HELGA'S 72 HOURS IN HARARE
DAY ONE - MONDAY 21st JULY 2008
Hour 1. 2-30pm to 3-30pm
On the plane as we start our descent into Harare International Airport, we filled out our immigration forms. The land from the air looks dry - much of it unfarmed. There are patches of green here and there. There seems to have been some rain because you can see water in rivers, but the surrounding areas are not green. Numerous fires are dotted across the landscape, as the poor burn out small animals for food. This is the land of my birth. I am arriving after 23 years away... we are about to land. I hope there are no potholes on the runway! Touchdown!! The time is 2-32pm. The tarmac looks okay. The airport is quiet. We see 3 aeroplanes on the tarmac. We are the 4th! There is a Welcome to Zimbabwe sign on the control tower! The terminal building is large, modern and empty. I'm travelling with my brother, Julian and we walk to the visitors entrance for passport control. We don't know if we have to pay for a visa when we are travelling on South African passports. We are slightly tense. We finally get to the counter and the polite Zimbabwean passport official, checks our passports, stamps them and waves us on our way. We are relieved. Our luggage is waiting for us. We load it onto the trolley and march through the Nothing to Declare. No problem. And then there is my Dad and Stepmom, Miriam, warmly welcoming us the city they have called home for more than 4 decades. Dad is using a stick after a recent mild stroke. He is slower but otherwise looks well. The car is an archaeic Ford Escort 1300, blue in colour and having seen better days!
After we leave the airport, Miriam wants to stop at a place called Rollex, it's a warehouse in an industrial area next to the airport. My parents have not been here before. Apparently you can order groceries and pay for them in foreign currency. They want to find out more. At the first gate a friendly Zimbabwean lady stops us. She asks where we are going and why. We tell her. She then asks for some identification from each of us. Why? We're not sure, but we oblige! She lets us through. We enter more security and park. We discover that it will cost a minimum order of R3000 with lots of built in costs. My parents give that a miss. They can't afford it.
Hour 2. 3-30 to 4-30pm
We head home. It's not far away. I strain to recall the road on which we are travelling. It's smooth and impressive. I'm told it's because dignitaries travel it on a regular basis. The conversation turns to Cell phone airtime. Miriam explains that she bought airtime for her cell phone - she paid 15 billion Zim dollars and it only lasted ONE phone call! Ouch! Now she has 100 billion Zim dollars worth of airtime. Suddenly at the side of the road, there are dozens of personal affects scattered... couches and tables and all sorts of other things belonging to flat dwellers unable to meet their rent. They make do...living with their stuff on the side of the road!
A very potholed road takes us to a Spar store. We are going there to see what's available. We arrive and start climbing out, only to be told that they've closed the shop. There's no electricity. Dad tells me they've had no water for several days. They are hoping it will come on tomorrow. He doesn't think there will be electricity at home. We bounce along - the car does not have a great suspension. We arrived and Dad and Miriam's comfortable cottage in a small retirement village. The quietness of the village belies the poverty and disorganisation of the country. Dad presents me with a 50 million Zimbabwe dollar note. It's value in SA currency is so low that 3 will make up 1c!!! There is talk of a complete collapse of the Zimbabwe currency. Soon only foreign currency may be accepted. There's some discussion about the plans for the afternoon. We decide to head out to our old homes and schools. I'm excited. It's been almost 40 years since I started at Frank Johnson. All of us pile into the car and head off for our trip. After that we'll look for a place to have dinner.
Hour 3. 4-30 - 5-30pm
As we travel through Waterfalls I try recall the roads and places. Long horse rides across this part of Harare. The place is run down and loads of people milling about, going nowhere. There’s very little road maintenance in this part of the suburb. Potholes are everywhere! We drive further and surprisingly the road improves and there are signs of building. These homes apparently are being built by people who have family overseas to support them financially. The potholes in this area of the suburb have been repaired. We drive past my mom's old place of work. She used to be the matron at an old age home. It looks a bit run down and has seen better days but looks as if some gardening and maintenance has been done. I'm amused at how small it looks.
A short distance on and suddenly on my right appears the home I have thought about for a long time. 236 Cheviot Rd. Here I lived for only a few years of my early life. My first memories are based in this house. It's very run down and shabby. We walk through the hole in the Vibracrete wall. There's a swimming pool that wasn't there before. It is a nice pool but empty. We knock at the door but no one responds. We walk around the back and oooh and aaah at all that we remember. We notice much change. We discuss falling out of trees and bee stings, broken arms and waterbombs and learning how to ride bicycles. The house is smaller in size than I remember but that's because I was younger in age. It's surreal coming back here.... it takes me back to a different era. I lived in this house until I was about 8. Good times were had here. If I could have looked ahead, I would have told a young 8 year old Helga that there will be ups and downs in your life, but you will meet a Savior who's grace is enough.
Our journey takes us along the road, past the cycle track I rode so often, past Mrs Harris' Crystal Cafe. We drive on, turn right and there on the left is Frank Johnson Primary School. Everything feels so familiar now. All my primary school was done at FJ. We spring out the car and I take loads of pictures. We see the junior primary section. We tell the school staff I was here from 1970 to 1976 - before they were born!! We look at the feared Mrs. Gilchrist's classroom. It takes us back along memory lane. Wow. So many memories.
Hour 4 & 5: - 5-30 - 7-30pm
Next we go to the home I lived in from age 11 to 14. The pond at the front has been filled in. The two sheds at the back have been pulled down. An extra plot at the back has been sold and a house built. We speak to a young girl who lives in the outhouse - she is very surprised to see us, but says nothing. We visit Lord Malvern High School where I spend just over 2 years. It's also looking shabby but is not dilapidated. Loads of security here – obviously vandalism is a problem. We are pleased to see some maintenance - the main building has signs of repainting. The fields are barren and overgrown. The basketball courts and tennis courts no longer functioning. We chat to the security guard and I tell him I was at this school 30 years ago. He laughs and lets us through. The pool is green. The people we encounter are friendly but thin. We return to the car and head off to find a restaurant. The one selected is miles away. The sun is setting - it's 5-45pm. We drive along busy pot-holed roads. A main hazard is a lack of road markings. The roads are surprisingly busy. Considering fuel can only be paid for in foreign currency, many people have cars and the roads are scary at night. We drive for half an hour and arrive at the restaurant only to find that being a Monday night, it's closed! We turn around and find another restaurant. We don't have any Zimbabwean dollars on us, so we need to find another restaurant that will accept SA rands and still be reasonably priced. We don't want to be ripped off. The first option is really expensive, so we walk around the corner and find a more reasonable option. It is an Indian Restaurant called Sitar. They charge in US dollars, but they accommodate rands and are not too expensive. There's a sign that reads 'Today's Unit: 150 billion dollars'. The bill comes to 6 trillion dollars - $US39-90! There's also a sign that says that if you pay by cheque the price doubles. It was a good meal and we enjoy the evening! We settle the bill and head for home, to find the electricity is off. We sit in the quiet, and chat by candlelight.
Hour 6: - 8-30 - 9-30pm
I use my Step mom's laptop to type up these first few hours. Half way through the electricity comes on and I complete the job. Now I'm off to wash in cold swimming pool water and I'll be off to bed to read. Hope to get some more blogging done on the laptop but with conditions here, nothing is guaranteed!
