Disappearing Act

I went to Island Hospice (the place where I volunteer) and the receptionist - Emeldah - was gone. I learned that she got sick suddenly, and then the medication she needed was not available in Zim, so she died. She was in her early 30s. I remember her telling me about becoming an orphan at a young age, and then several of her siblings dying. Death is part of life, but it's still jarring to me. She just sort of disappeared. Just like Sarah - a girl who was staying with some friends of mine because her mom was ashamed of her. One minute she's there, and the next she's dead. She was 20, and she's just gone - HIV/AIDS. It's like a whole generation is just disappearing.

Then there's the food. I guess Zimbabwe's on the news a lot these days. So, you know we have crazy inflation here - like about 5000%. A woman was saying in the news that a banana costs what she paid for her 4 bedroom house in the year 2000. What happened is that the government legislated price freezes, saying that people had to stop the ever increasing price increases. This sounds great, and when it happened, there was a mad rush to the shops (people were literally running around buying whatever they could afford). I must admit that it was strange to see "sale" signs and to actually see a decrease in prices. But now, there's not much in the shops because people bought everything within a few hours (although we went at lunch today, and there are shelves and shelves of mustard - not a popular item, I guess!) No one can actually afford to produce something when they can't break even, so there are rumours of mass closures of business. And over 1300 people have been arrested for trying to charge "too much" (a.k.a. the real value) for goods. Sometimes it feels like we're in this big experiment. Like, hey - let's try controlling the economy - but you can't. Or let's try going it alone without the rest of the world - but you can't. Thankfully there are still lots of fruits and vegetables around. I hear bananas go well with mustard...

Our hot water has also, unfortunately, disappeared. It's a shame since it's so FREEZING! And there's no electricity in the morning, so it's a huge chore to boil water to bucket-bathe. Someone did sell us a little bbq, and we experimented with a little campfire in our living room last night. There's some potential there...

On a cheerier note, I just made some photos appear on our site - of John finishing Comrades and our week at Masiye Camp, and we're watching some hilarious DVDs someone sent us - "Arrested Development" (thank God for battery life on our laptops!) Don't worry, Mom - we're fine! But please, everyone, do keep Zimbabwe in your prayers.