During his first visit to Zimbabwe’s capital Harare in 1996, Robert Franck was surprised: “It was a big city with skyscrapers, it was cold and it was raining” – not at all as he had imagined Africa to be. Since then he has been to Harare around 15 times, as head of youth exchange and member of city delegations, and has witnessed the change there.
Much has changed in the past 25 years
“Harare used to be colorful, with lots of cafés, bars and hotels – a real capital. People went on vacation there, especially from Africa itself. Now the country is becoming more and more self-isolating and people are afraid of being monitored by the secret service, ”explains Robert Franck. According to him, the political situation in Harare is difficult: The country of Zimbabwe is governed autocratically, but the Harare city council is mainly composed of the opposition, which is why tensions are programmed.
How the political situation influences the town twinning
The town twinning has also suffered from political tensions in the past: it was officially put on hold twice (1999 and 2003) because the Zimbabwean state government had deposed the democratically elected mayors in Harare. In 2008, the Munich city council even made an application to end the town twinning entirely. However, after the speech of the then Deputy Mayor of Harare, Emmanuel Chiroto, who was visiting Munich, the city council decided to continue the partnership.
This is how the town twinning works
According to Robert Franck, the city partnership consists of three pillars: The first pillar is the official relationships between the city administrations and mayors of Munich and Harare. The second pillar is civic engagement. On the Munich side, the HaMuPa (Harare – Munich – Partnership) working group is particularly committed to the exchange. The third pillar is charitable. For example, the Munich for Harare Association, on whose board Robert Franck is also a member, runs five charity projects on site. In Harare itself there are similar groups with which the people of Munich work together.
No youth exchange for 20 years
Since the town twinning began, however, it has developed into a rather problematic partnership, according to Robert Franck. Because of the tense political situation in Zimbabwe, the commitment to human rights in Harare has taken up more and more place over cultural exchange. For example, after 1999 the youth exchange had to be stopped.
Bad infrastructure and high unemployment
According to Robert Franck, the infrastructure in Harare has noticeably deteriorated: broken roads, power outages and polluted water, which are increasingly leading to cholera outbreaks. “At our video conference for the anniversary, people were suddenly gone because they ran out of power for their laptops,” says the Munich teacher. The inflation rate and unemployment in Harare are high. Corona made the situation even worse.
Corona endangers many livelihoods in Harare
Many people in Harare live from informal work, for example as street vendors of goods from neighboring countries, so-called “cross border trading”. This is no longer possible due to the pandemic restrictions. “The few employees lose their income due to the lockdown and the street vendors lose their livelihoods. There are no state safeguards as we know them (short-time work, social assistance) and there are no health insurance companies that cover the costs of Covid-19 treatment,” it says in a message from the Munich City Hall.
Fundraiser should help
In order to support the people in the twin city, the HaMuPa working group and the Munich Association for Harare call for one Fundraiser on. Until the end of October, they collect money for corona items, such as protective masks, disinfectants and tests, but also the basic supply of food on site.
Hope for more cultural exchanges in the future
Robert Franck hopes that there will be more cultural exchange between Munich and Harare in the future: “Zimbabwean music is great. There used to be exhibitions with traditional Shona sculptures in Munich. I would like to see the cultural fertility of Zimbabwe find more space in Munich again. ”
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Nice memories of the beginning of the town twinning
He also fondly remembers the first youth exchange: “A young Zimbabwean came up to me on an overland trip to the Victoria Falls and was surprised and enthusiastic about how interesting the people of Munich found it all. ‘I always thought, that’s nothing special, we’re just a developing country, but now I’m proud of my homeland,’ he said – and that’s exactly what such an exchange is for. “
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