I wrote the following in June 2007:

Societal collapse is not a pretty site. It usually involves many deaths and occasionally even some pretty horrific images...

We've seen societal collapse. Biafra...Rwanda...Cambodia...the Balkans...

Zimbabwe is predicted to be within 6 months of collapse according to a secretive and leaked report commissioned for aid workers. Alarmist? Unlikely?

Consider this. The current inflation rate in Zimbabwe is 3,714%. Yeah...you read that correctly. Quadruple digit inflation. Add to that 80% unemployment. One third of the population depends on food aid from the international community, which of course requires sufficient infrastructure and stability for food to get through.

I think you already have what amounts to economic collapse. No work and no one can buy anything.

Zimbabwe's dictator, of course, blames "the West" for sabatoging his nation. Ignore the fact that his regime is among the most repressive and corrupt on earth. It is also one of those nations where nearly a quarter of the population is HIV infected. Combining that with the economic situation, it is not surprising that average life expectancy is in the mid to late thirties.

The international community let genocide occur in the Balkans, in Rwanda, in Darfur. We can make a reasonable guess that Zimbabwe may be next for full scale societal collapse by the end of this year. Will anyone do anything about it?

I, and the report, were off by a year. The predicted collapse didn't come at the end of 2007, but now, at the end of 2008. Little was done to save Zimbabwe, so it limped along in a state of virtual collapse for an extra year. Now the situation is deteriorating even further and, with America doing nothing, South Africa is stepping in. From Daily Kos:

Zimbabwe is in a condition of complete collapse. Cholera is spreading because the government is out of money to pay for water purification. Over 500 people have died. Troops went on a rampage in Harare yesterday when they couldn't get funds out of banks. People are starving.

Today, South Africa's president is announcing a plan for South Africa to go into Zimbabwe to deal with the crisis...

...Local blog reports describe the depravity of Mugabe's failed government.

The authorities have shut down the water to Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare, because there are no chemicals because They say They have no money to buy chemicals. How about fewer five star negotiation trips to South Africa . . . and buy some chemicals instead of forking out money hand over fist on big boy flights of fancy?

Meanwhile I see that road crews are busy painting lines on the only road that matters to little bob. The Borrowdale Road leading to his mansion.

On the foraging side of life I’m happy to have found a source of dog food. I collected a bag of 40 packets of chicken type pet food from a car showroom the other day. I had a chat with the very helpful woman selling it while standing in among some brand new Isuzu bakkies. She was full of information on pet food. For example she said that she was getting ostrich the next day and would I like some? And that her son had just shot a wildebeest and her dogs Go Mad for wildebeest especially the meat taken from where the wound was because it was all clotted with blood. And would I like some?

There are, FINALLY, demands from around the world for Mugabe to step down. The US has done absolutely nothing up until now, leaving it to South Africa to act. Another example of failed US foreign policy under Republican misadministration. There is still time to prevent actual civil war and genocide in Zimbabwe. We allowed genocide in Biafra...Rwanda...Cambodia...the Balkans...Sierra Leone...and on and on. Will we allow it in Zimbabwe?