Unpredictability
A man walked into my office the other day. I know him, wasn’t like he’s a stranger or anything. He started talking to me, then stopped, looked around the office, eyes scanning the walls, and asked me if it was safe. Safe presumably from bugs, the recording kind. I said I didn’t know. What else could I say? I’m reminded of a visit from an American friend a few years ago and every time she asked my opinion on something situational, I’d say “it depends”. One thing you can be certain of in Zimbabwe is unpredictability. Very little is certain. You think you’re going to be arrested, and someone else is. You think you’re not going to get funding, and you do. You think the power will come back on again at 8, and it doesn’t. Many of us have normalised this state of uncertainty and we get on.