The thing about Zim is that rumors take on the ring of truth without any encouragement. The rumors about supposed child abductions do the rounds every few years; this time, though, the rumors have coincided with two cases. One involves a Bulawayo man who killed his one year old nephew by cutting off his head. He says he just "had the feeling" that he wanted to do it. He had also apparently been sleeping in a cemetery for a few days prior to the incident (-?!). There was another story in the papers about a woman from Chipinge who allegedly killed her child, cut off an ear, and sold it to some man in Mozambique for $10. Both cases are under investigation, and both suspects are in custody.

 
The rumors about child disappearances have been circulating for weeks. What people say is that the children are abducted by foreigners, who apparently use children's body parts for ritual purposes. The most absurd and outrageous rumor of all is that the parts (heads, specifically) are used to lure a shark (presumably in South African waters) that had gold (in its body??); only heads can be used for bait. A few weeks ago our receptionist told me that all this came to a head when four foreign-registered vehicles were allegedly spotted parked outside a primary school in the townships, and it was concluded that the drivers were lying in wait for children as they left school to go home. There have also been various rumours about cars being stopped and searched at roadblocks, and human heads and other body parts being found.

 
Whether all these things are true or not, parents are not taking chances, it seems. It seems to me that children are not walking to school unaccompanied anymore, on the whole. If any of it is true, I can't imagine how anyone could think they could enjoy money "made" in such a way…