No More Zimbabwe Safaris?

H

HankB

New member
A story at World Net Daily yesterday (06/25/02) said the State Department has prohibited U.S. travelers from taking firearms or ammunition to Zimbabwe. The story said returning travelers with firearms would probably get into trouble if they had a Zimbabwe stamp in their passport.

In theory, special permits "might" be issued for hunting, but in practice, the story said they would NOT actually be issuing the permits.

If you're planning or have booked a Zimbabwe hunt, better check up on this.

(Sorry I don't have the link . . . :( )
 
Have you paid one iota of attention to what's been going on in Zimbabwe? I wouldn't go to Zimbabwe with less than a battalion of Mean Motor Scooters armed with unlimited re-supply for full-auto stuff. And maybe a squadron of Wart Hogs.

Mugabe's attitude toward whites is about the same as Hamas toward Jews.

That whole country is total Thugville, with genocidal treatment of the white farmers.

Oh, well, it's only been going on for about three years, now...

Art
 
Art, I've been paying a LOT of attention to what's happening in Zimbabwe. I hunted there a number of years ago, and the country was obviously deteriorating, with nothing substantial added to the infrastructure since "majority rule."

But the people - even the bureaucrats I encountered, both black and white - all were courteous. (Though I got the subliminal impression that I d@mn well better be courteous in return . . . funny what kind of "vibes" you can pick up.)

I really enjoyed my trip back then, but for the last several years I would no more have gone to Zimbabwe than I would have set foot in Idi Amin's Uganda.

Take a look at http://africantears.netfirms.com/ for more info that CBSNBCABCMSNBC aren't telling us.

(BTW, things aren't all that much better in RSA. Well over 1000 white farmers have been murdered outright, and the country's crime rate has soared so much that crime statistics aren't even reported any more - they're a state secret!)
 
Going to a place like Zimbabwe is at this particular moment in time means exposing yourself--possibly purely by accident--to somebody in a position of "authority" who regards you as a walking target for whatever's on his mind. And you have no recourse, no protection, that you can rely on...

"Maybe, someday..."

Art
 
It's not so much black against white as it is Mugabe against everyone who doesn't worship him. He is getting more and more insane and more and more desperate to stay in power (reminds me of another dictator with a silly mustache, some 60 years ago). Comrade Mugabe (that is what he calls himself) and his goons have been murdering black Zimbabweans for 20 years, including wholesale massacres. This is not just a political thing, there is also an ethnic aspect to it. Most of the victims have been Ndebele, while Mugabe is Shona, the largest ethnic group in the country.

There are probably two reasons why the white part of the population were left (relatively) alone as long as they were. First, they were running the economy, without their business there would not be anything for Mugabe to steal. Second, murdering white farmers leads to bad publicity in the international media, which again leads to less aid money from abroad, aid money that these two bit dictators consider their personal income.

Too bad, it should have been a great country. It is a great country, the people I met were nice, they just need to do some serious weeding in the political landscape. I'd like to go back there some day...

BTW, I've been just yards away from the comrade himself. I was in a taxi in Harare when we were "overtaken" by the biggest freakin' motorcade I have ever seen (but then I come from a place where cabinet ministers are known to go to work by subway and bicycle :) ). The great leader was traveling with several dozen police cars and motorcycles and multiple truckloads of infantry(!) and according to the taxi driver this was if anything "low key". It must be great to feel so loved by the people that you need that kind of protection.
 
It's less a real need for protection, or even a perceived need. It's often nothing more than an ego trip to demonstrate one's power, one's ability to have such an entourage at one's beck and call.

Art
 
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