Living Zimbabwe

Tag: Travel

  • Living and Learning in Zimbabwe: The Power of a Smile

    Living and Learning in Zimbabwe: The Power of a Smile

    I spent from June – December of 2013 living, learning, and working in Nkayi, Zimbabwe as a World Vision Canada Intern. I was asked by Living Zimbabwe to write a piece with some helpful hints for people traveling to Zimbabwe. I have tried my best to avoid the typical travel advice of “boil your water” and “ladies should wear skirts” and “don’t walk around outside in the dark alone”, because while those are great tips, they don’t mean anything. I’ve tried to make my advice meaningful; something that maybe you won’t read in the Lonely Planet book or hear from your Travel Health Clinic.

    1. Actually visit with the locals. I’m not talking about going, greeting them, and taking some pictures of their living spaces. Pictures are important, and absolutely, take them. But talk, and even more importantly, listen, to the locals. You can learn a lot from reading newspapers and browsing websites, but you can learn even more from listening to stories of people who live very different lives than most of us in North America do.
    2. Visit rural areas. Bulawayo and Harare are beautiful, and they have stories to tell… but sometimes the cities have somewhat of a North American feel to them. The rural areas are where you really get the feeling of what is means to be in Zimbabwe.
    3. Take part in some of the parts of daily Zimbabwean life. Carry water on your head so that you can begin to understand how a Zimbabwean women spends anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours of her day, and take a bucket shower so that you can appreciate the excessive amount of water that we have in North America, and use a blair-latrine so that you can be thankful that we have that money to put towards luxurious items such as flush-toilets.
    4. Learn to cook sadza (or if you’re like me and you can’t cook, at least watch in amazement as a Zimbabwean woman cooks it). I asked a coworker one evening how to make it, and she couldn’t tell me exactly; she didn’t know the measurements. It is an art of “some more mielie-meal”, “a little more water”, “a liiiittttle more mielie-meal”, and eventually, “a pinch of salt”.
    5. Watch football (soccer). I don’t mean on the television from inside your room, or even a “big-ticket” game at the outdoor pitch in one of the big cities. I mean put on a hat, and go watch locals play. If some of these kids had the same resources that David Beckham did, they would be better than Beckham was at his peak.
    6. Need a tour guide? Ask a local! Sure, Victoria Falls has boards of information everywhere, but like turning a book into a movie, sometimes really important and/or interesting pieces get left out. The locals will know all sorts of information, and probably be honored that you would ask them to guide you.
    7. Get in there! In North America, we are sometimes very shy about dancing with strangers because we don’t want to look “silly”, or we won’t try speaking another language because we will be laughed at. I looked silly, and I was laughed at… but it is a part of the experience!
    8. Accept all gifts. Zimbabweans understand that life is about relationships, and stronger than their desire to feed their own family tomorrow, is their desire to be hospitable and engage in fellowship with new friends today.
    9. Take time to feel. There is something about the sunset and the stars during the evening, after a day of hearing about the hardships one minute, but seeing the dancing and laughing the next.
    10. Be prepared to change. Zimbabwe changed my views on faith, materialism, the power of a smile, and so much more. I promise it will do the same for you.

    This has been a submission by Sherrie-Lee R. Chiarot. You can connect with Sherrie-Lee via the following: , https://twitter.com/sleerose, . You too can become a Citizen Journalist by submitting your story here: Citizen Journalism by Living Zimbabwe The views expressed in the article are those of the author and not necessarily Living Zimbabwe.

  • The UAE & Zimbabwe Open Skies Agreement

    The UAE & Zimbabwe Open Skies Agreement

    On 3 October 2012, The United Arab Emirates (represented by Mr. Omar Bin Ghaleb, Deputy Director General of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA)) signed an air services Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Air Services Agreement (ASA) with the Government of Zimbabwe (represented by Mr. Munesushe Munodawafa, Secretary for Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development).

    The agreements which are effectively ‘open skies’ agreements allow for full route access, capacity, number of frequencies and types of aircraft in either a passenger or cargo capacity between the two countries. Also present at the event were various interested parties which included representatives from Emirates, Etihad and RAK Airways. Given that Air Zimbabwe’s international operations are currently grounded, the aforementioned (with Emirates in particular) would be particularly interested in the agreements going through since they face no competition on the route and stand to profit from it.

    As already mentioned, the route will facilitate for increases in freight and passenger services between the two nations and will make trade much easier. But, you can’t help wonder why the push to secure such trading links with Zimbabwe and other Sub-Saharan countries?

