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No soap, no bread. Welcome to Zimbabwe
Posted on 22-10-2008
Climbing up the stairs leading from the tarmac to the arrival hall of Harare International Airport, one gets a feeling as if entering a funeral parlour.
It must be the combination of the black marble the steps are made of plus the big black arch with white letters saying Welcome to Zimbabwe (but it could as well be 'Rest in peace') which would not look out of place in a cremation hall or a mausoleum. Especially with the given lighting arrangements in place, i.e. no lights at all except for the natural light coming in rather reluctantly from the outside.
As if that was not scary enough, there was a further non-pleasant surprise waiting for us when it transpired that Zimbabwean immmigration policy does not allow citizens of Morocco and Nepal to obtain visa on arrival. Or so we were told.
Frozen
"You have to go back to your country to get the visa," was the immigration officer's advice to Driss (and Radha, by extension) - and the entire Stop Child Labour Campaign's Africa Tour seemed to have frozen in its tracks for a moment.
Luckily enough, our guardian angel Overson from Hivos's Harare office was at hand to help solve the matter. Guess what - the visa can be obtained on the spot after all, but it will set you back one hundred US dollars as opposed to the regular fee of thirty bucks.
No soap
A steady flow of news updates on Zimbabwe's record-breaking hyperinflation aside, it is not until you see a cleaning lady at the airport's restrooms shrug her shoulders with a mantra-like excuse 'No soap, no soap' that you get the full picture.
Later on, we were to hear a similarly adamant 'No bread, no bread' from a waiter in a hotel restaurant when we ordered a carrot soup. And it is hardly satisfying to wash your dinner down with a beer when you know that its price exceeds the equivalent of many local teachers' monthly wage.
Fight during crisis
How does one square the reality of Zimbabwe's continuing economic crisis with the fight against child labour? It will be a challenge, but the delegation is ready to take it on, strenghtened by the previous experience and useful feedback from Morocco and especially Ethiopia.
Enthusiasm and determination of the campaign's roving ambassadors are certainly not in short supply, even in this 'no this, no that' country.
Nadia and Pavel
Climbing up the stairs leading from the tarmac to the arrival hall of Harare International Airport, one gets a feeling as if entering a funeral parlour. It must be the combination of the black marble the steps are made of plus the big black arch with white letters saying Welcome to Zimbabwe (but it could as well be 'Rest in peace') which would not look out of place in a cremation hall or a mausoleum. Especially with the given lighting arrangements in place, i.e. no lights at all except for the natural light coming in rather reluctantly from the outside.
As if that was not scary enough, there was a further non-pleasant surprise waiting for us when it transpired that Zimbabwean immmigration policy does not allow citizens of Morocco and Nepal to obtain visa on arrival. Or so we were told.
Frozen
"You have to go back to your country to get the visa," was the immigration officer's advice to Driss (and Radha, by extension) - and the entire Stop Child Labour Campaign's Africa Tour seemed to have frozen in its tracks for a moment.
Luckily enough, our guardian angel Overson from Hivos's Harare office was at hand to help solve the matter. Guess what - the visa can be obtained on the spot after all, but it will set you back one hundred US dollars as opposed to the regular fee of thirty bucks.
No soap
A steady flow of news updates on Zimbabwe's record-breaking hyperinflation aside, it is not until you see a cleaning lady at the airport's restrooms shrug her shoulders with a mantra-like excuse 'No soap, no soap' that you get the full picture.
Later on, we were to hear a similarly adamant 'No bread, no bread' from a waiter in a hotel restaurant when we ordered a carrot soup. And it is hardly satisfying to wash your dinner down with a beer when you know that its price exceeds the equivalent of many local teachers' monthly wage.
Fight during crisis
How does one square the reality of Zimbabwe's continuing economic crisis with the fight against child labour? It will be a challenge, but the delegation is ready to take it on, strenghtened by the previous experience and useful feedback from Morocco and especially Ethiopia.
Enthusiasm and determination of the campaign's roving ambassadors are certainly not in short supply, even in this 'no this, no that' country.
Nadia and Pavel
