[Zimbabwe] A Consultation With Monastic Saviours

[J.Hyde]

Logan

Zimbabwe needed security. This was obvious after the disintegration of both the military and police. With The French providing support, it was obvious that they should be the first port of call for assistance with supplying the failed nation the tools it needed to reestablish itself. As a result, the executive council put forward a request that the leader of the French paladins that had entered the country to topple Mugabe meet with them to discuss the possibility of French assistance with Zimbabwe's reconstruction.

 

[Logan]

Knight Commander Richard Delacroix would meet with the leaders of this executive council as soon as he possibly could, accompanied by France's ambassador to Zimbabwe, for good measure. Arriving at the headquarters for this executive council, he would ensure that his uniform was in perfect order and that he was presentable. He would make sure the other knights were carrying out their duties well and check in with the training of the new militia and knights before meeting with the executive council.

"Knight-Commander Richard, How may I help you?."

 

[Logan]

J.Hyde

 

[J.Hyde]

Logan

The four council members, who were sat at a large meeting table in the former Zimbabwean Parliament Building, gestured towards the mass of empty seats available as an invitation for the ambassador and commander to take a seat.

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with us, Your Excellency, Commander," Chairman Hawkins greeted. "We have asked to meet with you, and we're most glad to see that Their Excellency, The Ambassador, has accompanied you. At the present time, we are, as suggested, endeavouring to establish a militia force that will be able to act as an interim method of maintaining law and order until a replacement official law enforcement agency can be properly established. The militia, known simply as Guard Force, has received a great deal of volunteers from the average civilian. The euphoria of being unshackled from Mugabe is running high, but that's going to vanish very soon if a number of pressing matters are not resolved quickly."

Suddenly, the lights in the building began flickering violently for a few moments.

"The generator's playing up again," Rudo remarked, causing the two Christian bishops to murmur in agreement.

"Zimbabwe was a crumbling state before Mugabe was toppled." Hawkins continued. "The country's power plants were underfunded and under-maintained. The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority was a state-owned company. With Mugabe gone, vast parts of the national infrastructure have ceased to exist. ZESA's collapse means all domestic production of electricity has stopped, which never met domestic demand. Mugabe had permitted the purchase of electricity from our neighbours to cover the shortfall, but that's been cutoff too, since there's no real government available to pay our neighbours.

Telecel and TelOne, the main telecom companies, are in the process of shutting down, meaning the phone lines and internet connection of the entire country will go dark anyway, even if we resolved our electricity issue.The National Roads Administration and United Passenger Company have also collapsed, meaning the maintenance of roads and operation of buses has stopped. While Zimpapers, ZBC and ZimPost were also stated-owned endeavours, meaning that newspapers, radio, television, and the postal service, are now grinding to a halt.

In essence, Zimbabwe is quickly degrading into a medieval society. No electricity, radio, television, newspapers, mail, telephones, internet, and soon petrol and diesel. The only reason this building still has lights is because it was outfitted with a backup diesel generator to keep the place running when there were rolling blackouts. The simple summary is that we fear the worst. Clean water was only available to about half of the population, that's dropped to zero percent since the electricity and water infrastructure has stopped. The rural communities survive on subsistence farming and dirty water, while the cities and towns across the country now have no water and rapidly dwindling sources of food. Zimbabwe never recovered its agricultural might after Mugabe took power, and needed to import food to feed itself, and even then, people were starving.

We assume you are aware of the media broadcast I made on the behalf of the council that appealed to the world for help. This is us asking France directly for help. Zimbabwe is weeks, if not mere days, away from a humanitarian crisis that will kill millions due to starvation and thirst if we do not get help now. The people were already hungry or starving when Mugabe was in power, they're going to die in droves if help on a massive scale isn't mobilised. So, please, we beg of you, help us. If not with your own funds or supplies, then please spread the word. France has the ear of many countries, you could appeal to your allies and friends on our behalf, you could make an appeal to The Global Assembly for a multi-national relief and peacekeeping effort. You could help save the Zimbabwean people from oblivion."

 

[Logan]

"I will speak with my commander in Chief. I am sure that he will be willing to do as such. What I can do immediately is bring in more of my men, and those of our sister battalions, from our amphibious assault ships, and they can help provide security as the militias train and take form. I may also be able to arrange the airlifting of some, but not many, supplies from our ships to Harare."

 

[Logan]

J.Hyde

 

[J.Hyde]

Logan

"That's fantastic news!" Trevor said ecstatically. "We have already been in touch with a number of other countries, and have received pledges of support from Zaire, Argentina, Canada, and Ireland. The situation continues to look less grim with each nation that gives so much, so that Zimbabwe can live. When Zimbabwe is back on its feet, I cannot begin to fathom how the nation can repay those who supported us in our darkest hour."