Caravan Dispatches - Flashback - Organized Chaos Border - Part 2

Part Two

Written 7th December 2011

Beitbridge Border. Courtesy of Zimbabwereporter.com

So that stamped we go back to the buses and hear that we will leave as soon as we are done inside. Hope rises. It is now past midnight and we are really tired. We wait while some of us get inside the buses to continue with our naps.

Believe me, 5 hours later we were still waiting to be cleared. Problem? There are some manifesto documents that didn't come in copies from the south African border but are needed as a set by the Zimbabwean officials.

So now someone,l don’t know who, goes back to the South African border to get them. Once that is done we get out but not quite. The drivers say they want security escort because after what seems like 4 stops at roadblocks they figure we will keep doing this dance and never get through Zimbabwe. I forgot to mention that we are eager to go home and that Zimbabwe is one country we are driving through nonstop. How ambitious can we get? So we get some sort of escort of two policewomen.

I don’t know how much that helped, all l know is that we were at ease after that even though there like numerous police roadblocks. We drive through Zimbabwe and take a break in Bulawayo. As some of the caravanites disembark we move on to the next  border. Oh but did l tell you about the drama at the Zimbabwean Beitbridge border? When the officials at the way bridge started to ask for a whole lot of money saying it was for customs and whatnot? Oh it was drama. When caravanites noticed that the negotiations would take unnecessarily long they decided to get off the buses and mil around. Do you know how it looks with over a hundred people miling around because you are trying to get monies that someone else is meant to get? It was drama. 

The drivers insisted that they knew they were meant to pay at the customs while these officials shakily explained themselves. So the stand down began and no one was budging until after what seemed like forever, the officials knew that these guys were not folding. Plus the buses were just piling on. When we were done we went on to the border and paid the rightful people and obviously got out of there.

By Maria Wanza