News From Zimbabwe

    Some of my friends have occasionally asked me, "Aren't you afraid to travel to Zimbabwe?"  I was nervous the first time.  Seeing President Mugabe's face on display at the airport when I first arrived a couple of years ago WAS an intimidating sight.  Mugabe is, of course, the stuff from which Africa's worst legends are made, and in the 37 years he has been in office, he has wrought incredible privation to the country.  I was so disarmed by the welcoming cordiality of the Zimbabwean people, that the almost-honest answer has alway been, "No.  I am not afraid."
     That wasn't entirely true.  One thing I did fear was that Mugabe would either die or fall while I was actually in the country.  I was afraid that there would be a complicated and probably bloody struggle for power and that the presence of Americans would not be very welcome at such a chaotic time.
     I flew out of Zimbabwe on a Monday evening.  My heart actually skipped a beat when I read in the Wednesday morning papers that Mugabe was under arrest!  My first thought was for the safety of my friends there, including the foreign volunteers at Imire.  I sent out urgently inquiring emails and worried worried worried.   I talked African politics with my new Rwandan friends--no strangers to bloody transitions--and was not reassured.
     Talk about pleasant surprises!  The emails I received in return were not calamitous; they were joyous and confident.  No blood spilled, not even Mugabe's.  The only disruption on the streets were spontaneous outbursts of celebration.  Planes were coming and going as scheduled.  And volunteers were coming and going from Imire as usual.
     I was particularly struck by one email I got in which it took five paragraphs before the writer MENTIONED the transition!   There was just this overwhelming sense of optimism that finally, Zimbabwe's horrendous economy and standing in the world was on the mend.  No more 90% unemployment rate.  No more billion-per cent inflation.  No more prohibition of investment and commerical agriculture.  No more corruption????
    Well, of course, there is some reason to have reservations.  The new president is a close former associate of Mugabe.  He DOES have the inauspicious nickname "Crocodile."  But the mood was and still is (as of the writing of this entry)  upbeat and hopeful.
     As for this eco-tourist, I was much reassured by this article in The Guardian and the accompanying photograph (also from The Guardian).  Press here for the complete story.

 The young lady on the right is none other than President Emmerson Mnangagwa's youngest daughter Tariro.  She is a member of Zimbabwe's all-female anti-poaching unit.  That fact alone has GOT to be great news!