The crisis in Zim

I have been putting off writing about this for a while. Partly I think because we hear about Zim all the time, and partly because we seem to be getting a little immune to this issue. We shake our heads and hope that it'll silently go away - like many other problems. I think we're just glad it's not our country this is happening to. I hear the words on the news about no petrol, the rising interest rate; I see the pictures of the empty shelves in the supermarkets; but somehow it's easier to forget than to dwell on it.

A friend went to Vic Falls on holiday recently and came back with some shocking reports which have forced me to think about Zim again. There is little flour in Zim. Even at the hotel they were staying at, the bread was mixed with mieliemeal. There is hardly any fruit - only the tinned version. Shops are empty. Hospitals have little or no staff, no medication. Ambulances aren't operating as there is no petrol. All of this while Mugabe lives an opulent life. There is no freedom of speech, public meetings have been banned... After all history has taught us, people (including me) are sitting around unable to help.

I just can't seem to wrap my mind around what this guy is thinking. Does he really believe he is running the country well? Is he just a power-hungry guy who can't face the fact that he messed up? Or is he just pure evil?

My husband says the only way the country will change is if the people themselves rise up and force Mugabe to step down. At the moment all we can do is pray.