Zimbabwe is located in the southeast of Africa, it borders Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa.
After the independence and the establishment of the state of Zimbabwe, there was an increasing shortage in what was once Africa's granary. Robert Mugabe, who led the country to independence in 1980, turned himself more and more into a merciless dictator and the country into a poor house. Corruption, the economy of scarcity, expropriation and displacement of the white minority who had fed the country on their farms eventually led the international community to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe that did not allow any movement of goods or trade. The result of all these developments is great poverty among the population and an unimaginable shortage of all daily goods. The water supply collapsed years ago, the restrictions in the supply of gasoline or electricity are causing the economy to come to a recurring standstill. Tourism, as one of the most profitable economic sectors originally, has almost completely collapsed, which has also led to the national parks being neglected. This was particularly felt by the small farmers who settled on the edges of the parks, whose crops are now regularly destroyed by marauding wild animals.
Additionally, devastating are the effects of climate change; the persistent drought that has prevailed in recent years has resulted in around 8 million people in Zimbabwe suffering from starvation.With the independence in 1980, the Zimbabwe dollar was introduced, but after hyperinflation it was temporarily deprecated so that only foreign currencies were used in the country. After the Zimbabwe dollar was completely abolished in 2015, it was reintroduced as the only valid means of payment in 2019. There is still a high rate of inflation and prices are based on the US dollar. Groceries and goods for daily needs are subject to strong price fluctuations, which during the lockdown in the Corona crisis meant that many families could no longer get the most essential groceries. While the tuition fees for the primary school remained relatively constant, the contributions for secondary schools, universities or training centers were increased, in some cases drastically, in line with the inflation rate.
As a result, there is a high percentage of young people who have no prospects after completing a basic school education because their parents are simply unable to raise the necessary capital. Youth unemployment is almost 90%, the situation has worsened again due to the Corona crisis.
With the 2017 military coup, in which Robert Mugabe was deposed, the overall situation did not improve significantly after his companion Emmerson Mnangagwa took over the presidency. The opposition continues to be suppressed and there is fear of arbitrary arrest, rape, torture or murder. The sanctions of the international community have still not been lifted, what last but not least leads to the fact that many young people from Zimbabwe emigrate to neighboring countries (especially to South Africa) in order to work and live there under extremely poor conditions and the majority is undesirable among the local population.
