I still remember the uncomfortable feeling when we left from Zambia to Zimbawe, directed to the town of Vic Falls. The 2 countries here are divided only by bridge, but the difference was huge.
As usual, we went around exploring the town, when suddenly we decided to buy something to nibble. When we entered the supermarket, the scenario before us seemed unreal, not to mention apocalyptic. The shelves were completely empty. Every now and then there was a pack of biscuits or canned food but at crazy prices. I still remember the price of a pack of dry biscuits: $40! We were shocked so we decided to continue exploring the area and understand what was happening. Only a few stores around were opened. There was the Bata one, which was selling only a single pair of shoes that were displayed there, in the middle of the store. We got caught up in a feeling of intense unhappiness. Around town, people were begging for socks and clothes because money had no value anymore. That was the first time we saw the infamous 100,000 billion bill, a result of the hyperinflation caused by the economic choices of Mugabe’s government. And that is the reason why, in 2015, after long periods of high inflation, the Zimbabwe dollar stopped having an official exchange rate, and it was officially been replaced by the two currencies currently used in the country: the US dollar and the South African rand.
