Untukmu Para Pengunjung

Yesterday I spent the morning at a senior citizens' home here in Harare. The site was quite beautiful. The whole time I was there, I kind of felt like I was in a different country. This was because 1. the place was so nice and well-kept and 2. almost all of the residents were white. It was interesting to talk with a number of them. I sensed such a profound disenfranchisement. It's easy to look at the history of Zimbabwe and look at the whites as the bad guys. I guess yesterday I was thinking about what happens when the bad guys get old. I was thinking about their loss - most of their family members have left the country, most of their friends have either died or left the country, and they've also lost the country that they once knew. Pensions are deplorable in this country, and they know they're not really wanted here. When asked about the challenges in her life, one of the little old ladies I met said simply, "I guess the biggest challenge is just not to give up, and to keep on wanting to live every day."