In the Bleak Mid-Winter

A couple of my doctor colleagues here and I have been asked to go to Zimbabwe next week to teach on an HIV course (interestingly one of the few countries in Africa that seem to be making some headway against the pandemic) ... I'm gutted that I can't make it (even if I'd been allowed into the country)... but the other two who can go - have been beset with requests for bread, loo roll, washing up liquid, frankly anything .... all from Drs attending the teaching who despite having decent jobs and a good education ... are totally unable to make ends meet or get their hands on basic commodities ....

I'm amazed that Zimbabwean Drs even have the time to be taught about HIV ... I'd assumed they had the daily horrors of just getting by to focus on .... current scenes from Harare to Bulawayo show people camping out at the few shops that have folded to Mugabe's request to freeze prices (before which my Zim friends told me - prices would go up at least twice a day ...) .... news reports show empty shelves and people hoarding - terrified of when the next price increase will be ....

The country is truly in total free-fall ... inflation has surpassed the incredible and is now merely an organic monster-number that keeps growing zeroes on its tail by the day .... life expectancy continues to plummet (average life expectancy now is below 40) ... children starve .... and the human (rights) catastrophe continues .... disgracefully without any decent censure from the one country that could actually make a difference .... It's a very bleak winter in Zim .....

Whilst I was in Kigali ... I found myself at dinner sitting next to one of the delegation from Zimbabwe ..... a very well-padded gentleman with wandering hands which once slapped down revealed a healthy sense of humour and cynicism .... of course he found himself the focus of all conversation .... we all wanted to know - how bad it really was (well - you know ... life has always been hard in africa) .... how people were managing (our people survived the whites .... at least now we rule ourselves - how can we not survive when we rule ourselves) .... and how widespread the terror or tortures and beatings and imprisonments were (well ... you know Mr Tsvangirai must just stop making trouble - what else could we do with him? Is your Mr Blair any different? Is Bush not doing the same thing) .... and so on ....

Despite his apologist answers - you could tell that this doctor clearly didn't believe a word he was saying .... and so emboldened by a few local brews - I pressed on with what I believed had to be the answer to everything:

So is it true Mr Mugabe is so crazy because he has tertiary syphilis? ....

He almost fell off his chair laughing .... and reassured me that as a member of his team of personal physicians - Mr Mugabe was in fighting fit health .....

Damn .... I said .... have you never been tempted just to slip him something ... perhaps a little injection .... and just save the whole country from its misery?

He stopped short .... and very clearly thought about it .... and then grinned ... Maybe one day .... he said and his eyes glinted suggestively .... what would you give me for it?