Plight of Mozambican refugees in Chipinge The makeshift structures accommodating some of the Mozambican refugees in Chipinge
The makeshift structures accommodating some of the Mozambican refugees in Chipinge

The makeshift structures accommodating some of the Mozambican refugees in Chipinge

Luthando Mapepa : Chipinge Correspondent

THE scorching sun of the South Eastern Low-veld of Zimbabwe is nearing its peak. The bellowing of livestock greets a visitor as one approaches a makeshift settlement that has emerged at Mabee communal lands under Chief Garahwa in Chipinge South. The settlers are Mozambican refugees fleeing from Renamo bandits back home.Facing challenges ranging from inadequate and indecent shelter, unclean water to food shortages – the plight of the refugees need urgent attention.

Although it is difficult to determine the exact number of refugees who have set camp in this part of the country, it is estimated that more than 4 000 refugees have settled on one of the marginalised communities in Zimbabwe. The area is drought prone.

The Mabee Refugee Holding Camp is in a sorry state as some of the families are living in the open. Thanks to tents donated by humanitarian organisations like MSF and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as well as toiletries, buckets, sanitary pads and clothes, the situation could have been dire.

The donated supplies are not enough since the population is swelling with each passing day. Most families have resorted to using mosquito nets as tents.

The makeshift accommodation and the unavailability of clean water leaves the refugees exposed to the vagaries of weather while they are sitting on a health time bomb.

In cases of emergency, a clinic is 4km away from the camp. The nearest referral health centre is St Peter’s Mission Hospital at Checheche Growth Point which is about 60km away.

When shortages exist, there are always people who take advantage of the situation to milk desperate villagers.

The same is happening here.

Some locals have now resorted to milking the desperate refugees by charging $1 per day to let them fetch water from their wells.

Also those who managed to escape with their livestock are being forced to sell them for a song in order to buy basics like food and toiletries.

Cattle are being sold for as little as $100 a beast.

The refugees are caught between a rock and a hard surface because if they refuse to part with their livestock, the cattle might starve in the prevailing dry conditions.

Grazing pastures are scorched with nothing.

Mr Mashava Chingowe, who is a traditional head in Mozambique, is now staying at Mabee Camp with an extended family of 274 members.

He revealed that supporting the ruling party, Frelimo was the crime that led to his persecution.

“It was in May when I was approached by Renamo bandits during the night. They just stormed into my house and manhandled me. They ordered me to surrender all my Frelimo regalia and I complied. They later released me upon striking an agreement that my family had to pay four beasts as punishment for supporting the ruling party,” he said and added:

“We escaped from Mozambique with a few beasts and little foodstuff.

Most of my possessions were lost during the raids. We are left with nothing here to eat.

Most adults here are surviving on a single meal per day because the food left will not last long. The livestock that we have is dying because there is nowhere to graze. We use money in everything we do here. This has left us poorer because we sell everything to raise money to buy maize,” added Mr Chingowe.

Another refugee, Mrs Laiza Pemuri (32), said they faced untold suffering from the day they settled at the refugee camp.

“I had not experienced a real war situation before. What I witnessed in Mozambique is horror. We were hunted like animals and we had no option, but to seek refuge in the bush. We fled our area empty-handed and we are having challenges to provide decent shelter for our children,” lamented the mother of two.

“Our children are now malnourished because of food shortage. Our children have dropped out of school because of insecurity back home. We are appealing for assistance from the government of Mozambique to fend for our families,” she said.

The local traditional leader, Chief Garahwa called for a multi-sectoral approach to help alleviate the plight of the Mozambican refugees most of whom are refusing to be relocated to the well designated Tongogara Refugee Camp in Chipinge West.

Said Chief Garahwa: “We have accommodated them as our fellow brothers and sisters. The major challenge we are grappling with is shelter and facilities to accommodate them. The makeshift camps are in our farming area. They might be forced to vacate at the onset of the rainy season.”

He said some of the refugees had settled themselves on sacred land.

Last week, the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Cde Mandi Chimene, toured some of the holding camps with various stakeholders.

She expressed concern at the state of affairs at these holding camps and pledged to urgently assist with food aid regardless of one’s social standings.

Speaking during the tour, Commissioner of Refugees in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Mrs Moira Gombingo, said assistance was on its way.

“The situation has been assessed and it is alarming. There is need to improve toilets, shelter and sanitation in these camps. We need to continuously check on the situation so that every stakeholder knows who is coming and who is returning. We need to package the interventions.”

Areas with refugee holding camps are Hakwata, Zvinangwa and Mutoki in Chipinge South. Other refugees and returnees are being accommodated in relatives’ homes.

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