever.

But I digress. The landscape here is just another of the many ways Zimbabwe will romance you into forgetting what may very well be right in front of your face. For example, that it boasts the highest unemployment in the world. Somewhere between 80-90%.

Zimbabwe could credit its success, as it was once a successful economy, to its commercial farming industry. But, like most former British colonies, there was a small group of white elites who controlled it all. Mugabe, ever the friend of the people, stripped this ruling elite of their land rights and handed it over to his friends. They managed the land poorly and last week I drove through swaths of abandoned commercial farming properties and factories. It is an odd thing to be in a “ghost town” you knew to be inhabited and thriving only ten years earlier. Zimbabwe has no major exports anymore. Well, almost. Hold that thought.

With very little in the way of raw goods to back its currency in the world market, Zimbabwe experienced an inevitable bout of inflation. To counter it (ever the geniuses) Mugabe’s regime printed and printed and printed currency. Wait, it gets better. In 2007 you could receive your wages in cash that morning and it would be worth half by the afternoon. A loaf of bread might cost you upwards of 1,000 Zim dollars. The current exchange rate for this now extinct currency is about 340 zim dollars to $1. Apparently there was a very scary period where you could take your under-valued-by-the-minute currency to a store, and literally find nothing on the shelves to buy.

Which explains the beautiful sustainability enjoyed at the house I’m staying at. Water catchments, fruit trees and veggie gardens. Brilliant.

The currency was abandoned. Today the ATM spits out US Dollars. I haven’t had to exchange a cent my entire visit here. Mind you there’s no one printing NEW money for Zimbabwe, so it is all dirty as hell. Dirtiest currency in the world, actually. I can’t imagine Burger King taking this stuff. But at least Zimbabwe’s currency is relatively stable. (Another win for the good old greenback). 

 See the contrast? Yes, that is a $2 bill. If you were wondering where they all went, they are here in Zimbabwe.

Sometime later, around 2009, perhaps because he was attempting to find a band aid for the bullet wound he’d created in the economy, Mugabe leveled the slums and disbanded the flea markets. His goal was to stop urbanization and the flow of agricultural workers into the city centers. But with no way to buy land (because it’s government controlled), and no collateral to borrow against (because they can’t own the land), well you can guess what a banner successful it all was. 

Despite the steadily worsening decisions of an ailing leader, the people I have been lucky enough to meet so far are engaged and active. I wouldn’t know how to begin to put together numbers on informal employment here, but my (crude and gravely uneducated) guess is you’d be looking more at a 60 – 70% employment. Be it managing livestock, selling fruit, wood, ad hoc labor, child care, selling flea market goods. And someone is cleaning this place. There are FAR dirtier cities in the US. (The currency not withstanding).

And the heartwarming thing is the really desperate are at least nice about it.

Home invasions are common place in this part of the world. Just to the south in South Africa come reports of homes being ransacked and badly damaged, tenants being beaten and raped. And there are home invasions here, but the running joke is that the burglars are so NICE about it.

Morning radio shows will often pepper the news with these anecdotes. One was described on the morning show last week. After the burglars had bound an elderly home owner, they made sure she was cozy and had enough blankets. Before leaving they made sure to get her any medication she might need.

Another caught his burglar in the act and surprised him so badly that he was subdued by a heart attack.

I met a woman who woke in the night to find the motor on her electric gate stolen and her dogs drugged with something that made them “awfully cuddly.” It wore off eventually. No worries, pet lovers. And nothing else was even disturbed.

Generally it feels like Zimbabweans see a light at the end of the tunnel. For most, I think it’s probably the knowledge that Mugabe is quite ill and likely to die very soon. And it’s as if they are being very patient. Doing their best not to create more problems for each other. It is admirable, and a quality I don’t think we could find across the US. I think we have a nasty habit of making a hard situation worse for one another. I would bring this benign quality back with me if I could.   

But for all their patience, I am nervous for Zimbabwe. Back to my point about major exports: On a strait stretch of highway today we passed through at least 7 police check points in a two hour period. Apparently we were orbiting the diamond fields that had recently been discovered in Zimbabwe. Possibly the largest. Ever. In the world. And in the span of a second I considered the factors of a corrupt and exploitative government, poor infrastructure, high unemployment, desperate and idle young men and the historical track record of diamond trafficking out of Africa. I’m going to have to have to be patient with Zimbabwe too.