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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Britons to return from Zimbabwe | Britons to return from Zimbabwe |
| (about 19 hours later) | |
| More than 60 British passport holders, reduced to poverty in Zimbabwe, are to be repatriated to Britain over the next few weeks. | More than 60 British passport holders, reduced to poverty in Zimbabwe, are to be repatriated to Britain over the next few weeks. |
| They are the first successful applicants to a UK government scheme to resettle elderly and vulnerable people unable to afford the move themselves. | They are the first successful applicants to a UK government scheme to resettle elderly and vulnerable people unable to afford the move themselves. |
| All their savings were lost in years of hyper-inflation in Zimbabwe. | All their savings were lost in years of hyper-inflation in Zimbabwe. |
| The government says it may eventually have to pay for the return of 750 of its citizens. | The government says it may eventually have to pay for the return of 750 of its citizens. |
| The scheme is available to people aged over 70 with medical or care needs. | The scheme is available to people aged over 70 with medical or care needs. |
| Bags packed | Bags packed |
| Fred Noble has lived in Zimbabwe for 51 years, but is now packing his bags for the move back to Britain this weekend. He had built up a good pension fund working on the railways, but is now almost destitute. | Fred Noble has lived in Zimbabwe for 51 years, but is now packing his bags for the move back to Britain this weekend. He had built up a good pension fund working on the railways, but is now almost destitute. |
| "I got sick, had to go to a private hospital and pay all the expenses myself. I had to sell my flat," he said. | "I got sick, had to go to a private hospital and pay all the expenses myself. I had to sell my flat," he said. |
| I came to a beautiful country and I will remember it as that Fred Noble, pensioner In pictures: Zimbabwe's pensioners | I came to a beautiful country and I will remember it as that Fred Noble, pensioner In pictures: Zimbabwe's pensioners |
| "One day you are very well off, and the next day you are a poor man." | "One day you are very well off, and the next day you are a poor man." |
| Inflation in Zimbabwe, which at one point reached 231m%, made pensions, savings and investments worthless. | |
| British local government minister John Healy says the number of enquiries went up after last year's presidential election in Zimbabwe. | British local government minister John Healy says the number of enquiries went up after last year's presidential election in Zimbabwe. |
| "People were looking for help, particularly as the economy was still collapsing, the health care system, food supplies were getting more difficult," he said. | "People were looking for help, particularly as the economy was still collapsing, the health care system, food supplies were getting more difficult," he said. |
| With the new unity government in power, the economy in Zimbabwe is beginning to stabilise. But it has come too late for Mr Noble. | With the new unity government in power, the economy in Zimbabwe is beginning to stabilise. But it has come too late for Mr Noble. |
| "I'll miss this," he said. "Wonderful years. But I am not a young man any more, and I am going home to die - that is how I look at it. I came to a beautiful country and I will remember it as that." | "I'll miss this," he said. "Wonderful years. But I am not a young man any more, and I am going home to die - that is how I look at it. I came to a beautiful country and I will remember it as that." |