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Zimbabwe exodus: Key facts on humanitarian assistance
Sean Garcia and Patrick Duplat, Refugees International
November 07, 2007

http://www.refintl.org/content/article/detail/10282

The number of Zimbabweans leaving their country continues to increase. Humanitarian needs will grow as pressure on host countries' social services mounts. NGOs and UN agencies should integrate Zimbabweans into existing programs, and design new projects to assist Zimbabweans and vulnerable members of their host communities. In that process, the UN should play an active role in providing regional leadership and coordination.

• Provision of humanitarian assistance is severely hampered by the undocumented status of a majority of Zimbabweans. In host countries, Zimbabweans constitute an invisible population: undocumented, in hiding and scattered. In South Africa, civil society and international NGOs are assessing the situation and have started pilot projects in key locations, such as Musina on the border and Hillbrow in Johannesburg. In Zambia, the presence of a large contingent of NGOs could facilitate a concerted response. In Botswana however, assisting illegal migrants is actively discouraged. It is imperative that arrest and deportation policies do not get in the way of humanitarian aid.

• Many Zimbabweans do not have adequate shelter. In urban centers, Zimbabweans rely on informal networks for shelter. Some congregate in specific neighborhoods, such as Hillbrow, or in work-related, make-shift accommodation, such as construction sites around Gaborone or outdoor markets in Lusaka. Living conditions are often squalid, with poor sanitation, overcrowding and basic cooking facilities. Many people move often to avoid attracting too much attention.

  In South Africa, the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg is the most visible sign of a hidden problem. It houses over 1,200 homeless migrants, the vast majority from Zimbabwe. Reports of other churches as far away as Cape Town and Durban opening their doors show the extent of the problem. Operational agencies need to look at creative ways to address the temporary shelter shortfall which would benefit host countries in the long term.

• Food shortages for Zimbabweans are compounded by their need to send supplies back home. Zimbabweans send staple goods such as cornmeal, cooking oil, sugar and rice home regularly. RI met Zimbabweans who deprive themselves of regular meals in order to send more food home to their families. The provision of food by operational agencies needs to take this particular situation into account.

• Zimbabweans do not enjoy unfettered access to health care. There is a gap between the legal ability of migrants to access health care in host countries, and their willingness to do so. Hospitals in Botswana and South Africa are open to foreign nationals, but many Zimbabweans report being refused treatment, or fear being arrested. These problems are most acute in Botswana, where xenophobia is highest. Displacement of large numbers of Zimbabweans could have implications on the spread of HIV/AIDS. RI is aware of Zimbabweans who have discontinued treatment and sold anti-retrovirals on the black market. This situation requires close monitoring, especially in Zambia where many Zimbabwean women resort to prostitution.

• Skilled Zimbabweans take up menial jobs. Professionals- teachers, nurses, journalists and artisans - are forced to leave Zimbabwe because they cannot support themselves and their families. In host countries, most are unable to practice their profession. RI met with skilled electricians and masons who are hired as unskilled labor on construction sites; nurses employed as maids; and teachers selling trinkets on the street. At the extreme, RI met with commercial sex workers who had been office clerks in Harare. This de-professionalization is a testament to the growing desperation of Zimbabweans, and has profound implications for the future of Zimbabwe.

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