For a while last year, Zimbabwe’s problems concerned the world press. After all, white people, “farmers”, were killed. Disaster stories always sell.
Nowadays people are still dying, especially black people, but where are the headlines? What about nature and wildlife, for which Africa is
well known? Zimbabwe, up to two years ago, was a country visited by tourists to view the natural splendours like Victoria Falls, or one of the many beautiful National Parks.Tourists were coming in droves. Environmental studies were begun because there were too many people in certain areas, like the Falls. Now, it's 2001 and what has happened to Zimbabwe?There is the odd mention in the first world media spots but Zimbabwe is old news now-just another African country that is falling apart. The world doesn’t really care. Yet there are those of us that live here, both black and white, that do care. In fact, we care so much it's breaking our hearts. Intimidation is the name of the game; conmen an every day occurrence. Beatings and murders still continue but it’s not so publicised anymore. If you do not carry the right party card, the police can stop you at a roadblock and hurt you if they feel like it. Is this Africa or is it a bad dream from the cold war days!?
Let us talk now about animals. After all, most Europeans think of Africa as wild animal land. We all know that Mozambique and many other African countries lost their entire main populations of animals during their own wars, but wasn’t that twenty or so years ago? Are we not now living in “progressive times”? Surely, man learns from history? Sadly that is not the case. Dear, calm, happy, peaceful Zimbabwe is following in the steps of its neighbour Mozambique: no infrastructure, economy collapsing daily, people barely surviving , and the animals...what about the animals?
Here in the Save Valley Conservancy supposed agreements have been reached. Top Ministers representing government have visited and talked. Many meetings have been held. Some kind of mutual decision has been made, one that should benefit not only this million-acre wildlife area and the owners of that land, but the people- the black people who live next door. The top men have told the people, "Look, agreements have been made. You will get an extra 90,000 acres taken from this conservancy for you people. We will organise Camp Fire for further benefits for the people. We will bring in neighbouring villages to work at repairing the fence that surrounds this conservancy." We will do this, we will do that.
The reality is very different. Poachers, who use intimidation- not men poaching to feed their families, but hoodlums- see that Pandora’s box has been opened and that they can only gain. After all, if they come into this wildlife area to kill the animals- who is going to stop them? Those of us who live here are told that the leaders of the war veterans, the big men, will stop this killing. We are told that they control these poachers. In fact, the other day one said “They are only poachers, we can handle them.” But that’s not what happens on the ground.
For example, three weeks ago my husband and I were patrolling upstream of our home, checking that all was safe for the hippos who are under our care. We found a freshly dead female kudu (an antelope) hanging from a snare. A snare is a wire noose attached to a tree. When the animal goes to browse a leaf, it finds its neck caught, pulls back and the noose tightens until the animal either breaks the attached wire and dies a lingering death as the remaining noose chokes its life away, or dies like this female attached to the wire- hanging from its struggle to be free. We walked around the area and found another 20 snares, with three more dead animals: two kudu’s and one impala. These animals had been dead for at least two weeks. No poacher had bothered to recover his spoil. We then found two snares set on the evening hippo path; fortunately no hippo had used that trail. Then, I saw movement.
To the right of the dead female, a shape appeared hidden in the grass. It was a live kudu female baby, about seven weeks of age. She was nervous, like any wild animal. Where was her mum (hanging from a tree), what could she do? We were the enemy- humans not to be trusted. For four days I tried to gain her trust. If you chase a young baby, it can go into shock and die but she still had enough life in her to run if my approach was too close. On the fifth day she disappeared.Three weeks later I went back into the area and there she was. She has survived. She is thin, very thin, but alive and still lively enough to run away from the human enemy. I cannot save her. She has to take her chance. She may survive but be stunted. Fortunately she browses or she would already be dead.
In the meantime, the owner of that piece of land sent his game scouts back to check for further snares. They found 131! Then, for a few days no more were located. The owner had removed his scouts because of what is happening in this conservancy. Poachers now work in groups of up to 30 men. They scour an area, working singularly laying their snares, shooting with their bows and arrows at any bird or animal they see, or using the catapults they all carry. They remove the meat as a group and make a lot of money selling it to the highest bidder. Before anarchy reached our country, poachers were minimal. Perhaps there was the odd man out for meat for his family, who was reprimanded and sent home, hopefully to not return. Or maybe someone employed him to help him out.
These days poaching is big business. The poachers say they are the bosses, they are the masters. They listen to nobody, especially not the war veterans. They laugh at them. The police are on the side of lawlessness. If a scout tries to protect himself against a poacher, it is the scout who ends up in jail, not the poacher! For example, two days ago, one group of game scouts, 6 total including the headman-an Ndebele from a different part of the Country- were patrolling 2kms from our home. They suddenly found themselves ambushed by 20 poachers who had snuck up on them. Most of the scouts ran away knowing that if they used their shotguns in defence it would be them who ended up in jail. The Ndebele stood his ground and the poachers grabbed him. They used a catapult from close range to shoot at his mouth, breaking off three of his front teeth. Then, they beat him around his head with sticks and set their dogs on him. Finally, they let him go, telling him- “We do not want you here! We can handle the Shona game scouts, they are afraid of us and run away. But you are trouble, so this is a warning: You leave your employment and go or you will die!” The war veteran leader saw this beaten scout. He says he will stop this business once and for all, that he is the law and the poachers will listen. Sadly, we have heard this before. Nobody listens to anybody these days in Zimbabwe, and men just take advantage of the complete breakdown in law and order. Poachers actually call themselves war veterans, which they certainly are not.
In the meantime, the Minister of Tourism wants tourists. He tells the owners of land that was used for hunters and eco safaris: you will not have any problems for your clientele. This nonsense is to stop. I work for hippos-not for money, business, or safari purposes, but for the animal, for its life. Around me, I see animals being killed daily and there does not appear to be any sunshine at the end of this extremely long and dark tunnel. For those of us that work for love, the deaths of all of these animals, not for food, but for greed and money, brings so much pain. Please spare a moment of your time and think about that baby kudu and please try and help this country to return to the peaceful land it was but a short while ago.
Karen Paolillo, April 2001