Want to Eat in Zimbabwe? Win Gold

Without getting into specific discussion of the quality of life in sub-Saharan Africa, let’s just all agree Zimbabwe’s a tough place in which to be happy. Life expectancy hovers around the mid-30s, 20% of adults live with HIV, most of the country is poor and some of the country is starving. Robert Mugabe, the longtime president, is not seen as a helpful fellow.
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↵It seems misguided, then, that Mugabe has given Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry $100,000 as a reward for winning gold for his native country. Coventry, of course, lives in the United States, where she went to college and trains. That money probably wouldn’t go to better use anyway -- “corrupt” is a frequent adjective used in conjunction with Mugabe’s regime. But this sullies the Olympics, I think.
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↵It’s too much to ask Coventry to refuse the award, and there’s no easy solution. Public shaming doesn’t exactly work with dictatorial figures. And at least Mugabe is rewarding success; it’s not the same as, say, Fidel Castro giving Angel Matos a fat check for attacking a referee.↵