You can see them over here. One is Mukwati and the other is Kaguvi. In the early 80s, these buildings buzzed with hope, ideas, and big dreams. By 1987, the country became a one-party state. By 88, the buildings were dreamless and we moved to Botswana, one of the few success stories of Africa. In one year my father set up more industries in Botswana than during his entire time, 7 years, with the Zimbabwe government (he barely got 8 going, he told me). My father was a capitalist; I'm a Marxist, but we both loved factories and shared an Hegelian admiration for human activity and large-scale projects.

It's not surprising that my best friend during my time in Zimbabwe (1981 to 1987) was Robert Bertram, whose father owned a factory that manufactured, among other things, metal frames for beds. It's also not surprising that my first job was in a factory in Barking, a borough of London. The factory, owned and operated by an Irishman (John Hollywood), made bricks and exported them to Brussels. I was happy in this factory, as well as the Bertram's factory (yes, they were related to the South African wine family) and the factories my father started in Ramotswa, Botswana.