AFFORDABLE: This Zimbabwean man drives across the South Africa border to buy basic foods for his family that he cannot afford in Zimbabwe due to skyrocketing inflation. Melanie Stetson-Freeman – Staff
Posted on 05/19/2008 3:26:48 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Musina, South Africa - You know it's bad when you have to go to another country to buy bread.
That's just what Bellarms and his brothers do every day, buying enough loaves of bread in the South African town of Musina to fill the back of his pickup truck and take it back across the border to his native Zimbabwe to sell for 200 million Zimbabwe dollars (roughly $1 US) a loaf.
"Eish, it's bad there," says Bellarms, who declines to give his full name because of possible reprisal from Zimbabwe police. "We come every day except Saturday, buying boxes of soap, cooking oil, the same commodities that you just can't find in Zimbabwe anymore. We just wait for God now. He knows that we face trouble here."
In a country where many farmers have stopped farming, where a chicken can cost a quarter of a teacher's monthly salary and bread half that – if you can even find it – hunger is a looming crisis that is sending increasing numbers of Zimbabweans out of the country for their mere survival.
The rising number of Zimbabweans in South Africa – estimated to be nearly 3 million – has created growing anxiety among the working-class South Africans who compete with them for jobs. This anxiety has recently turned to anger, as a wave of antiforeigner attacks in Johannesburg townships such as Alexandra and Diepsloot, and even downtown Johannesburg itself have killed 22 in the past few days, and left 217 others injured and nearly 6,000 homeless.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
I have tried really hard to care about this entire Zimbabwe thing.
I have failed.
The Mugabe Curse.
Mugabe destroyed his own country, and we’re supposed to do what? Bail them out? Send food aid? Send monetary aid? Send in the UN? Send in the clowns?
REVOLT
AFFORDABLE: This Zimbabwean man drives across the South Africa border to buy basic foods for his family that he cannot afford in Zimbabwe due to skyrocketing inflation. Melanie Stetson-Freeman – Staff
Wow that looks like a supermarket in the first world.
Why didn’t you tell the Soviets to revolt against Stalin? Or Cubans against Castro?
bttt
That’s what I thought.
Mugabe, having effectively destroyed his country, is now starting to help destroy South Africa. Mbeki is helping by refusing to deal seroiusly with his old pal Mugabe. Not a word in the MSM about Jimmy Carter’s or Andrew Young’s roles in empowering Mugabe. Of course had a Republican empowered Mugabe we’d be hearing about it 24/7.
This guy is carrying only 25 million Zim dollars, enough for several slices of bread.
I did. I did. They wouldn’t listen.
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