Oddly enough, Zimbabwe’s officials, at least in the
immediate aftermath of Cecil the lion’s demise, were perplexed at the reaction
in the U.S. and elsewhere. Zimbabwe’s acting information minister, Prisca
Mupfumira, asked “What lion?” when
initially pressed for a comment about Cecil. Since then, the government has
realized they have been handed a golden opportunity to claim victim status and
have donned that mantle, even calling for Walter Palmer to be extradited to Zimbabwe. The
country’s residents have far more
pressing concerns, however, such as attempting to stay alive, and remain
astonished at American furor over the
issue.
Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate
currently stands at about 80%. The country has little or no electricity. Water
is in short supply. They are still recovering from an inflation rate of roughly
one billion percent a decade or so ago.
It takes 175 quadrillion Zimbabwean
dollars to buy an American five-dollar bill. Honest Abe.
“Why
are the Americans more concerned than us,” stated one villager. “We never hear
them speak out when villagers are killed by lions and elephants in
Hwange.”
Box.
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