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Lest
we forget: The catastrophic impact of the deepening crisis on Zimbabwe's
children
Sokwanele
November 28, 2007
Zimbabweans
have lived in a state of more or less perpetual crisis for the last
seven years. In all this time they have shown a remarkable talent
for coping with extremes of adversity and just simply surviving.
Patience, perseverance and amazing ingenuity are just some of the
heroic qualities the people have demonstrated as the crisis has
deepened and the suffering has been steadily ratcheted up. Yet as
good and necessary as these qualities are in the daily struggle
to survive the effects of prolonged ZANU PF mis- rule, they are
not enough. The victim of a savage mugging must do more than raising
his arms to cover his face from the blows raining down upon him.
If he cannot immediately restrain his assailant he must at least
remove himself from harm's way. And that counsel applies particularly
to the youth of the nation who are suffering massive damage, in
terms of their health, education, and moral well-being.
No sector of
Zimbabwean society has been more abused by the present ruling clique
than the nation's youth. They have been cynically used and
abused in the political process (notoriously so in the youth militia
programme), and their welfare otherwise totally ignored by a regime
obsessed with its own survival. As a result the impact upon our
youth of the economic meltdown, mass migration and disintegration
of the health and education services has been catastrophic.
The first casualty
of the economic meltdown and consequent exodus of workers from the
country has been the family. The strong family unit which at one
was synonymous with the health and well being of the nation, is
now seriously fractured. It is an amazing fact, but true, that three
out of four of those Zimbabweans now working are working outside
the country. With an unemployment rate in excess of 80 per cent,
and increasing, the economically productive sector of our nation
is simply voting with their feet, moving, legally or illegally,
to greener pastures beyond our borders. And with a huge number of
households now deprived of one or both parents, it is little wonder
that family life suffers. Marriages are put under a strain, but
it is the children ultimately who suffer the most. Sadly the spectre
of younger siblings left in the care of older brothers or sisters
is no longer uncommon.
Affordable housing
is increasingly difficult for most Zimbabweans to secure. And here
it has to be said that, even before the onset of the present national
crisis, the record of the ZANU PF government was scarcely any better
than that of the former colonial administration. Since independence
in 1980 the present government has done precious little to alleviate
the critical housing deficit. In the western areas of Bulawayo for
example, one thinks of building projects at Nketa near Rangemore,
Cowdray Park and Matatshula, but nothing else comes to mind. Scarcely
enough to accommodate a growing population which never had sufficient
affordable housing.
Then of course
in 2005 at the regime's own hand a substantial number of housing
units were wantonly destroyed in the infamous Operation
Murambatsvina. The UN Secretary General's special envoy,
Anna Tibaijuka, found that the homes and/or livelihoods of 700,000
people in cities across the land were destroyed in this military-
style operation. It was a calculated and callous move against, in
many cases, the poorest of the poor, and it resulted in massive
social dislocation. Previously many residents of high density suburbs
had expanded their meagre dwellings, building on annexe cottages
and out-rooms which were turned into kitchens and bedrooms for elderly
family members, leaving the main houses to accommodate children.
The wholesale destruction of these dwellings not only forced families
into even more unhealthy overcrowding, but also rendered a whole
swathe of lodgers homeless. Due to increasing scarcity, rents of
such accommodation as was still available, soared beyond the means
of most.
On top of the
chronic shortage of reasonable housing the escalating national crisis
is making it ever more difficult for parents to provide their children
with a balanced diet. The regime's disastrous attempt to reduce
the price of foodstuffs has simply resulted in the emptying of supermarket
shelves across the country. Ask where does a young mother obtain
nutritionally balanced food such as cerelac, lactogen and cerevita
for her toddler, and the answer has to be - in South Africa or Botswana.
But if the parents are not among the tiny percentage of Zimbabweans
who can afford the occasional shopping trip outside the country,
there is no way for them to secure such items. Again at the cost
of their young children.
A whole swathe
of basic products such as sugar, cooking oil, mealie meal and flour
are now only available on the black market and at extortionate prices.
