AFTER his travel diary following a visit to Zimbabwe in November 2009 [DAY 1; DAY 2; DAY 3; DAY 4; DAY 5], Scott Ramsay returned recently and travelled for four weeks in the western parts of the country, discovering deserted tourist attractions, plenty of welcoming locals and more than a few roadblocks.
Want to find out what it’s like to travel in Zimbabwe at the moment. Can you have a good time in the country? Are visitors welcome? Is it safe? Is there fuel? Is there food? How bad is the poaching?
In his new diaries, Ramsay hopes to answer those questions. This is Part 1
“There’s a problem”, said Mr Chiworese, the immigration official at Zimbabwe’s border post at Plumtree. “You’re a photographer. What are you doing here?”
I answered as honestly as I could: that I was travelling to Zimbabwe for several weeks, to write and photograph a series of travel articles. I showed him my letter of accreditation from the Minister of Information, something that all photojournalists require when visiting Zimbabwe. Without it, journalists risk being arrested.
“There’s another problem,” he said again. “The letter isn’t stamped.”
Indeed, the letter wasn’t stamped. I tried to explain that I had followed all the procedures as a visiting photojournalist. Officials at the government-run Zimbabwe Tourism knew of my visit, and they had informed the Ministry of Information, which had sent me the clearance letter.
“It doesn’t matter – your letter must be stamped,” Chiworese firmly shot back.
My passport was taken away to a back office, while I waited. The queue at the border post wasn’t long. A few returning locals and a South African couple were moving quickly through the passport-stamping process.
To get to Zimbabwe, I had deliberately driven through Botswana to miss the severe delays at the Beitbridge border post. Instead of waiting for several hours (or several days, in some reported cases), you can move through Plumtree border post in a matter of minutes. Now I was regretting writing “Photojournalist” as my profession on the arrivals form.
After twenty minutes, Chiworese returned with my passport. It was stamped, allowing me just two days in the country – enough time, according to him, to drive to Harare and present myself to the Minister of Information, have the accreditation letter stamped, and then return to Plumtree to have my passport stamped again for the full four weeks of my intended stay.
Before I could explain that I wasn’t going to Harare, that my destination was in fact Bulawayo, Chiworese handed my passport back to me. “Welcome to Zimbabwe,” he said.
Mr Mugabe’s gaze
I arrived in Bulawayo, and called the helpful Lizzie Murandu from Zimbabwe Tourism. After telling her about my border hassles, she took me to Mr Kanjera, the principal immigration officer in Bulawayo. While Lizzie explained my presence in Zimbabwe, I caught the gaze of Robert Mugabe, whose large photo hung on the office wall behind Kanjera’s desk.
As I was to discover, his bespectacled portrait hangs in the entrance of every government-run institution - and almost every lodge and hotel. Even though Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition MDC is now officially “sharing power” with Mugabe, travellers are never in any doubt as to who runs the country.
Kanjera stamped my passport for the full four weeks of my intended stay, but not before I made a verbal bungle. Trying to be friendly, I had greeted him in some basic Shona (“Makadini” – “How are you”). He looked non-plussed. Afterwards, Lizzie laughed. “He’s Ndebele. When you travel to Zimbabwe, it’s important to speak a bit of Ndebele, as well as Shona.”
Don’t miss the second instalment of Ramsay’s Diary on Thursday