Boerseun Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 This is an informal poll, so informal that there are no options! What I want, is for you to tell me, briefly, what your impressions are of Zimbabwe, under Robert Mugabe's rule. The only catch is that I don't want you to Google anything at all - I want to hear from you off the top of your head what you know about the situation in Zimbabwe. The reason I'm doing this is simply because I'm interested in the common international perception of this specific issue, I don't want any ready-to-eat instantly-served pret-a-porter microwaved downloaded google opinions; I want to know what you know about this issue. Will I know if you cheated? Hell now! But you will be forever consumed by guilt for lieing to me... Buffy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infamous Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 This is an informal poll, so informal that there are no options! What I want, is for you to tell me, briefly, what your impressions are of Zimbabwe, under Robert Mugabe's rule. The only catch is that I don't want you to Google anything at all - I want to hear from you off the top of your head what you know about the situation in Zimbabwe.I can not tell a lie my friend, I know little or nothing about the situation there. Nevertheless, something tells me that maybe I should and for that reason I feel remiss. Maybe I've been reading the wrong newspaper or listening to the wrong media, in any case, trusting your judgement I suspect we all should be paying more attention...........................Infy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric l Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Boerseun, for a start, in Europe we are generally not that well informed about "black Africa", and that is both quantitatively and qualitatively. It is quite exceptional to receive "good" news from that part of the world, be it from Zimbabwe or from Sudan. I do know that many people (including myself) who believed in Nkomo and Mugabe are deeply desillusioned, but that is a long way from taking action. In other African countries you generally have some "reliable" contacts (like "Medicins sans Frontières"), but not so in Zimbabwe (or Sudan for that matter). I myself do have a little experience with Africa, and have seen corruption and nepotism and all that, but not at the scale that is reported for Zimbabwe. At first I thought the reports on Zimbabwe were exagerated, but we keep hearing similar stories. I am at a loss. Maybe I should care more, and search more actively for more and correct information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gribbon Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 What I want, is for you to tell me, briefly, what your impressions are of Zimbabwe, under Robert Mugabe's rule. Well, my belief is that Mugabe, although being a dictator and an abysmal president, is villifed to a ridiculous extent. As far as I know he hasn't directly killed anyone, manwhile there are other dictators, currently in power, who torture and massacre people, like Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Isaias Afewerki and Than Shwe. Having said that, Zimbabwe's economy is in sharp decline, and needs alot of international help. That is where we should be focusing on. Not writing sensationalist things about Mugabe.... 10 Most Censored Countries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boerseun Posted February 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2007 That is where we should be focusing on.Yeah. But that's not the topic of this thread, now is it? Feel free to open up a thread regarding that issue.Not writing sensationalist things about Mugabe....So why do you think Zimbabwe's economy is in a sharp decline?Don't Google it, now. I want to know what you know about this issue. And, please - if you don't know anything about the matter, please say so; I want to sample international awareness of this specific issue. See Infy's reply in post #2. I don't want to be awed by your knowledge, I want to know if you do or don't know about this issue. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric l Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 So why do you think Zimbabwe's economy is in a sharp decline? As for me, I heard it first on BBC World, and next day it was repeated (with reference to BBC) on Belgian networks. Haven't seen more than 2 or 3 columns in our newspapers, though. But I still consider BBC a relieable source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qfwfq Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 In recent months I read about him a few times and got the impression he ain't exactly the most paternal statesman around, but I don't remember much in detail. gribbon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfiniteNow Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boerseun Posted March 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2007 Exactly... sad story, really. But no one seems to be interested in doing anything about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted March 18, 2007 Report Share Posted March 18, 2007 I must admit to not knowing anything about the situation in Zimbabwe. I don't even think I could point it out on a map, let alone discuss its leader. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfiniteNow Posted June 16, 2007 Report Share Posted June 16, 2007 3,700% inflation? Good grief. In terms of "visibility," at least it appeared on the Colbert Report last night. See below. It's in the middle of the "scene." Comedy Central: Colbert Report - Bear & Balls - Vacation Edition Anyone know of any progress? What's gone on since this thread was opened in February? "As a souvenier of your trip to Zimbabwe, you might consider buying... Zimbabwe." Boerseun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gribbon Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 What I want, is for you to tell me, briefly, what your impressions are of Zimbabwe, under Robert Mugabe's rule. and... I want to know what you know about this issue. And, please - if you don't know anything about the matter, please say so; You asked what our impressions were of this issue and I am giving them to you right now. Got it? Tone it down, mate. A few days ago a journalist I knew returned from Zimbabwe and said pretty much everything that has already been said about Zimbabwe in all the threads.... P.S. Does anyone know if the government is making any progress in reducing oil shortages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boerseun