June 20

Hillside Dams reopened to the public a few weeks ago and it is something of a disappointment that we now have to share our walks with others.  Having been a regular walker there for the past three to four years, I can safely say I have not seen it visited as much as it is now. There are joggers, power walkers, dog walkers, picnickers, nature enthusiasts and wailers (at God).  Unfortunately, the BMWs with tinted windows and shiny hubcaps are also back.  I have yet to discover what these people actually do as they don't get out their cars.

If there is one thing I may start a crusade against, it is litter.  I hate it and I don't understand it.  If you choose to take your drinks and snacks and go and sit somewhere lovely and quiet, then why do you leave your rubbish for others to pick up?  Did you not choose that spot for its beauty - because you can relax and enjoy the environment?  Then why not take your empty cans, bottles and wrappers home with you?

There are two contributing factors here - one is the prevalence of maids in Zimbabwean society.  Everyone has a maid; even maids sometimes have maids.  Therefore, there is always someone to clean up after you.  The prevailing thinking is: why should I clean up when someone else can do it?  Even if the bin is less than a metre away from where I am sitting, why should I (because I am so important) get up and move towards it?  Someone else can do that.

The other factor is the way people see their cars.  In Africa, cars are almost worshiped. When we lived in Zambia, we were amazed that it was the norm to wash your car every day.  This is more difficult in drought ridden Bulawayo, but there is still this thinking that says: rubbish?  I'm not taking that home in my car.  I've just cleaned it.  My car must remain pristine so let me chuck all my rubbish out onto the road.  The road, the bush, the picnic site is 'dirty' and someone will come along and clean it anyway.

I hate to sound like I live in the past, but litter was not an issue when I was a child.  You could be fined for dropping it and it was positively discouraged. I remember that when we went to the movies, there would often be a short film before the main feature about litter bugs. There wasn't so much to litter with as well.  Cans didn't really exist as soft drinks were sold in glass bottles and the bottles were valuable as there was a deposit on them.  Now everything is disposable and valueless.