> His house was filled with petrol (gas) because he'd been paid and he had to buy something the same day that would keep for a month and hold its value or his money would evaporate. So we sat in his house praying there wasn't a fire.
I'm guessing the friend sold the petrol for USD, right?
Zimbabwean who lived through this checking in - let me add context and help deconstruct this for HN: People (and banks) were converting Zimbabwean dollars to anything that could hold value and could be easily resold (in US Dollars) ASAP - this could be petrol or petrol vouchers, groceries, cookies - anything at all that could be bought with Zimbabwean dollars and flogged for USD. One of the retail banks got in trouble with the central bank after adding masonry bricks to their commodity portfolio[1]. Petrol was definitely a risky. Bitcoin would not have solved this because the using Zimbabwean dollars to purchase of commodities was only the first step to procuring US dollars while arbitrating the delta between the official exchange rate that formal businesses had to use, and the much higher real exchange rate as determined by the market. The hypothetical bitcoin:Zimbabwean dollar exchange rate in 2008 would have always tracked the market rate with no opportunity for arbitration.
1. Not brick futures or other fiscalised instrument: the bank bought and took possession of piles of bricks for resale later to hedge against inflation
> You click the handset down, like you are hanging up the phone, but just very briefly.
This brings back memories, this is a trick people my age group mastered as teenagers in a 3rd world country. All calls were billed - including local ones, so parents would commonly get lockable cages that would cover the buttons/rotary dial to prevent unauthorised calls in their absence. The cages would leave the receiver accessible even when locked in order to be able to receive calls, so we would use the hook to do pulse tone dialing; dialing a number with many zeroes was always a challenge since it required 10 rapid taps as part of a longer sequence, but I built up muscle memory.
The practice was colloquially named 'tap-dialing' and it was handed down from generation to generation. Sadly it came to an end in the smartphone world.
The old GTE payphones up in Georgetown, Tx (suburb of Austin, now) when I was a kid would let you dial with the switchhook - no coins required. Agreed, zeroes were a pain, but this was partially compensated for by the fact that 5-digit dialing worked for any local number, e.g. 3-1234 got you 863-1234. Interestingly, most VoIP adapters support the pulse dialing of an old phone, but very few have the cojones to actually ring one that has a physical bell rather than an electronic ringer...
Er, I'm not sure where you got this information from, but I can tell you categorically that ATAs that support pulse dialing are few and far between. Source: I have a vintage phone collection and wish bitterly the reality were different. (I use a Avaya PBX as a bridge to asterisk/IP telephony as a practical alternative)
”The voltage at the subscribers end depends upon loop length and number of ringers attached to the line; it could be between 40 and 150 Volts.”
I think they also (relatively to the hardware in a VoIP adapter) need a large amount of power.
So, to ring that bell, you need to transform your 5V/3V/…, and you need a larger power circuit. That isn’t worth it for the few who still have an old-style telephone.
> How do you think someone in Cyprus, Zimbabwe or Venezuela would feel about your statement saying to trust the banks?
Someone from Zimbabwe here - I endorse their statement: trust the banks. I lost my money to a bank closure in early 00s, eventually got some of it back from the zombie entity that the central bank resuscitated. The CEO of a Zimbabwean crypto-exchange[1] "lost the password" of a cold wallet (wink) a year ago - the deposits therein were lost with no recourse; the exchange is struggling with solvency[2]. So yeah, if you're not going to stuff money under your mattress, give it to a bank before going full crypto.
1. Golix - you might have heard of it as it was offering the world's highest USD:bitcoin rates. The fine print was that you couldn't get USD out of Zimbabwe
That is very unfortunate, you have my sympathy. But I think it has to be pointed out that leaving your money in a crypto-currency exchange is generally considered to be worse than leaving it in a bank, regardless of where you stand on cyptocurrency in general.
Personally, I lost 3 bitcoin when someone hacked my MtGox account in 2012. I think they'd had 2fa for a little while at that point, but I was stupid and didn't enable it. Furthermore, I had reused my account/password on some fledgling bitcoin forum. In my defense, when I made the accounts I didn't think the valuation of bitcoin would peak around $20k :)
I know it's likely hyperbole, but...JFC. Would you say an East-coaster who hikes part of the Appalachian trail knows Appalachia? At best, their knowledge is surface-level.
That seems like way too high of a bar for the word knows. Someone who plays the guitar for 3 years certainly knows the guitar, even if they're not great at it. Who would you say knows Africa? Someone who lives all their life in Kongo? They might know Kongo, but probably know less about the varied experiences of Africa as a continent than someone who spends 3 years traveling around the whole of Africa.
