On our last day in Victoria Falls we got up early and went on an Elephant ride. The Elephant that I rode was named Malakah and he was 10 years old. I thought that this was old for an Elephant but apparently many of them live well into their 60’s. The Elephants were very well behaved and very obedient to their respective trainers. While on the Elephant ride I started to have a conversation with the trainer who was sitting in front of me and controlling the Elephant. I started talking to him about the economic situation in Zimbabwe and he was telling me how bad the unemployment rate was at 80%. The inflation rate annually is around 100,000% and they have money notes that number in the trillions of dollars that are only worth pennies compared to USD. It is strange to see currency that is literally numbered in trillions and billions. The AIDS epidemic is so high that the life expectancy for females is only 34. President Mugabe has been in office since for many decades due to rigged elections and has run the country into the ground. The situation is similar to Lybia and Egypt so it is possible that Zimbabwe will be the next African nation to erupt and fight back against a useless dictator that does nothing for its people. Really a wide opening experience to be in Zimbabwe and see firsthand the hardship that many have to overcome. You can read more about the problems Zimbabwe faces at http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/zimbabwe/index.htmlTuesday, June 14, 2011
Elephants
On our last day in Victoria Falls we got up early and went on an Elephant ride. The Elephant that I rode was named Malakah and he was 10 years old. I thought that this was old for an Elephant but apparently many of them live well into their 60’s. The Elephants were very well behaved and very obedient to their respective trainers. While on the Elephant ride I started to have a conversation with the trainer who was sitting in front of me and controlling the Elephant. I started talking to him about the economic situation in Zimbabwe and he was telling me how bad the unemployment rate was at 80%. The inflation rate annually is around 100,000% and they have money notes that number in the trillions of dollars that are only worth pennies compared to USD. It is strange to see currency that is literally numbered in trillions and billions. The AIDS epidemic is so high that the life expectancy for females is only 34. President Mugabe has been in office since for many decades due to rigged elections and has run the country into the ground. The situation is similar to Lybia and Egypt so it is possible that Zimbabwe will be the next African nation to erupt and fight back against a useless dictator that does nothing for its people. Really a wide opening experience to be in Zimbabwe and see firsthand the hardship that many have to overcome. You can read more about the problems Zimbabwe faces at http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/zimbabwe/index.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Wow Nick, that's crazy! And we think the unemployment rate here is high!! I just hope everything stays stable while you guys are there... It is a really sad situation.
ReplyDeleteTara went to Africa a few years ago to teach a local village about AIDS prevention - I think its really important to spread the news about the dangers of that disease. Have you seen a lot of international volunteer groups there?
In fact, Tara in in Ghana right now! She just got there last week. You should send her a Facebook message, maybe you guys can meet up?
I look forward to your next updates. I miss you both a lot - I can't wait until you guys come back!! Say hi to Daniel!