Drug free

The customs officer at Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe eyed me warily. I was a lone traveler on an American passport, young-looking, dressed in cargo pants and running shoes, and had just disembarked a flight from Kenya.

To the officer, this combination could mean only one thing.

"Are you carrying drugs?" he asked.

I was somewhat relieved. Getting questioned by authorities in Zimbabwe, if you're a foreign visitor, can often involve something more uncomfortable. Secure in the knowledge that I was in fact not here as an international drug smuggler, I nearly smiled as I unlocked my duffel bag for the beady-eyed customs agent.

While I did that, he began rifling through my backpack. "Any pornography here?" he said. "Um, no," I replied. I began to wonder what kind of reputation Americans had acquired here -- or had been assigned by that well known hater of the West, President Robert Mugabe.

Satisfied that my dog-eared copy of Lonely Planet Southern Africa didn't contain any pornographic images, the agent busied himself with my duffel bag -- specifically my bag of toiletries. He grunted at the Alka-Seltzer and snorted at the Tylenol -- surely these weren't the drugs he was concerned about -- but when he came upon a pharmacy vial of Cipro whose label had fallen off, he was gleeful.

"I have found the Ecstacy," he said.

I chuckled nervously. "For the stomach," I said. He laughed out loud. "So you don't have anything like what I am looking for."

Apparently Kenya has developed a reputation in southern Africa as a popular origin point for drug smugglers. As I zipped up my bag, the customs agent told me they'd made several arrests out of Kenya this year, although he wouldn't tell me what kind of drugs the alleged perpetrators were carrying. Nor would he tell me what happened to the suspects. I would have to be satisfied merely to be on my way, my reputation intact.

The agent couldn't resist some parting words. "You've disappointed me," he said. "I really thought you would be carrying drugs."

Comments

[nuttycow]

Yes, I'd have you down as a drug mule too ;)

I didn't think journalists were allowed into Zim?