Zimbabwe: Voices from a basket case

"We have been waiting for bread for nearly two hours in a rubbish-strewn lane behind a supermarket. It is mid-morning, the sun blazing down on the 50 or so people in line, when three policemen stroll to the front. A rumble of discontent rolls along the line like a thunderstorm.

In Zimbabwe, where runaway hyperinflation has reached 7,900 per cent and people have used their entire savings just buying food, life has been reduced to this: the queue."

Moses Moyo

"After a prolonged drought and very short rainy seasons (if they happen), Zimbabwe is experiencing real troubles with water. Parts of Bulawayo are dry; you may be living in a modern house with very beautiful fittings in the bathroom, but you may only get a trickle of water once a week out of said fittings."

Shona Tiger

"My doctor put me on an antibiotic and a course of vitamin B injections. She was very kind and understanding of my pecuniary circumstances, and charged me only Z$1m (£1.80) for the consultation and first injection. The pharmacist wasn't so sympathetic. My monthly medication and the antibiotic came to more than Z$13m. I came home with my bag (we don't use purses here any more; they're simply too small) a good deal lighter than when I went out (Z$14m is a lot of notes) and found an electricity cut."

My Paradise Lost

"Grow your own vegetable garden. When you see something in stock – buy it all. Freewheel downhill (the angel gear) whenever possible and save fuel, coz you're not going to get a refill any time soon. Cut down your garden trees for firewood, due to having a maximum of three days of power in the capital a week. Drive to Mozambique for a monthly grocery shop, but make sure to hide it carefully, so that the police don't confiscate it on the grounds of "hoarding". Fill up your bathtub with water, because the two-day water shortages make one very stinky toilet. Most importantly, get used to eating pork sausages."

Fat Cat

I looked at the menu [in Meikles Hotel] and saw that a toasted sandwich cost Z$1.3m, which means that a teacher's salary is equivalent to about 12 toasted sandwiches per month. I thought I'd rather go for a piece of anchovy toast, some Marmite toast and a coffee. The waiter returned five minutes later to say that there wasn't any anchovy, so I changed my order to Marmite toast and a scone. The waiter returned to say that there wasn't any Marmite. So I had a scone, without butter. And this is a five-star hotel."

Bev Clark

"Chipo left her two starving children with their grandmother to go to Botswana. She says: "I shed my tears before embarking on the 760km journey to Gaborone. Right now, I don't know whether my children have had a decent meal during the past three weeks, because my grandmother is poor and she receives Z$100,000 per month from the Department of Social Welfare. This is hardly enough to buy two loaves of bread."

Mike Coleman

"In my home town this week there was air freshener, window cleaner, some vegetables, Indonesian toothpaste and imported cornflakes from South Africa – one single packet costing more than half of a teacher's monthly salary."

Cathy Buckle

"A friend volunteered for a few months to do household surveys of rural families in Masvingo. The main focus was to find out how they were being affected by HIV/Aids, and what kind of coping strategies they had developed. She was shocked by how poorly the majority were doing. HIV was hitting the adult population hard, making it difficult to carry out the basic chores and activities needed to survive. When the price controls hit and goods vanished off the shelves, relatives and caregivers in many cases stopped visiting."

Amanda Attwood

"At Chicken Inn, two street kids were begging food from a fat woman. The woman scowled and drew her food closer, shouting at the security guard to "come and do your job!" The guard, who looked hungry himself, used his baton on one of the urchins, but they suddenly returned with four others. He stood there helplessly as they swarmed all over the woman's table. She stood up, clutching chicken pieces to her bosom and shouting obscenities at the departing figures. Surprisingly, she continued to eat, ignoring the guard's suggestion to move to a safer table indoors. But then a whole pack of street kids surrounded her, grabbing everything, including the piece she was holding to her mouth."

Natasha Msonza

"A friend had 100 tractor tyres he purchased three years ago, and has been selling them. He bought them for Z$50,000, equivalent to 500 [South African] rand at that time. The police accused him of hoarding and wanted to see the purchase invoice. The government insists only 20 per cent mark-up is allowed, so they told him to sell the tyres for Z$60,000 each. That is equivalent to R3 today, so his loss is R49,700. But the worst part is that the police phone all their friends once they discover situations like the one above. Government officials purchased all the tyres and sold them on the black market for R900 each. They are profiteering at the expense of the economy."

Rat

"I am safe [in Johannesburg], but am very worried about my wife and children because of the food situation in Zimbabwe, and try and send them as much as I am able, so that they can survive. I want South Africa... and the rest of the world to put pressure on the government of Zimbabwe to ensure that there are free and fair elections. If this happens, I have no doubt that the Mugabe government will be defeated, and I will be able to go home and live with my family."

Sokwanele

Further reading: 'Mugabe: Power, Plunder and the Struggle for Zimbabwe's future' by Martin Meredith, £8.99