NGOs, a rooster and a race

All Non-Governmental Organizations have been asked to cease activity and help until further notice (i.e. likely until after the run-off elections on the 27th). Certain agencies were accused of telling people that unless they vote for the opposition, they will not receive food. Now the people don't have a chance to comply or not to comply. No food is being given out. Some people who were relying on NGOs for their ARVs are now stranded; missing their life-giving drugs. I was meant to attend a meeting today of various HIV/AIDS organizations. It was called off because the organizers fear widespread arrest (the guy who phoned me to tell me about the meeting asked, "do you honestly want to be in jail until after the 27th?" Uh, no!) Only "voter education" meetings are allowed these days in the country (i.e. how to vote for the ruling party). All other gatherings are suspect. Church services have been interrupted, and even funerals can be hijacked. A friend was telling me that he attended a funeral for a relative in the rural areas. A war veteran stood up in the funeral and started pointing his gun at the mourners - telling them to make sure they vote the "right" way. The situation in this country will not cease to devastate me. I get it - pride, selfishness, thirst for power, fear of personal security for the future... but how can you live with yourself knowing that you're making your own people suffer so much?

Now, I know I'm supposed to refrain from the stress-inducing/depressing blogs, but sometimes I need to get it out. On a lighter note, have I told you about the rooster? He is our neighbour's and he has a very high and loud voice! Unfortunately, I think the rooster is developing some form of dementia. In my mental health courses at grad school, we never actually covered poultry, so this is just an educated guess. You see, this rooster (which is actually closer to our house than to our neighbour's - convenient!) crows throughout the night. We used to think it was a "quaint" alarm clock, but now it's a really loud on-the-hour chime. John is generally a peaceful, easy-going man, but he is considering the option of premeditated murder. We need to pray for him.

We also need to pray for John because he's running Comrades on Sunday - yes, that insane 89km race in Durban, South Africa! We fly out tomorrow and we're going to spend a few days' holiday in SA before returning to Zim. He's been training a lot, and doing more hill work, so he hopes to complete in less than 9 hours. (Is this insane?) He found some running buddies a few weeks ago, so we'll meet up with them when we get there. Go Team Zimbabwe! In case I'm not on the net - Happy Fathers' Day for Sunday! Three cheers for all the amazing dads out there...