> It sounds great, and the people giving the money really think they're helping. Unfortunately, it's rarely the case
I don't think your experience driving around Africa gave you a enough information to adequately support your conclusion (which I could not leave unchallenged). I mean this in a non-disparaging way: you got breadth, but not depth. I, an African, on the other hand, have depth, but not breadth.
I have some experience with both sides of the NGO coin: I've seen communities and individuals positively. From disease eradication in whole communities to people regaining their vision. People giving money are helping in most of the cases. On the other side of the coin - I agree that NGOs have a lot of fat they could cut in terms of expenditures that do not directly go to their mission, but this depends entirely on which NGO it is and what their culture is, not all of them are the same. This is an industry ripe for disruption by leaner setups, too bad VCs aren't really geared for this.
Donors are helping, but maybe not as much as they think they are (per dollar). It would be great if they would research the org they are donating to to find how many cents per dollar are going to the cause. More transparency in this area is needed.
> I don't think your experience driving around Africa gave you a enough information to adequately support your conclusion....you got breadth, but not depth. I, an African, on the other hand, have depth, but not breadth.
That's a great point I had not thought enough about, and I think you are correct.
Certainly your examples of health (disease and sight) sound very positive.
Also examples where NGOs or World Vision or whoever bring in massive quantities of food appear very positive on the surface, though the long term consequences are extremely unhealthy, and just create more of a dependence loop than ever before, until locals are utterly unable to help themselves.
> Donors are helping, but maybe not as much as they think they are (per dollar). It would be great if they would research the org they are donating to to find how many cents per dollar are going to the cause. More transparency in this area is needed.
More transparency is absolutely the key, but I also think it's really important to take a step back and really think about if and how any donor is actually "helping" at all. We in the west have this funny idea that money is the answer to everything and more money = a better life. Certainly it's important to have healthcare and clean drinking water, but after that a lot of times I saw money degrading African society, not making anything better at all.
I'm terrified we'll turn many special countries into "little America" or "little Europe" complete with high cancer rates, stress, 9-5 jobs, pollution, lack of care for our community and neighbors, high crime, rampant greed and inequality ,etc. etc.
> I also think it's really important to take a step back and really think about if and how any donor is actually "helping" at all. We in the west have this funny idea that money is the answer to everything and more money = a better life.
I agree that there can be a charity can cause a vicious cycle by damaging local industry. However, it is pointless to talk about charity in isolation without considering other factors such as the harm caused by trade policies of developed nations (to be fair, is in their national interest), "exploitation"[1] of resources by MNC with no meaningful value-addition in host country, as well as a general lack of accountability among African political leaders.
Cutting all aid seems like an easy solution, but it won't spur development of local farms or industries if they are undercut by subsidized goods from abroad. The 'difficult' solution, but more likely to work, would be overhauling leadership culture, and getting a fairer trade system in place (e.g. no farm subsidies) - sadly, I do not see any appetite for either due to self-interest among the actors.
1. scare-quotes because raw resources are extracted and paid for, but the value addition is done abroad. Ghana produces a huge chunk of the world's cocoa, but most of the profits are captured by European chocolateers.
I live in Tanzania and the only people who don’t want the country turn into “little America” or “little Europe” is foreigners who just want to go on Safari. I and everyone else would love skyscrapers, 9-5 jobs, money, IPhones, etc.
> I and everyone else would love skyscrapers, 9-5 jobs, money, IPhones, etc.
Of course you do. What you don't want is skyrocketing cancer rates, heart disease, spousal abuse, a severe lack of time, people who are so poor they can't feed themselves, high crime rates and all the other things that come along with the "shiny" stuff like 9-5 jobs, money & iPhones.
The thing is the developed world hasn't figured out how to get one without the other, and if I were you, I would think long and hard if you really, really want what you're asking for.
I lived that life of the developed first world city, and frankly, it's horrible. I recently spent time in one of the world's most livable cities, supposedly a great place to live. After three years in Africa I would rather die than live in that "great western city".
I moved from NYC to Tanzania and spousal abuse, cancer, poverty, and crime is way higher here than there. The only tangibly better part of the culture is the sense of community.
I love Tanzania, but I recognize that it’s because I have the money to live a very good life here.
Unfortunately, I’ve gotten a little addicted to the power of having a cook, housekeeper, and gardener for under $15/day total. I miss NYC, but I also realize how hard it will be to go back to just being an average joe.
Sure, but you live in a city in Tanzania, which is already going the way of "Western City", so it already has all the bad stuff.
Get out into a town or village, or better yet, get to a country that isn't overrun with tourists like Tanzania is. Gabon is simply breathtaking, Congo is wild, Burundi really is the heart of Africa, Djibouti is like a different planet! There is a lot to explore, a huge part of me wishes I could turn around and drive south right now!
You can get an LTE data-only SIM capped to 1GB for $5/mo (ZAR 67) from Axxess[1]. Granted - it's not unlimited and doesn't include calls and SMS, but it's much better deal than Vodacom - for data.
