Living in Denial in Harare

Washington Post:

Author Heidi Holland's route to her interview with one of the world's most notorious dictators was a travelogue of decay, down crumbling streets, past half-empty stores, through neighborhoods where hawkers touted goods in an increasingly desperate bid to survive a once-proud nation's collapse.

But when she arrived at Zimbabwe's State House in Harare, the capital, that December morning, a massive banner outside the office of President Robert Mugabe made clear she would find little reflection -- or contrition -- inside.

"Mugabe is Right," declared the wall-size banner, hung where only the president's staff and handpicked visitors such as Holland could see it.

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This is a long story, but the banner reminds me of what a Zimbabwe man was forced to say every time he was hit by Mugabe thugs--"Mugabe is right." He seems to think that by repeating this mantra over and over it will change the reality of Zimbabwe which is horrid, but which Mugabe insist is on its way to prosperity. Mugabe is wrong about that.