Of all the things said about Christmas in Zimbabwe this year it was a statement from my friend’s mum that summed up the festive mood on my return home in December. “We are having a three-in-one Christmas this year, my son,” she beamed.
Still busy preparing the traditional Zimbabwe Christmas dish of plenty of rice and chicken, she explained her excitement. “You see, the past three years were a nightmare for us. Shops were empty and we had no money to celebrate this day. However, as you can see, things are different this time.”
She was right. Shops were packed with South African products — cooking oil, rice, sweets and beverages — all purchased with the South African rand, the now-common currency in my home town of Bulawayo. Gone is the dreaded Zimbabwe dollar and the awful black market that had characterised the country over the past few years while the Zimbabwean economy — and almost everything else — went to the dogs.
Those of us who chose not to heed the advice of our relatives and burdened our vehicles with heavy loads of basics for the family lived to regret it; nearly everything you could get in South Africa was available back home. In just under a year, the empty shelves in Zimbabwe had not only been filled, but new South African satellite shops had sprouted all over my home town, further killing the black market, which charged exorbitant prices for basic goods. And the stiff competition of shops ensured that prices of most essentials were comparable to the stores I use in Johannesburg.
Local salaries may still be dismally low — with the average worker taking home just US$100 (R730) a month Â- but the availability of products brought a glimpse of hope for a brighter future in the economically ravaged country.
For the first time in a long time children experienced a glimpse of the life we enjoyed at this time of the year when we were growing up. There were new clothes and lots of dancing to loud music as friends and relatives got together to celebrate. Zimbabweans are not big on Christmas trees, but love to decorate their homes with balloons, colourful ribbons and cards from loved ones.
And the return of Christmas festivities was not restricted to private homes — the quiet and gloomy Bulawayo CBD of 2008 was transformed into a hive of activity. Fast-food shops and liquor stores (selling mostly South African beverages) were clearly making a killing. The nightlife was welcome as people demonstrated their new-found status, thanks to the arrival of the rand and US dollar — much of it brought in by those in the diaspora, who are earning foreign currency and were spending it back home on their families.
Admittedly, Zimbabwe is a long way from the African breadbasket of yesteryear and it’s a pity that, for now, ordinary Zimbabweans’ measurement of success is merely finding food on the shelves. But every inquiry about how things were elicited a positive response. “We are fine now, everybody is eating,” was the usual answer. But then, this alone puts into perspective the level of suffering these people have endured.
Never mind a government of national unity that’s been in an uncertain state of flux for more than a year; that the streets are littered with potholes; unemployment is rampant at an estimated at 90%; buildings are in desperate need of basic maintenance and the country’s economy is running the risk of being dependent on South African products, Christmas this year gave a lot of Zimbabweans reason to celebrate, even if it was for just a day. Let’s hope it’s the sign of a happier new year.