Decaying Nation

So where does Mugabe fit into all of this? At first glance, the 83-year-old autocrat doesn't appear to have lost any of his swagger. Earlier this month, Mugabe allegedly threatened to withdraw from the regional alliance known as the Southern African Development Community (SADC)—a move that would have been tantamount to political and economic suicide. "It's like saying stop the world, I want to get off," quipped one Zimbabwean with knowledge of the threat, "There's no possibility of that, he's stuck." Another option being quietly discussed among the continent's leaders is Mugabe's eventual "retirement." In this scenario, Mugabe would appoint someone to take his place as the ZANU-PF candidate next spring or summer and he would quietly withdraw, possibly with some assurances of immunity, or at least protection within Zimbabwe's borders. Ironically, Mugabe's departure could also make a bad situation worse. ZANU-PF is a divided party, and without a strong figure at the helm, the divisions within its ranks could become too big for anyone to handle. For now, the big question remains how much longer can the country founder before it finally sinks into total anarchy? For ordinary Zimbabweans, life has become a nightmare. A bus fare from Bulawayo to Harare is 2 million Zim dollars—an impossibly high figure in a country that in many parts has moved onto the barter system. Fuel has virtually disappeared. Last month, 3,200 teachers left their jobs. Medical facilities are running out of drugs, cleaning materials and linen. The country's nearly 2 million HIV-positive people are unable to maintain high-protein diets. In some places, people are dying of hunger. At a small South African town called Messina, near the Zimbabwean border, a group that describes itself as an underground pro-democracy movement put up a roadside billboard with a message for arriving immigrants. WE KNOW WHY YOU'RE IN SOUTH AFRICA, it reads, LIFE IN ZIMBABWE IS MURDER THESE DAYS.

© 2007