Bread is unobtainable for most and meat unaffordable, though you
will still see children queuing for hours to buy a few buns or sweets
- their studies forgotten and household chores awaiting their
return. Little wonder then that malnutrition is becoming an increasingly
common phenomenon, especially among those of tender years.
It is now estimated
that four out of five Zimbabweans are living below the poverty datum
line, and a massive 4.1 million people will require food aid from
the international donor community by the end of the year. Of these
150,000 are former farm labourers and their families who lost their
homes, employment and means of growing their own crops in the illegal
farm invasions which commenced in the year 2000. With 70 per cent
of commercial agriculture destroyed and less than 5 per cent of
the country's maize production now coming from that source,
the current chronic food shortages are hardly surprising. Not without
good reason has the World Food Programme designated Zimbabwe one
of the Global Hunger Spots.
Yet, scandalously,
in such a situation of dire need a substantial stock of food already
supplied by the international community remains in storage, pending
the forth-coming elections when it can be deployed to the best advantage
of the ruling elite. Moreover the World Food Programme and NGOs
such as Christian Care are obstructed by government from distributing
their nutritionally balanced foods.
Hunger and malnutrition
of course impact negatively on the child's progress at school.
Arriving at school without having had any breakfast, and in many
cases tired after walking miles because of the shortage of fuel,
children are hardly able to concentrate on their studies. Add to
this the effect of poor morale among the grossly underpaid teachers,
the lack of teaching resources and crumbling school infrastructure,
and it is not difficult to understand why educational standards
have fallen dramatically - and this in a country which in
the early post-Independence years recorded an increase in educational
standards which was the envy of the region. Again our children are
the victims of mis-rule and their deprivation will impact negatively
on the nation's development for decades to come.
The disintegrating
health delivery system is also hugely damaging to our children.
Many hospitals and clinics now dispense only paracetamol. For other
drugs patients must refer to a chemist, but their supplies are dwindling
and prices are beyond the reach of most Zimbabweans, including those
enrolled with a medical aid society. Doctors' consultation
fees are also now unaffordable to most. Not surprisingly therefore
parents in rural areas are increasingly turning to traditional healers
when their children fall ill. Their services are less costly but
of course they lack modern facilities and diagnostics such as blood
testing and x- raying. Furthermore there is little traditional healers
can do to counter the twin scourges of disease and malnutrition.
In the present
crisis statistics are not readily available for chronic malnutrition
among children, or the related physical stunting and impaired brain
development. By the time such information becomes available to the
medical profession it may well be too late to do anything to help
the present victims.
Though Bulawayo
City Council's Director of Health Services, Dr Zanele Hwalima,
claims that to date her authority has been able to provide a 90
per cent coverage or immunization against the seven killer diseases
(whooping cough, diphtheria, tuberculosis, meningitis, measles,
tetanus and small pox), one can but wonder how much longer they
will be able to hold the line. Blessing Chebundo MP who is the Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee Chairman on Health, says, "the political
situation in Zimbabwe has really affected the life of children because
currently there are no drugs in hospitals. Medicine for immunization
is not available and we can see diseases like polio coming back".
Of all the many
victims of the regime's corruption and incompetence (and we
are all victims in one way or another), it is the nation's
children who are the most vulnerable and who have most to lose.
The crumbling education system is depriving them of the opportunity
to acquire the necessary life skills to make their way in the world.
(And we note that despite their incarceration under colonial rule,
most of the ruling elite were able to advance their education and
prospects at that time). The disintegrating health service is failing
the children badly, and many are dying unnecessarily. Widespread
and chronic food shortages are also now claiming lives and sentencing
many of our children to, at best, stunted lives. The economic melt-down
is blighting their prospects of ever finding remunerative employment
or fulfilling careers. And finally the undermining of family life
is depriving them of the security they need in childhood, not to
mention the moral compass they require for life.
Such, and more,
is the loss our children are suffering through the prolongation
of the present crisis. The question is how much longer we, their
parents and grandparents, are willing to stand by and allow them
to absorb the blows which this regime is raining down upon them.
The bully must surely be stopped - now. The street mugger must be
restrained from doing further violence, even if we cannot immediately
bring him to justice.
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