    Middle Eastern countries like the UAE have been increasing their investments in Africa and have also been eyeing and buying land in various African nations to ensure a steady supply of food for it’s people. Having open skies agreements with Zimbabwe and other African nations further cements their foothold in Africa with investments that may not necessarily benefit Africans.

    The question is, where will this coupled with Chinese investment leave us in years to come?

  • KLM To Resume Flights To Harare In October

    KLM To Resume Flights To Harare In October

    Five months after Emirates started flying into Harare, another major international airline has confirmed its plans to start flights to Zimbabwe. Two days ago, KLM officially announced that it will start operating a service to Harare on 29 October 2012. It will operate a three weekly service from Amsterdam Airport Schipol to Harare International with an Airbus A330-200. KLM flight KL523 will depart from Amsterdam on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 10.20 hrs and arrive in Harare at 21.25 hrs on the same day. The return flight, also KL523, will depart from Harare at 22.30 hrs on the same day with a brief stopover in Lusaka and continue on to Amsterdam to arrive at 10.20 hrs the following morning.

    KLM stopped servicing Zimbabwe more thank a decade ago due to the political turmoil. Its return may be sign of increasing confidence in Zimbabwe and what it has to offer. From an operational perspective, the Harare service could be a very viable route seeing as tourist numbers are on the rise. The resumption of KLM flights to Zimbabwe could also aid in the nations economic recovery. From a local perspective, the increase in competition presents the traveling public with more flight options and hopefully more competitive ticket prices.

    With the introduction of services from another international carrier and Air Zimbabwe not currently flying internationally, it leaves one wondering if the national carrier will have a space left on international destinations once they get their act together.

  • First Bob Parsons Now Donald & Eric Trump In Zimbabwe Hunting Controversy?

    First Bob Parsons Now Donald & Eric Trump In Zimbabwe Hunting Controversy?

    About a year ago, Bob Parsons (former Go Daddy CEO) found himself in a storm of controversy after posting footage (below) of his elephant hunt in Zimbabwe. As you can imagine, there was a lot of public outcry. PETA were very vocal about it and took action against the killing. They closed their Go Daddy account and encouraged the public to follow suit. This action subsequently led to thousands of people disassociating themselves with Go Daddy and transferring their domains to other providers.

    This time, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump (Donald Trump’s sons) have managed to get themselves caught up in something similar. Photos of them sporting trophies from a hunting trip they took to Zimbabwe last year have recently surfaced. The photos have lead to criticism from PETA and other animal rights groups. Just like in the case of Bob Parsons, the hunt has had a negative impact on Trump entities. The biggest blow has been sponsors pulling out of the popular TV series “The Apprentice”.

    Apart from defending his sons’ actions, Donald Trump Senior has said a lot about the issue. On the other hand, Donald Jr. has been hard at work defending his actions. A common theme with him and Bob in the process of defending their actions is that of seeing themselves as heroes. The act of donating the meat from their kills to villagers is what has made them feel as if they have earned hero status. Some people argue that it would have been better to have donated the thousands they paid for the hunt to the villagers instead of killing animals.

    Some of the arguments used by Donald Jr. do however raise an eyebrow. One example is that of a tweet he sent out in response to one from another twitter user:

    To say “with out hunters $ there wouldn’t be much left of africa” is somewhat shortsighted. Isn’t Africa very resource rich? Yes, there may be a few issues with the equitable distribution of wealth but that doesn’t mean that Africa would be a lost cause without hunters. Whatever the motivations are for public figures going on these hunting trips, does the controversy and protest generated by animal rights activists have a positive impact towards their cause? Hunting is something that mankind has engaged in for centuries. In this day in age, it is an activity that when carried out in a controlled manner adds to the tourist dollars generated by African countries. Truth be told, even if public figures aren’t taking themselves off on hunting adventures, there are plenty of other keen hunters who have the resources to be able to take themselves on such trips. For Donald Jr. and Eric, this may have been a PR stunt gone wrong but in the case of the company (Hunting Legends) that took them on the trip, it may have been a blessing in disguise. A recent tweet by Hunting Legends, points towards an increase in business for them:

     

    This boost in business may have been a result of the publicity they got from the controversy and if that was the case, then the efforts of anti hunting activists have been a waste. It has served to whet the appetites of more hunters and fueled their want to hunt in Africa.


