Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter From Zimbabwe !

Fruit Flies.
Saturday 6th October 2007.

Dear Family and Friends,

There are fruit flies in my fridge! Stupidly I keep putting things there to keep them cool in Zimbabwe's searing October heat but at last the reality is sinking in. After the second week of having electricity for just five of every twenty four hours, fridges and deep freezes have finally given up. In my area the electricity has only been on for 25 of the last 120 hours and then only in the middle of the night. Now we have no choice but to live from hand to mouth. Planning and preparation have gone out the window and short term thinking has taken over - just like our government.

Sitting in the dark one evening this week listening to the first gentle rain of the season washing the dust off the roof, I knew that this sound of life and renewal wasn't going to help Zimbabwe this year. We have yet again arrived at the main growing season without any clarity over who can farm and who can't and with no guarantees for black or white, old or new farmers. Electricity for pumping water, running cold rooms or drying crops is neither regular nor guaranteed. Fuel for ploughing, cultivating and transporting crops is not freely available or guaranteed. Vital inputs of fertilizers and chemicals are scarce or unavailable. Stockfeed for all types of livestock is virtually unobtainable and even securing enough food for farm workers is nearly impossible.

The few remaining farmers on the land who hold Title Deeds to their properties continue to face each day with apprehension and insecurity. Court orders are ignored or disobeyed and people with political clout still have the ability to evict at will and seize at leisure. For the people who don't hold Title to the farms they are on, the insecurity is just as great. Just as politics put them there, so too politics can take them away. These farmers must surely be wondering if the March elections are finally going to make them answerable for their actions and hold them accountable for what they have done.

The insecurity and uncertainty of everything is all encompassing and none are spared - from farmers to businessmen and miners to civil servants. We don't say things like the government "can't do that," "won't get away with that," or "it's against the law" anymore. After 7 years of first hand experience, we all know that they can and will take private property, change laws to suit themselves, turn a blind eye as assets are stripped, infrastructure falls apart and human rights are disregarded. But, as absurd as it sounds, there is hope because our memories are long and elections draw ever closer.

Until next week, thanks for reading,
love cathy