[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

[spamkillerf]

Sent: Saturday, 25 July.
Subject: Baby in a box

Dear Family and Friends,

Late in the afternoon a friend got a call on his mobile phone. The words were garbled and broken up, the call lasting just a few seconds before cutting off. The musukuru (grandson) is serious, come now. You have to be a Zimbabwean perhaps to know that the word 'serious' usually means very sick. What would be a problem, even an emergency in the "normal" world was destined to be a nightmare in our broken country.

Again and again my friend tried to phone for more information about his grandson but after numerous attempts gave up. He was wasting time. His grandson is in a rural village, it was almost dusk and he knew he must go. A fifteen kilometre bicycle ride got him to the village. It was completely dark when he arrived. By the light of a candle he looked at his precious little musukuru. Teeth clenched, face in a grimace, body curled in taut foetal position, the two year old boy obviously needed help. He had been vomiting copiously, shaking and arching his back and now the slightest movement caused him to scream in pain.

The nearest clinic is 3 kilometres away. There is no transport, private or public. No telephones. No electricity, not even any running water to wash away the vomit. An ambulance will not come from the nearest town, not unless you can pay cash, in advance, up front: 50 US dollars.

As gently as possible the musukuru was laid in a box which was lifted onto the back of the bicycle and tied securely with strips of old car-tyre inner tubing. Blankets underneath and on top of the musukuru in the freezing cold winter darkness, the journey from hell began. Every stone, bump and gully on the disintegrating gravel road caused a scream of agony from the child. Words of comfort were measured against the urgency of the journey. At the clinic at last, there was no sign of attendance. Calling, shouting, knocking finally produced a youngster: No nurses here, he said.

The next clinic is another 7 kilometres away. The grandparents finally arrived, pushing their grandson in the box on the bicycle at 2 in the morning. Shivering and with frozen fingers their lifted their precious musukuru into the hands of the nurse. They knew what to expect and had bought a small sheet for the bed, their own blankets, a towel and even maize meal and a small pot to make porridge for the child. A drip went in, that's 14 US dollars, payable immediately. An intravenous antibiotic was given, that's 12 US dollars, payable immediately.

Two days later my friend was back in town and stone broke. The musukuru is still in the clinic, still on a drip and still has a problem. There are no doctors there. The nurses say that sekuru must pay for more drugs. His cell phone is flat. He has no money, no airtime left and back there, down the dusty pot-holed road the life of his little grandson is in his hands.

Until next time, thanks for reading, love cathy
©Copyright cathy buckle 25th July 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

[mrllxp]

I just cannot imagine the pain/fear and frustration this childs family are going through... makes me realise, once again, how lucky I am to have the NHS.

[tuszit]

Dear Family and Friends,

A growing number of analysts are starting to say that the "honeymoon
is over" for Zimbabwe's unity government. For the last six months the
very long suffering Zimbabweans have been patient, very patient. After
living through nine years of violence, hunger, disease, poverty and
oppression, everyone wanted to try and make this botched up and
hugely over-staffed government work.

"Its a transitional" stage, we were told by our MP's in March, April
and May.

"Be Patient!" they urged, " in June and July. "The collapse is
widespread, the corruption rampant and change is going to take time."

At a local level services remain largely non existent - garbage is
still not collected, street lights don't work, roads are full of
potholes and

water supplies are scarce.

At a business level conditions continue to be extremely precarious.
For the last three months the NEC (National Employment Council) have
been announcing new wage levels for employees in the business sector.
They are demanding increases for workers of 40% in some sectors, 50%
in others and are saying that new wage rates are to be backdated by
2,3 and even 4 months. Employers are saying that if the wage levels
are enforced they'll have no option but to make half their staff
redundant and reduce business by 50%. Employees say they understand
on the one hand but threaten to strike on the other. It's a time
bomb.

At a professional level government doctors have finally reached
tipping point and gone on strike. After a minimum of five years
university and hospital training and working very long hours with
negligible equipment and facilities, they've said enough is enough.
They say they will not continue working for 170 US dollars (106
British pounds) a month.

