Posted on 04/03/2002 8:50:08 PM PST by Clive
ZIMBABWEAN non-governmental organi-sations (NGOs) have approached international humanitarian agencies for help in dealing with more than 50 000 internal refugees displaced by worsening political violence, but analysts yesterday said comprehensive aid might not materialise unless the government acknowledges the growing refugee problem.
Andrew Nongogo, spokesman for Crisis in Zimbabwe, a coalition of civil society groups, said his organisation was not ready to divulge the names of the international agencies involved because the negotiations were only just beginning.
An official at a Harare-based NGO, who attended discussions held yesterday with one of the agencies, said there were also fears that negotiations might be sabotaged by the government, whose supporters are blamed for the violence that has displaced a large number of people from their homes.
"We are in negotiations and we will also write to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and the UN," Nongogo told the Financial Gazette.
"This is an effort by a conglomerate of coalitions. There is an agreement by the major coalitions that something needs to be done and we are having a coordinated effort so that we don’t have little groups making separate approaches."
Solutions suggested to international agencies include the establishment of a tented "city" in Harare, where most displaced people have fled to, and the provision of food and other necessities.
NGOs yesterday made submissions detailing the extent of the internal refugee problem and the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis brewing in Zimbabwe, where over 70,000 were estimated to have fled their homes between January 2001 and February 2002 because of violence blamed on ruling ZANU PF supporters.
The number of internal refugees has swelled in the aftermath of last month’s disputed presidential poll, which has been followed by a campaign of retribution by ZANU PF militia against members and perceived supporters of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
"There have been massive numbers of displaced people in the wake of the election," Amani Trust, an NGO assisting victims of political violence, said in a report detailing violence during last month’s presidential election.
"Some estimates place the number at between 10,000 and 30,000 people nationwide — people who have fled from rural areas of persecution to the cities, mainly Harare. Those on the run are those accused of having voted from the MDC."
Nongogo, who said the numbers of internal refugees were increasing daily, put the figure at over 50,000. But the Commercial Farmers’ Union says at least 53,000 farm workers have been displaced in Mashonaland West alone, which analysts say indicates that current statistics are underestimates.
"The extent of the problem is huge," an official at a Harare-based aid agency said. "But there’s not much the international community can do without a mandate from the government. Only then can the kind of assistance needed be put in place."
The analysts said the government would first have to acknowledge that Zimbabwe faced an escalating internal refugee problem before international agencies could come forward with comprehensive assistance packages.
The government does not acknowledge the widespread violence forcing people from their homes, dismissing it as a ploy for international sympathy by the MDC after losing the presidential election.
"For any of these (international) organisations to play a part, they are going to have to approach the government and, with the government saying there is no problem, they can’t move," Nongogo said.
"We will have to figure out a way we can pressure the government to acknowledge that there is a problem." NGO officials said they would otherwise have to continue trying to cope with a problem that is already straining their resources and which has been worsened by food shortages and the spectre of mass starvation.
In an update on poll-related violence, Amani Trust said there had already been unconfirmed reports of two deaths from starvation in Tsholotsho in Matabeleland.
"We as NGOs are going to have to look at funding and come up with programmes, but it’s extremely difficult to manage that number of people," an NGO official said.
"A refugee is a very psychologically disturbed person who has enormous needs. The size of the problem is beyond the scope of most local organisations."
The USA learned its lesson in Somalia. I don't think that they should expect any help from us.
The same amount of money will reach the average African and the government will not have to pay all those nasty bank transfer fees.
Failing that, we should just send it all to Mugabe's Swiss Bank accounts directly -- since that's where it will all end up ultimately anyhow.
AfricaWatch:
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You know any aid we or anyone else sends will end up lining the pockets of the corrupt, and never reach the truly needy.
Just look back at the history....
Mugabe is a monster.
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