    Link to Bob Parsons > Problem Elephant Controversy Video

  • Emirates Flights To Harare, What It Means For Air Zimbabwe & Other Airlines

    Emirates Flights To Harare, What It Means For Air Zimbabwe & Other Airlines

    Last month, Emirates announced that from 1 February 2012 they will start flying into Harare from Dubai via Zambia 5 times a week. EK713 will depart from Dubai every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 09:25am and arrive in Harare at 5:20pm with the return flight leaving Harare at 7:20pm. This is the first major airline after the withdrawal of services from other foreign airlines that will take to the Zimbabwean skies. This news will come as a welcome relief for the travelling public with the increase in choice they will bring.

    In years gone by, there have been reports of the government refusing to approve requests from various foreign carriers to service the nation. Some of these airlines once flew to Zimbabwe but for one reason or another, the powers that be did not accommodate their requests. With the entry of Emirates into the market, some questions come to mind.

    The first that comes to mind being, could this mean that the government may be a bit more receptive to other carriers looking to enter or re-enter Zimbabwe? Having airlines such British Airways (long-haul direct from London), Qantas, Lufthansa, Air France and KLM just to name a few flying to Zimbabwe again offering choice and bringing in much needed tourist dollars. The Tourists dollars will hopefully go towards rebuilding Zimbabwe.

    A second question that comes to mind is what it will mean for Air Zimbabwe and how the national airline will react? Over the past few months and even extending into years, Air Zimbabwe has been facing crisis after crisis such as debts running into the hundreds of millions as well as strike action by pilots and cabin crew. All of this as well as an aging fleet have impeded its service delivery and may be a cause for concern.

    Emirates is a well oiled machine and has been rated as one of the top ten airlines in the world (Skytrax). They fly a modern fleet of over 100 aircraft (with many more on order) to just about every part of the world at very competitive prices. Consumers may be more inclined to choose Emirates over Air Zimbabwe, which could spell even more trouble for them. But, this development may inadvertently force Air Zimbabwe to implement chances that get it on track to being a formidable competitor.

  • How To Identify A Fake Zimbabwean Passport?

    How To Identify A Fake Zimbabwean Passport?

    We recently received an email from an individual concerned about the validity of Zimbabwean passports issued by the Registrar General’s Passport Office. As per the email below, a friend of the individual was arrested and sentenced for being in possession of a fraudulent passport:

    [quote]It appears that some passports being issued by the Zimbabwean passport office to Zimbabwean nationals are not valid, despite a proper application being made and everything done “above board” as far as the applicant is concerned. A friend recently tried to use their passport for the first time and was detained by the authorities as the passport had certain “fake” aspects to it. They were accused by the UK authorities of deliberately obtaining a false passport and, as they were unable to prove otherwise are now serving a prison sentence.

    My question is how can innocent passport applicants have their passports checked for validity prior to use in order to avoid such prosecutions? Also for people falsely accused of obtaining a false passport, is it possible to gather any evidence of their innocence, given that any corruption within the passport office seems not to be taken into account in such cases?[/quote]

    A number of people have fallen victim to passport counterfeiters working within the Registrar General’s Office and unknowingly travelled using this documentation. As can be seen from above, this can cause a few issues for the innocent travelling public. That being said, does anyone have answers to the questions asked in the email?

    1. How can people verify the authenticity of a Zimbabwean passport?
    2. How can individuals charged with unknowingly obtaining a false passport prove their innocence?

    If you know the answers to these questions, please post them in the comments section below.

  • Passport Office Corruption and Fraudulent Zimbabwean Passports

    Passport Office Corruption and Fraudulent Zimbabwean Passports

    It has been reported that the Home Affairs co-minister Theresa Makone is set to investigate alleged corruption at the Registrar General’s Passport Office. This includes paying for passports at inflated prices and/or having to pay in order to be served.

    The minister went on to say that she was not aware of such practises which is absolute rubbish! It is a known fact that in order to get served in a timely manner or even get served at all in government departments you have to be prepared to part with money to get service.

    Even though corruption in itself is bad enough, it is the least of people’s worries when it comes to dealing with the passport office. After spending all of that hard earned money of yours to get a travel document you could end up with a fraudulent travel document. Being in possession of a fake Zimbabwean passport or emergency travel document could get you into more trouble and stress than you bargained for (The consequences of being stopped with a fake travel document in or out of Zimbabwe can be left to your imagination).

    This is a Zimbabwe passport applicant BEWARE warning. Having to pay corrupt officials is the least of your worries. You need to be sure that you are getting a genuine document.

    Below is an image of the details page of a fraudulent Zimbabwean passport [sensitive information has been removed]. Can you spot any differences?

