[Eunatis]

Dear Family and Friends,

There are stirrings of spring in Zimbabwe which lift our spirits and
tease us with promises of better times to come. Seasonal changes are
evident everywhere: hard green wild oranges weighing down leafless
branches; pink and white Bauhinias flowering along roadsides; rolled,
hooting calls of the as yet unseen Coucals; the veld grass bleached
and brittle. And every evening caramel sunsets smudged with smoke
blanket the horizon before the vista of African stars cover the sky.
The smallest things which a decade ago we took for granted are now so
rare because of unchecked environmental destruction. But there are
still glimpses of life and therefore hope: a slender mongoose darting
across the road; the slow heavy flight of a heron overhead, the
nagging chattering of a hammerkop as it patrols whats left of the
wetlands, searching for frogs amongst the streambed cultivation which
is destroying our vleis.

This spring and summer we look to our unity government to give some
long overdue attention to the environment not just on the farms but
in and around our cities and towns, in and around our streams and
rivers, forests and bush. Even the rocks have not been spared:
beautiful balanced granite boulders, the edges of kopjes and even
roadside rocks are being chipped away into building stones by men,
women and children desperate to make a few dollars.

Already the uncontrolled fires are everywhere, smoke rising and
staining the horizon in all directions. Six months into their terms
of office municipalities continue to argue about assets and sit on
their hands while garbage piles up on roadsides, under trees and in
stinking piles outside flats and shopping centres. Residential areas
in my home town, and many other areas, have not had dustbins
collected for nearly two years, street lights have been off for four
years and yet still every month the councils bill us for services
they dont provide. Someone in Harare wrote saying theyve not had a
drop of water in their suburb since the 27th of June 2008. In other
parts of the capital city it has been even longer and yet they too
receive accounts every month for water they do not receive.

The ugly scars of Zimbabwes dark decade are everywhere but the best
news came this week when the BBC were allowed back into the country.
Excellent news too came of the un-banning of the Daily News newspaper
hopefully they can be re-capitalized and start again. At last the
real truths can be exposed for all to see and the puerile propaganda
of ZBC TV and Radio will be counterbalanced. Until next week, thanks
for reading, love cathy©Copyright cathy buckle 1st August 2009.

www.cathybuckle.com
.. For information on my new book: "INNOCENT VICTIMS" or my previous
books, "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears," or to subscribe/unsubscribe
to this newsletter, please write to: cbuckle@mango.zw