We leave Zimbabwe, having seen for ourselves how genuinely warm and friendly its people are and what a beautiful country it is. Enjoyable conversation was had with people from all different backgrounds and walks of life;  black and white, old and young, native and transplants; providing a glimpse of real life in this contrary country. We would highly recommend Zimbabwe to anyone contemplating a safari trip to Africa.

Yet Zim is so full of contrasts. There is the campaign actively promoting safety. Laws ensure you must have all manner of safety gear on your vehicle, including the correct size fire extinguisher, which we did not have and for that we paid a fine. You must have the exact strip of honeycomb (not plain, honeycomb) reflective tape on your bumpers, red in the back and white on the front, in exactly the correct position. There are signs in the parks showing where the emergency meeting place is, posted so everyone can see – you may not be able to find your campsite, but you will know where to go if there is a problem. What kind of problem? Who knows?

The country also promotes safe sex with billboards announcing AIDS prevention measures and advising condom use. You can even get a “Defecation Free” declaration for your village if every home has access to a toilet and no one uses the bush. Civil servants wear shirts proclaiming they are corruption-free; signs implore people to report corruption at any level, anonymously if desired. Long lists of values to be expected from “your” civil service officers are posted at every government building.

All these rules and proclamations are fine but they are for the citizens and visitors – they do not apply to the ruling party. Peter Godwin wrote in “The Fear” of common village people voting against the ruling party and having their hands cut off for their trouble. Someone had to order that to be done, and someone had to do the deed. Who does that? It is unfathomable cruelty inflicted on ordinary people by unaccountable politicians.  At the bird sanctuary, Elcine tells us the nearby village has a wealth of orphans – their parents were killed when the government ordered their homes bulldozed with them inside, simply because the local voting did not support ZANU party. What a monstrous act.

On one hand the government demands everyone be safe and respectful, and on the other hand they murder and rob at levels we cannot imagine. Now years since the last election (using the term loosely) there is a peace in the country, we are told, even an optimism. And we noticed that. But when elections start the fear will begin all over again. As Elcine said, why have elections at all? A waste of money with a foregone conclusion, not to mention the other dreadful possibilities.

But shouldn’t there be an opposition, someone who can stand up to the current regime? Maybe. Does the opposition actually want to govern the country or do they too just want to rule and feed at the public trough? Governance is boring, a thankless task. Ruling is way more exciting. Why should we care, though? Injustice seems to be the norm everywhere. Every country has problems, yes. It would be good if every country didn’t have these problems.

Zimbabwe’s rich farming culture once exported food but now farms are abandoned and imported food is very expensive. ATMs don’t have any money. We asked a business owner what we would get, US dollars or Zim dollars at the the ATM, she didn’t know, her bank ATM hasn’t worked in months. Parks we visited had the “bones” of great buildings projects, all fallen into near ruin. The joke is, if you plug Great Zimbabwe Ruins into your GPS, the whole country shows up. We were told that the country was fresh and lovely, education was excellent and people had money, 30 years ago. You should have seen it then, we are told. What a pity. The people we met are welcoming and they love their country. They deserve so much better.  We make a plan to return.