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Displaced victim dies at squatter camp without food or shelter
Tererai Karimakwenda, SW Radio Africa
June 15, 2006

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news150606/victimdies150606.htm

Highlighting governments disastrous demolition policies Tuesday, another displaced victim of last year’s operation died in a squatter camp outside Bulawayo. This death could have been prevented had the non-governmental organisations and church groups in the area been allowed to feed displaced families and to provide shelter and blankets for the winter. But according to church officials government policy has been to deny the people the basic necessities and to make it difficult for anyone else to help them.

We spoke to a reverend who has been gathering blankets and collecting food for displaced families at the informal settlement of Killarney outside Bulawayo and he told us at least 2 people are dying there every week. He said the main cause of the deaths is malnutrition combined with the cold weather that has set in. There is a desperate need for food and blankets.

The reverend chose to protect his identity and that of the deceased because he believes that otherwise he may find it even more difficult to continue his vital work. He told us NGOs are not allowed to feed the residents at Killarney, an informal peri-urban settlement that was destroyed during Operation Murambatsvina in 2005. Many of the families that were displaced at the time have come back to nothing and are living in shacks without any running water. The reverend said the church has been assisting these families but working under stringent rules and in a very negative atmosphere.

Malnutrition weakens the immune system and without shelter many of the displaced people have been coughing. The reverend said in most cases the cough brings on severe chest pains which eventually lead to death. He appealed for help with maize meal and other food items and blankets would ease the suffering of these desperate people.

The death on Tuesday has intensified debate about the role of the church in resolving the crisis that has gripped the country. Some of church leaders who met with Mugabe last month have been accused of supporting the ruling party’s policies and forgetting about the people’s suffering.

The church in Zimbabwe is now split over how best to approach the crisis. The Archbishop of Bulawayo Pius Ncube has said some church officials were given farms and bribes by the ruling party in exchange for bringing their parishioners to support ZANU-PF.

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