Posted June 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 You asked what our impressions were of this issue and I am giving them to you right now. Got it?Yes. I asked to tell me whether you know anything about this issue, or not. As an example of honesty in this regard, read Freeztar's post upstairs. Got it?Tone it down, mate.Tone what down? Get over yourself. Thanks for the negrep, by the way. A few days ago a journalist I knew returned from Zimbabwe and said pretty much everything that has already been said about Zimbabwe in all the threads....I find this line pretty strange. You might have chatted to this specific journalist; none of us have. And this is, to the best of my knowledge, the only thread in all of Hypo discussing the Zimbabwe issue. So what did this phantom journalist say?P.S. Does anyone know if the government is making any progress in reducing oil shortages?No. The government is making zero progress on anything. The entire healthcare system ground to a screeching halt a week or three ago, when all the doctors decided to join the nurses and general medical staff in an indefinite strike. There is ZERO healthcare provided by the Zimbabwean government, with no end in sight to the strike. As far as the fuel issue is concerned, the South African government is exporting vast amounts of South African produced petrol and diesel, largely paid for by money the Chinese government have lavished on Mugabe in exchange for expansive mineral rights. The next scramble for Africa is on, and the Chinese are far in the lead. DFINITLYDISTRUBD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gribbon Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Yes. I asked to tell me whether you know anything about this issue, or not. As an example of honesty in this regard, read Freeztar's post upstairs. Got it? Anwser-yes. I might not live next door to Zimbabwe like you do, but I know a group of people of Zimbabwean origin who are in regular contact with the country. They work as part of an aid organisation there. Take a look at Amnesty international and their work abroad...Tell me...as far as dictatorships go, is Zimbabwe that bad? You seem to think it can't get any worse. Bull**it. Do they have slave labour camps in Zimbabwe as they do in North Korea? Take off your rose tinted glasses, mate. Oh, and thanks for your neg rep in return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFaithfulStone Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Don't know much. I know that Ol Bob Mugabe is fast in the process of driving his country directly off a cliff. TFS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boerseun Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Tell me...as far as dictatorships go, is Zimbabwe that bad? You seem to think it can't get any worse. Bull**it. In the winged words of a good friend of mine: If you want to be a dick, PM me and we can take it up privately. I have never said it can't get any worse.And yes: Zim is bad. Not if you're a tourist, paying in foreign currency, or even working for Amnesty International and you're being paid in US$. Zim sucks bad if you're a local and you're paid in Zim$, where a loaf of bread costs about $50,000, up from around 5$ a few years ago. Zim sucks bad if you're a local and you're paid in Zim$, and every single banknote has an expiry date on it, after which the commercial banks have been ordered not to accept the notes. So, a note might have a lifetime of a few months. What to do with a note you can't bank a few days from now? You spend it. On what? There's nothing on the shop shelves, and that which is there can't be afforded. Even a few days before the expiry date, nobody'll take your money, because it'll be their problem to bank it before the cutoff date. All of the above, of course, is only appliccable if you actually get paid. Government salaries are so far behind that government departments are going off on indefinite strikes, the one after the other. The only guys seemingly being paid is the army.Do they have slave labour camps in Zimbabwe as they do in North Korea? Take off your rose tinted glasses, mate.Gribbon, you really don't know what's going on there, do you? You think there are only two states - freedom and enslavement, the one good the other bad? The happenings in Zim might be far worse that enslavement - slaves, at least, get fed every now and then. Rose-tinted glasses? Not only have you absolutely no idea of what's shaking in Zim, it seems you've got a bit of a flair for the inappropriately dramatic, too. If you had any idea as to what the metaphor meant, you would know that you have used it in totally and completely the wrong context. If you think Zim is so great, ask your Amnesty International buddies to give up their US$ and be paid in Zim$ next time they come down to Harare. See how long they'll be happy on eating nothing but sadza ne nyama, the nyama, of course, being pretty scarce if the buyer don't have US$. All I'm asking is if you don't know about the topic, say so. Don't insist you're a boffin on it because you know a few people who've been there, and then put your absolute ignorance on the matter on public display like you're doing right now. That's the attitude that's been screwing Africa ever since the first colony was founded. All the armchair specialists sitting around in Europe discussing how Africa should be run/managed, without ever having set foot there themselves.Oh, and thanks for your neg rep in return.My pleasure. Buffy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 And yes: Zim is bad. Not if you're a tourist, paying in foreign currency, or even working for Amnesty International and you're being paid in US$. Zim sucks bad if you're a local and you're paid in Zim$, where a loaf of bread costs about $50,000, up from around 5$ a few years ago. Zim sucks bad if you're a local and you're paid in Zim$, and every single banknote has an expiry date on it, after which the commercial banks have been ordered not to accept the notes. So, a note might have a lifetime of a few months. What to do with a note you can't bank a few days from now? You spend it. On what? There's nothing on the shop shelves, and that which is there can't be afforded. Even a few days before the expiry date, nobody'll take your money, because it'll be their problem to bank it before the cutoff date. :) That's ludicrous! How do they even have an "economy" under such conditions? Is it the US$ keeping them afloat?Mindboggling...:) gribbon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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