> I "made" it because I am stubborn, had parents who believe in education and because I hate being beholden to someone.
...and lucky. One African to another: it took me hard work, determination, and a whole lot of luck. It wasn't just one thing - but a chain of fortuitous events. My path is certainly not repeatable, so I'm certain my story is that of survivorship bias. I know lots of smarter/more hard-working people who didn't catch the same break that I did. Can you honestly say that you're that much better than your cousins?
I must clarify what I mean by "made". I have a university degree and am a mid-level employee in a large corporate company. I don't have to worry about food, shelter and healthcare but I have to work for the next 20 years to pay off my bond. I am one of the millions of workers, not a millionaire. I am not exceptional.
I agree with you on the determination and hard work. There is no substitute.
On luck, do agree it plays a role. I think the first bit of luck is the parents you are born to. My grandmother had seven children. I have at last count between 50-60 cousins. Probably higher number of nephews and nieces. Some of my cousins are already grandparents. My dad was the last born so some of my cousins are almost as old as he is.
Now back to luck, my observation looking at my large family is that the values and principles your parents instill in you have an impact. Some of my cousins believe success comes from witchcraft, so much so that there are tensions within the family as some branches accuse others of witchcraft at their expense. Having good parents even just one parent who doesn't poison your mind is the first bit of luck. The rest is how you use it. The second observation I have made is that kind people seem to make good parents. Hear me out. I have aunts in similar position, poor, uneducated and largely dependant on the land. When I visit, I have observed one will complain about everything and offer me nothing to eat or drink. Another aunt in a similar position will offer me whatever little she has. She will make it a point to collect some of the wild fruit I used to love as a kid. She does not act poor and helpless, she just acts like my aunt and treats me like a visitor not a savior. I suspect she doesn't view herself as being helpless and poor but she feels she can contribute in her own way. I think she instills these same values in her children. My observation is that children from such families tend to be more successful, at least this is the case in my extended family. Success is relative off course.
Actual Zimbabwean here: you are so wrong I'll have to ask: have you ever been to Zimbabwe?
> Absolutely -- the police can be very corrupt in Zimbabwe so you don't want hard cash hanging around or it will be taken.
Yes, the police are corrupt but they won't rob you[1], they might try and coerce a bribe.
> The actually official Zimbabwe currency can't really be taken seriously because of insane inflation rates.
This is wrong. It has been wrong for close to a decade because Zimbabwe "demonetized" its currency (Zimbabwean dollar) in 2008 after an infamous bout of hyperinflation - you might have seen/heard of the 100 Trillion dollar note.
1. Unless you have been incapacitated by a traffic accident. A worrying trend has emerged in recent years where passers-by or attending police go through the car and belongings of dead/dying accident victims. See http://www.chronicle.co.zw/chiriseri-corpse-robber-cop-dies-...
Is there really much practical difference between a police officer demanding a bribe and being robbed?
(I've never been to Zimbabwe: if there is a difference between cops "coercing" a bribe and what I'm assuming you mean I'd appreciate the clarification!)
> Is there really much practical difference between a police officer demanding a bribe and being robbed?
Yes: you can say no to coercion but you have no choice when you are being robbed.
Violence (or the threat of it) is a hallmark of robbery: Zimbabwean police will not do that at traffic stops - they are usually not armed. They will, however threaten to impound your vehicle for minor infractions (which would be illegal in most cases) and/or threaten to jail you to wait for your court date. Either of these situations will require paperwork and the money goes to the state and not their pockets, so they make you wait and reconsider the bribe, but eventually let you go. Usually.
Also, in the context of this thread, having cash or money in the bank makes no difference because traffic stops now have portable card machines for "spot fines"!
I'm guessing the friend sold the petrol for USD, right?
Zimbabwean who lived through this checking in - let me add context and help deconstruct this for HN: People (and banks) were converting Zimbabwean dollars to anything that could hold value and could be easily resold (in US Dollars) ASAP - this could be petrol or petrol vouchers, groceries, cookies - anything at all that could be bought with Zimbabwean dollars and flogged for USD. One of the retail banks got in trouble with the central bank after adding masonry bricks to their commodity portfolio[1]. Petrol was definitely a risky. Bitcoin would not have solved this because the using Zimbabwean dollars to purchase of commodities was only the first step to procuring US dollars while arbitrating the delta between the official exchange rate that formal businesses had to use, and the much higher real exchange rate as determined by the market. The hypothetical bitcoin:Zimbabwean dollar exchange rate in 2008 would have always tracked the market rate with no opportunity for arbitration.
1. Not brick futures or other fiscalised instrument: the bank bought and took possession of piles of bricks for resale later to hedge against inflation