'Anything's better than what we've got now'
Updated on 13 September 2008
We should have been celebrating a power sharing deal but the passport office queues were longer than ever, writes Zimbabwe blogger Helen.
The morning after a power sharing deal between the MDC and Zanu PF was agreed in Harare, one British pound was fetching twenty six thousand Zimbabwe dollars on the black market.
In reality that British pound should be worth 260 quadrillion Zimbabwe dollars because 10 zeroes were recently removed from the currency. But those figures are just too absurd for every day life.
Just a month ago even the least educated people were talking and calculating in trillions, but we've all very quickly reverted to thinking in hundreds and thousands again.
In fact it wouldn't be too far from the truth to compare the Zimbabwe dollar to those sweet sprinklings (hundreds and thousands) used in cake decorating.
There was no sign of jubilation or euphoria on the streets on the day after the power sharing deal was agreed. In fact the mood was more cautious, skeptical and not very optimistic that it could work.
There are a lot of questions. Impunity is uppermost: "What about the people who did all the violence? The burning, rape, looting, torture," one man said. "Will they just get away with it all?"
Timing is another: "How soon will I be able to afford to buy food again? How soon before there is any food to buy in the shops again?" a woman asked.
Disbelief in the ability of Zanu PF and MDC to work together is widespread.
Disbelief in the ability of Zanu PF and MDC to work together is widespread: "They'll just argue about everything and nothing will improve."
"Anything's better than what we've got now" is the most commonly expressed sentiment and it is food, money and medicines that dominates every minute of our lives and our conversations.
We are only allowed to withdraw 500 Zimbabwe dollars a day from the banks which, at today's exchange rate, is equivalent to just two British pence.
Assuming you can afford to get to the bank, assuming the bank have cash and assuming you can spare two hours to queue, with Z$500 I can buy four and half fresh eggs!
This is today's price only, it changes every day. One friend I met told me excitedly that a new market had opened up selling cracked eggs for 32 dollars each.
"Who cares about germs and salmonella when you're hungry" she said.
A teacher I met told me her pay is presently Z$9000 a month (less than 50 British pence a month) She is an epileptic and her tablets cost Z$22 000 a month - more than double her entire monthly salary.
She needs three tablets a day but with each single pill costing $244 she can only get 2 with the maximum withdrawal limit of five hundred dollars.
These are the daily issues that Zimbabweans need resolved right now and on the day when we should have been celebrating a power sharing deal, the queues outside the passport office were longer than ever.
