It does not require a majority to prevail,
but rather an irate, tireless minority
keen to set brush fires in
people’s minds.
- Samuel Adams

oh for a valium. a scotch. a well dog. a not so fucked up country. and a beach.

That’s a text message I just sent a friend after a visit to the dentist when I was feeling bleak.

Walking up the stairs to Dr Paul’s rooms I have say that I got a bit anxious. The sound of generators filled the air. And I began to wonder if they would need to refuel at a crucial moment whilst I was In The Chair.

Usually Dr Paul’s sound system belts out sexy rumba but instead, in an effort to lift the nurses spirits, he’d succumbed to one of those jazzed up Christmas cds. So I found myself tapping my toes to ABBA singing that the New Year is going to be a really good one.

When it comes to drills and masks I’m prone to panic attacks so I took along a copy of The New York Review of Books that I’d just received in the mail. I thought I might calm myself down and cheer myself up by looking through the personal ads. I was momentarily side tracked by an advert that I’d respond to given half a chance:

Beautiful, quick-witted optimist seeks fifty-something left-winger with a strong sense of humor and enough money to buy her a martini from time to time

Being quick-witted and optimistic are pretty much mandatory for surviving Zimbabwe. Maybe we’d be a match made in a failed state.

The postal service is pretty much kaput in Zimbabwe. Only very occasionally will I find something in my post box. Saturday was one of those days. I retrieved a City of Harare bill from the cobwebs.

The billing date: 31st August 2008
The due date for payment: 12th September 2008
Date received: 25th October 2008
Amount due: 28097538481133 (no spaces)

Hmmmm.

The bill cites services such as refuse removal – ha, ha, when last did that happen? Like a year ago.

Apparently we have a new Mayor.

Yahooooo. Anyone out there?

I met a woman recently who described the situation in Zimbabwe as “a long silent scream”. Zimbabwe is dying, and it’s dying silently. We need to derive confidence and courage from the WOZA women and their direct action in confronting the Mugabe regime on the crisis in Zimbabwe. More NGOs, more pressure groups, more people, more politicians need to get out of the queues, the boardrooms, offices and hotels: we need to take our outrage to the streets. Enough is enough.

An excerpt from The New York Poem by Sam Hamill reminds us that we can’t give up:

. . . a mute sadness settles in,
like dust, for the long, long haul. But if
I do not get up and sing,
if I do not get up and dance again,
the savages will win . . .

Failed state service on South African Airways

The 720pm flight out of Johannesburg leaves after 8. The steward slaps down a tray of food. A limp piece of meat sags on a layer of “seen better days” pasta. The bread roll is stale. There isn’t a choice. Sorry if you’re vegetarian. Good service doesn’t apply on flights to a failed state. The lights are dim at Harare Airport. We identify our luggage with some difficulty. The sign on the toilet says, Sorry for the inconvenience but the toilet is broken. As is the rest of the country.

No money for parking

I head out to the airport at about 1015pm to pick up my partner. This time the 720pm SAA flight gets in at 1040. I drive slowly wanting to time my arrival so I can effect a stop and grab. As I approach the airport I see car after car pulled over on both sides of the road. At first I think the little dictator and his motorcade is about to round the bend. Of course what was I thinking, he’s round the bend already. But like me, countless other Zimbabweans don’t have enough cash for parking so we wait down the road instead and watch the planes come in. The full moon and my hunting dog keep me company. A face looms at my window. “Excuse me ma’am, has the SAA flight landed?”

Midnight emergencies

My dog Frank looks pregnant. His stomach swells before my very eyes. It’s midnight. What to do? Is Second Street Extension 24hr vet still functioning? Is there any power? Are there drugs? Is there anyone on duty experienced enough to deal with my best loved dog? Tick all of the above. Thanks to Soloman and his team Frank is home today, worse for wear but still alive, for now. A reminder to check my cynicism at the door.

Subscription sustenance

My issue of The Sun arrives. The articles make me think, give me insight and hope. Viktor Frankl was right when he said, What is to give light must endure burning.

Cathy Buckle, in her weekly writing about life in Zimbabwe, says it like it is.

In the three weeks since a power sharing deal was signed between the winners and losers of Zimbabwe’s election, nothing has happened except arguments. So many of us had such high hopes but these are fading fast.

There is no sign of leadership, either from the old or the new, and all we hear is bickering and whining about wanting more mediation when all we really need is action. No one knows who is in charge, or who is going to be in charge of what and while this vacuum continues we have virtually turned into a gangster state.

The walls are falling down around us very fast now and still we baby-cry about mediators. Shame on us.