2008 Articles 25 Dec Kingdom Come 21 Dec Christmas 15 Dec Step Forward 5 Dec Beginning 1 Dec Amendment 30 Nov Facilitation 26 Nov Genocide 24 Nov Running Out 17 Nov Crisis 15 Nov Somalia 12 Nov What Next? 8 Nov Leadership 2 Nov Chipo 1 Nov Rome Burns 29 Oct Failure 25 Oct High Noon 19 Oct Never Easy 10 Oct Abyss 8 Oct Filibustering 4 Oct Chaos in Zim 29 Sept A Mule? 21 Sept On Step 16 Sept The End 12 Sept New Beginning 11 Sept Deal? 6 Sept Consequences 3 Sept Need a Deal 2 Sept Dollar Died 31 Aug Steering 29 Aug Unstuck 23 Aug Betrayed 18 Aug The Devil 13 Aug 13 Aug 08 12 Aug Today 11 Aug Cliffhanger 8 Aug Whats Going On 27 Jul Progress 22 Jul Agree to talk 21 Jul Mbeki kicks 16 Jul Crunch Time 13 Jul Economics 9 Jul Reality Looms 2 Jul Where? 30 Jun Looking Glass 26 Jun Battle 22 Jun What Now? 21 Jun The Commitment 16 Jun Do or Die 13 Jun Morning After 10 Jun Closing Doors 26 May Current Outlook 24 May Fan Club 19 May Tyranny 17 May End Game 15 May Flushing 8 May Violence 6 May Bizarre Process 25 Apr Cornered 20 Apr Electoral Fraud 19 Apr Jesse 17 Apr This Farce 11 Apr The Devil 6 Apr Wounded Buffalo 1 Apr Dying Kick 31 Mar Politcl Tsunami 27 Mar Current Situ. 26 Mar 4 days to go 21 Mar 8 days to go 15 Mar Election Time 27 Feb Games Begin 17 Feb Public Office 11 Feb Choices 4 Feb Decision Time 26 Jan Ambushed 25 Jan The Struggle 20 Jan Truth or Fiction 12 Jan Mugabe Mistake 8 Jan Surprise 2 Jan Kenya Lessons
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Surprised
The human experience should have told us all a long time ago that
harmony,
peace and prosperity are the exception rather than the norm in life.
When
something comes along that does meet our higher expectations we should
be
surprised and hopefully have a small window of opportunity to revel in
the
experience.
I had a slight stroke on Christmas day last week. A blood vessel in my
head
was blocked for several hours. I blacked out and came around in an
emergency
ward at a local clinic almost as if suddenly the lights had been turned
on
again! It was quite an experience - no pain and no warning, I even
sliced
the Christmas dinner before taking myself off to bed and then departing
to
other realms and waking up at 6 pm.
What surprised me was the quality of medical care I got. My specialist
was a
doctor refugee from the Sudan (Juba) and he could not have been more
professional and kind. The hospital staff was just great and the food
tasty
and well prepared. All the required equipment needed worked and was
available with trained and experienced staff - the wonders of private
enterprise! Nothing like this was available in the public sector.
I am now on medication and recovering, the doctor says my brain will
compensate for the tissue lost and I should get all my faculties back
shortly. I am grateful - and more determined than ever to ensure that
such
services are available to all once we get into government. Its not
difficult, we can afford it and all it needs is a decent government and
the
right systems and values.
I was also surprised by the first primaries in the US elections - a
favorite
of mine for some time, in fact since I first heard him speak at a major
conference in the States, Obama, has won the first primary and now
looks as
if he will win the next. It is not that I do not respect Hilary Clinton
and
would not like to see a woman in the White House for the first time,
but
Obama has such an extraordinary story and is so intelligent and
attractive
that I think he would not only make an excellent US President, but be
the
first African/American to enter the race and take the main seat of
power in
the USA.
The US has that capacity to surprise us, in the 60's I can remember
how the
US, staggering after the Vietnam debacle, picked itself up and
reinvented
itself. It was a prime example of a whole country remaking itself from
within and without the help of others or any major calamity at home.
Now out
of the blue comes this man, son of a Kenyan peasant farmer and an
American
mother, good looking, intelligent and black! He steps up to the plate,
becomes a Senator and then has a go at the Presidency - the story of
fairy
tales and its in real life.
Then the story of Kenya - a President who, faced with an electoral
defeat,
falsifies the results of the election to give himself a slight
majority, has
himself sworn in by Supreme Court Judges appointed just hours before
and
then assumes power and behaves as if all is normal. The Kenyans were
just
not going to take it - not any more and I heard today that with 500
deaths
and rioting on the streets for days on end, he has finally given in and
accepted that talks should take place to resolve the crisis in
leadership.
He did not get away with it - no matter what people say, the fraud
was
exposed and although messy, the outcome is being dealt with. Africa is
growing up!
Two months ago our City was dying - we were down to one supply dam
and about
20 per cent of our full requirements for water. Last year we had less
than
450 mm of rain and our dams were drying up. 700 000 people had to find
water
by hand from local boreholes and bowsers. Now we are in January and 450
mm
of rain has fallen in three moths - December has been one of the
wettest
months on record and our dams are filling again. The bush is
spectacular -
thick and luxurious and grass is growing even where we have not seen
grass
for years.
Global warming, the threat of declining rainfall and expanding deserts
and
here we are - surprised and ambushed by the wet season. We are now
short of
chemicals to treat the water - but we have water!
I am also constantly surprised by how people survive under the most
horrendous of circumstances. My personal inflation index is now sitting
at
56 000 percent. Our money is worthless - the highest denomination -
750 000
dollars just introduced is worth 20 US cents. In a situation where the
minimum wags is less than Z$35 million, milk is now Z$2,5 million a
litre,
meat about Z$5 million a kilo and fuel is Z$4 million a litre or more.
More critical are the physical shortages - you cannot buy the basic
staples
for love or money. Queuing is every day for everything. Yet people
survive
and even more - have fun doing it. Surprised! Yes - so am I! I know
people
who have everything that life can throw at you - money, a good job,
great
house, security and more. Yet they are miserable and unfulfilled.
For us life is tough and unrelenting but we are being constantly
surprised
by the achievement of the most ordinary of things. A glorious morning
after
a night of rain, water coming out of the taps, electricity on demand
-
occasionally. The pleasure of simple relationships and care for each
other,
the unity of the suffering and oppressed. A shared moment in a queue
- and
the achievement of the purchase of essential needs.
The right to vote and speak our minds, do we know what these simple
rights
mean? Only if you do not have them, when you do, they are as sweet as
honey.
One day we will be able to march down the street with a banner that
says 'go
and find yourself' and not be arrested or beaten. One day, perhaps
soon, we
will change our world by simply exercising our rights as a people to
choose
the leadership we want. What a day that will be - what a great
surprise that
will be for all of us!
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 7th January 2008
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