Government teachers are very close to withdrawing their services too.
Three or more years of tertiary education, teacher training, classroom
experience and every afternoon of every school day spent supervising
or travelling to one sporting event or another, teachers are very
disgruntled. In return for their labour they are currently earning
only 140 US dollars (87 British pounds) a month.

To put all this into perspective are two pictures:

First is the driver of the truck which killed the Prime Minister's
wife, Mrs Susan Tsvangirai. The truck driver was reportedly earning
300 British pounds (US$ 480) a month at the time of the accident.
(for which he was fined US 200. ) A truck driver earning almost
double the salary of a doctor?

Secondly are the new NEC rates for security workers. A man standing
at the gate of a complex lifting a boom across the road for vehicles
to enter is now earning 140 US dollars a month, before transport,
lighting and housing allowances. A gate guard earning more than a
teacher?

Zimbabwe's priorities are confused and patience grows ever thinner.

Until next week, thanks for reading, love cathy

©Copyright cathy buckle 15 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:

[RSAccountssy]

Dear Family and Friends,

Swine Flu has officially arrived in Zimbabwe. A ZBC TV news bulletin
this week reported that there were a number of confirmed cases of
swine flu in Mutare. The report said that people should not panic
because hospitals were prepared, staff had been trained and
information would soon be disseminated to private practitioners.
Special attention is apparently going to be given to critical areas
like the country's border posts.

This latter cannot come soon enough and I am sure that every poor
soul who has had to endure the horrors of Beitbridge border post will
agree with me. In the last few days I have met two Zimbabweans who
have been through the Beitbridge border post this month. They say it
is hell, a nightmare, a national disgrace, a shame on our country, a
deep embarrassment to Zimbabwe. And this is being polite!

When you arrive at Beitbridge from South Africa you are overwhelmed
by touts. Aggressive young men in their twenties who swarm around you
and solicit bribes in order for you to proceed through the
formalities. The touts control the speed and progress of everything:
the queues, the forms, the stamps and signatures, the customs
inspections and the final scrap of paper, the gate pass, that allows
you get through the boom and into Zimbabwe. Both of the travellers I
spoke to said they simply found it impossible to proceed without
giving in to the demands for bribes. Every time they got near the
counters in the border post the touts and their customers would push
in ahead of them with great piles of papers and none of the officials
on duty were interested in intervening, not immigration, security,
customs or tax collectors. Touts appeared to be making an average of
500 Rand, or 50 US dollars per customer - half the month's pay of a
trained teacher in Zimbabwe.

The toilets at the border are apparently a swamp, there is no toilet
paper, no towels and no way at all to keep yourself clean. Everyone
waits till they are through the border and then pull up on the
roadside and relieve themselves in the bush. If we are to believe
ZBC, it is into this madness of Beitbridge border post that there is
going to be swine flu detection and control. Pardon the pun, but pigs
might fly!

Zimbabwe's unity government has been in place for six months but it
is still the thieves, con-men, blackmailers and bullies that are
manning the entry points into our country. Until they are gone and
until Zimbabwe can clean up the shop window to the country we haven't
got a hope of controlling swine flu, of tempting tourists into the
country or of getting any of the overflow of visitors from the 2010
World Cup football games in South Africa. Its about time that some of
our senior leaders went incognito to Zimbabwe's borders and saw the
thieves and bullies holding tourists, visitors and returning
residents to ransom.

Until next week, thanks for reading, love cathy ©Copyright cathy
buckle 22nd 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

[TudareWQT]

Dear Family and Friends,
Oh to be in Zimbabwe when spring is in the air, what a gorgeous place it is. The cold of winter has almost gone and the wind is running through golden grass, preparing to lift up and shake off last year's dusty leaves. White Helmetshrikes and Glossy Starlings are back in our gardens, Cardinal Woodpeckers are tapping in the trees while Hoopoes spend their days stabbing termites in dry, dusty, scratchy lawns. In the highveld bush the Lucky Bean trees have lost all their leaves and are covered in spectacular red flowers. The pods on the Msasa trees are turning dark chocolate brown and starting to crack, preparing to spit seeds in all directions. Lining the streets of so many towns, the Bauhinia trees are bursting with pink and white flowers and the leaves on the Jacarandas have all gone yellow and are about to fall.

Read More Here...

©Copyright cathy buckle 25th July 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