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Prowling for Essential Goods for Zimbabwe's Black Market
A child in Harare holds Zimbabwean dollar notes acquired by begging on the streets. The country's rate of annual inflation is more than 100,000 percent.
(Associated Press)
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Finally, he stepped into a small, dark shop that reeked of curry. On a shelf behind a lone clerk, a bar of green soap was priced at 8.5 million Zimbabwean dollars. And a bottle of cooking oil was marked at 38 million, a bit more than at a busier shop but cheap enough to make a profit.
Chakanetsa handed over several grungy 10-million-dollar bills and slipped the loot into his rucksack. Order filled.
"Everybody is hungry," he said. "If you're not working, you will die."
A few hours later, as massive white storm clouds began to build, the customer who ordered the soap and oil had not appeared. A promised delivery of mealie meal, diverted from a local college, had not arrived. And Chakanetsa had seven bananas left to sell.
"There's no profit today," he said, dejected.
Chakanetsa slung his rucksack over his shoulder, hoisted the box of bananas and began searching for bread to sell. He hoped to find 10 loaves for 3.2 million Zimbabwean dollars each and sell them near his home for 3.8 million.
But at the first shop, no bread. At the second shop, it was too expensive. At the third were only a few stray rolls.
So as the sky darkened to a dusky orange, Chakanetsa turned south, toward the bus home, his hands empty but for a few spare bananas to feed his family.