    (click on image for large view)

    Fraudulent-Fake-Zimbabwe-Passport

    Post idea and image of fraudulent document supplied by an anonymous contributor. Contribute to Living Zimbabwe.

  • Zimbabwe’s Commuter Omnibus Death Traps

    Zimbabwe’s Commuter Omnibus Death Traps

    Commuter omnibuses are a common mode of transportation for many Zimbabweans. If you go into Harare’s CBD you will see them everywhere. In a vehicle such as a Toyota Hiace which is typically built to seat 15 people you can expect to find 20 people packed into one. They may not be the safest form of transportation but people have no choice but to take them in order to get around.

    A number of the commuters on the road are clearly not road worthy which is a recipe for disaster. To add to that, they are driven by people who seem to have a sense of owing the road and can do whatever they want. Watching what they do as they go along their daily activities is scary! You can expect to them operating in the following ways:

    1. Speeding; you can be going 120km/h and have one or two zoom past you as they overtake even though they are only allowed to travel at a maximum of 80km/h (as you can see from the photo taken at night of a vehicle with its brake lights not working).
    2. Drivers competing against each other with total disregard for the road rules such as when overtaking other vehicles not travelling fast enough for their liking. You can have one overtaking to the right as they should but pretty much into oncoming traffic and another brave driver deciding to try his luck off to the side of the road on the left.
    3. Front and rear lights not functioning properly (this is very common with a number of vehicles on the roads of Zimbabwe)

    (click on image for large view)

    Other motorists who have the right of way have to do a bit of defensive driving or give way to commuters. If you don’t, you may end up in a situation you don’t want to be in which could be verbal abuse, a near miss of even a crash.

    All of this put together with a vehicle that is full of people packed liked sardines results in carnage. A lot of the traffic crashes in Zimbabwe involve commuter omnibuses and many lives are lost in one go.

    The Zimbabwe Republic Police have been trying to get unroadworthy commuters off the road and at the same time clamp down on unlicensed drivers in an operation called “100 CBD Decongestion”. How effective such an operation will be should interesting. Corruption is high and the police are very good at turning a blind eye if you have the money.

    If any form of order with respect to commuters will ever be returned is yet to be seen. One question still remains, will commuter drivers ever realise that they are putting the lives of their passengers at risk?

  • Air Zimbabwe Boeing 767-200ER & 737-200 at Harare International Airport

    Air Zimbabwe Boeing 767-200ER & 737-200 at Harare International Airport

    Here are two Air Zimbabwe aircraft in the maintenance area at Harare International Airport. As with just about everything else in Zimbabwe, the national airline was not immune to events in Zimbabwe. It is plagued by a number of problems ranging from mismanagement to not being able to pay off huge debts. How they manage to keep in the skies is a mystery.

    Air Zimbabwe 737-200

    Air Zimbabwe 767-200ER

  • Potholes On The Streets of Zimbabwe

    Potholes On The Streets of Zimbabwe

    One thing that you will be hard pressed to not find on the streets of Harare are potholes. Some roads are good with only one or two potholes here and there whilst others are really bad to the point where no matter what you do, you wont be able to avoid them (click on images for larger view).

    When looking at and thinking about the state of the roads the notion of thinking about where to start fixing them is overwhelming! Surprisingly enough though, earlier in the year, it looked like strides were being made to get the roads back to an acceptable and safe standard. After driving down roads on a regular basis, you get to know where all the potholes are and how to avoid them but some potholes on various roads were being filled in with tar and the funny thing is that it felt odd to be driving down them and not have to play the game of dodging potholes.

    Before then, some people took it upon themselves to try and improve the conditions of certain stretches of road by filling the potholes with concrete or ruble. This was only probably being done because it may have been the road that they live on or use on a regular basis and have a vested interest in the longevity of their vehicles. People who have been unlucky enough to hit a pothole hard enough have come off second best with two flat tyres, cracked rims, cracked suspensions and the list goes on.

    Some people have gone as far as trying to capitalize on the situation to try and make a few dollars. One such scenario was when two men took it upon themselves to fill a relatively big pothole in the middle of a busy road. The pair worked away breaking bricks with metal poles with home made cardboard signs on either side of them that read something along the lines of ‘filling potholes voluntarily and donations of $1 or 50c are kindly accepted’. I didn’t see anyone stop to make a donation.

    It is going to take a lot to get the roads of Zimbabwe back to an acceptable and safe condition. In the meanwhile it is going to continue to cost vehicle owners a fair amount of money as they try to keep up with repairing damage caused by potholes.