South Africa | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Solving The Zimbabwe Crisis, One Person At A Time

Published April 24, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Three weeks ago, the East African country of Zimbabwe held a Presidential election. By all accounts, incumbent President Robert Mugabe was soundly defeated, however his administration has so far refused to release the official results of the election. Instead, Mugabe’s corrupt government has unleashed a brutal campaign to retain power. The opposition says that ten have died, and hundreds have been injured; now, a “human wave” of refugees is fleeing to South Africa and other neighboring countries and Zimbabwe’s crisis is getting worse.

I traveled to Zimbabwe last year and it is one of my all-time favorite destinations. Everyone I met was quick to smile and thrilled that I was visiting their country. By the end of my stay, I felt I had made wonderful, lifetime friends. In view of the current situation, I have been especially concerned for their safety and have tried to stay in touch. The following is an excerpt from an email I recently received from one of my Zimbabwean friends, who shall remain nameless, for obvious reasons:

“Our President has been compared to the likes of Saddam, which is scary to think we had such a man rule us for 28 years. Everyone in the country wants peace and a normal economy once again, regardless of race or social circles. At this point people are getting frustrated and Continue reading →

You might also like:

I Dream Of Africa

Off On Safari - New Photos In Library

Three Words - African Countries

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

News From Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Posted in Africa travel |

Tagged Avaaz.org, China, Mbeki, petition, Robert Mugabe, SADC, South Africa, weapons, Zimbabwe |

Three Words – African Countries

Published July 27, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

As I leave Africa and wing my way toward Switzerland, I have been thinking about the three words I will assign to each of the African countries I have visited. I have decided not to do this for Zambia, for I only spent a couple hours in this country and then only in the Victoria Falls East Cataract National Park, so I don’t feel that I had adequate exposure to the country to really get a sense of it. However, the following are the words I have chosen for the rest of the African countries I visited: Continue reading →

You might also like:

Off On Safari - New Photos In Library

The Serengeti - Survival Of The Fittest

Arusha, Earthquakes And Mount Kilimanjaro

Barefoot And Brainless

Photo Library For Tanzania And Zanzibar

Posted in Africa travel |

Tagged Africa, Around The World, Botswana, Free Spirit, South Africa, Tanzania, Three Words, Travel, Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe |

South Africa – Not My Cup Of Tea

Published July 2, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

Within 15 minutes of landing at Johannesburg Airport in South Africa someone tried to scam me. As usual, I headed directly to the ATM machine to get local currency with my bank card. Upon completing my transaction, a woman approached me, saying she was having trouble getting the ATM to take her card and asking me to show her how I got mine to work. This was an elaborate ruse, complete with much rubbing of the magnetic strip on her card against her pants to clean it, etc. It was obvious to me that I was being played. To begin with, she was putting the card in the machine backwards. They attempt to get you to demonstrate how it is done with your card, then deftly swap the cards. I pointed out that she needed to turn the card around. She continued to make much ado about the situation, rubbing the magnetic strip again.

By that point, it was amusing because the whole thing was so lame, so I played along until she finally turned the card around. I then walked to the middle of the corridor, crossed my arms and looked directly at her. Each time she checked over her shoulder to see if I had left I looked her directly in the eye. I had no intention of leaving until she actually took some money out. From this vantage point I could see she had an accomplice – a man across the corridor. She finally walked away with a single bill in her hand. I reported her to the police but they had no interest in doing anything about it.

This is just the tip of the iceberg in South Africa. The country is crime-ridden and corrupt beyond belief. I spoke to many local people who lamented the situation but have no idea how to change it. Even the taxi driver who took me to the airport in Cape Town tried to scam me with a ridiculous story about how he forgot to turn on the meter so he would ONLY charge me a flat rate of 180 Rand, which is cheaper than any of the other taxi companies, blah, blah, blah. I told him to Continue reading →