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Phylis Kachere-Deputy News Editor Convergence
Following an attack on her village in South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo sometime in 2017 in which her husband was kidnapped and killed by rebels, Ms Bamba Fatuma Alimasi (38) fled with nothing, but her four children.
“I had nothing on me except a small bundle of clothes and my four children when I fled my village,” said Ms Alimasi. “Four months later, I arrived at Tongogara Refugee Camp, 420km south east of Harare in Zimbabwe.
“Since I fled with my children, my parents had no idea whether I had survived or not. While it was agony for me trying to find a safe refuge for my four children, it was worse for my mother as she endured more than four months with no knowledge of whether we had survived.”
Soon after her arrival at Tongogara Refugee Camp, Ms Alimasi said she was quickly referred to the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society’s Restoring Family Links kiosk for the Red Cross Messages facility.
Within a week, Ms Alimasi’s message was conveyed to her parents in the DRC and a response was sent back to her.
Her compatriot, Jean-Claude Karize, now 50, who also now lives at the refugee camp, but is from the Bacongo region in the DRC, said he intends to use the Red Cross Message facility to track and send a message as proof of life to his two children whom he believes are still in his country.
“In 2010, I was hit on the leg by a bullet when rebels attacked my village in the Bacongo region of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Mr Karize during an interview recently.
“My first wife, Badinabi, was killed during the attack, forcing me to flee the country. My two young children then, a boy aged seven and a girl aged 12, also fled in a different direction. I have never heard from them and vice versa. I do not know if they are still alive.”
Almost 12 years later, Karize has found refuge at the Tongogara Refugee Camp with his festering bullet wound, but has no clue of the whereabouts of his two children.
“I was not aware of this facility, the Restoring Family Links and Red Cross Message facility. I will engage them so they track and give a message to my children. I have sleepless nights thinking about what happened to them,” he said.
During the launch of the refurbished kiosk last week at Tongogara Refugee Camp, the International Committee of the Red Cross head of delegation Southern Africa Mr Mamadou Sow said over 11 000 internet connections have been made since the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) launched its connectivity service.
“The connectivity service is an extension to the existing Restoring Family Links (RFL) service which provides vulnerable communities, particularly refugees and asylum seekers at Tongogara Refugee Camp, with free phone calls, Red Cross Message and other tools to reach relatives they had been separated from due to armed conflict, violence or migration,” said Mr Sow.
Tongogara Refugee Camp administrator, Mr Johanne Mhlanga, said: “The investment by the ICRC and the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society will go a long way in enhancing family tracing by the refugee community (products of human tsunamis).
“It resonates well with our aspirations as a partnership to leave no one behind in development. Indeed, as a partnership, we seek to provide comprehensive services to promote the welfare of refugees.
“Ours is an agenda for transformation. Transformation for the better as we strive to achieve the commitments made by the Government of Zimbabwe to attain the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees.”
In 2019, this expanded to include free access to computers and Wi-Fi available in an internet café located within the camp and on the personal devices of individuals who wish to connect and request a voucher.
“Today’s humanitarian challenges are vast and intricate, hence the need for continuous and diverse engagements with the vulnerable communities, who remain at the heart of our work, as we navigate the ever-changing humanitarian landscape together,” said the ZRCS secretary general Mr Elias Hwenga.
“Our permanent presence within Tongogara Refugee Camp and proximity to the people attests to our commitment as the Red Cross to be everywhere for everyone. Through the RFL programme, we aim to prevent the separation of families, restore and maintain family links and clarify the fate of persons reported missing.”
To ensure that the elderly and those with mobility challenges also have access to the RFL service, volunteers conduct weekly visits throughout the camp.
To support the ZRCS, the ICRC also refurbished the internet café and recently upgraded the solar system and the connectivity at the camp. Through this energy efficient solution, communities are able access the services throughout the day.
“The Red Cross understands that digital connectivity has changed the way people stay in touch with each other and has responded to the direct request for free internet services.
“Establishing these services also helps people access information and opportunities,” said Ms Marie-Astrid Blondiaux, ICRC Protection Co-ordinator.
Earlier in the week, the ICRC and the ZRCS opened the country’s fourth RedSafe kiosk at Beitbridge meant to increase accessibility of services for migrants and their families.
The other three kiosks are in Zaka in Masvingo, Bulawayo and Harare.
RedSafe is a humanitarian app providing safe and secure virtual storage of important documents for both regular and irregular migrants guaranteeing digital safety and compliance with ICRC data protection standards.
The kiosk, located in Beitbridge in the south of Zimbabwe bordering South Africa, is run by Zimbabwe Red Cross volunteers and offers migrants a range of services aimed at helping them re-establish and maintain contact with their relatives, such as free calls and internet sessions.
“These services also include access to the RedSafe app which allows migrant communities to safely store their personal documents (IDs, medical records, education certificates) through a digital vault; access practical migration-related information and alerts, warning users of time-bound specific services such as updates on the vaccination roll-out or news of impending floods. RedSafe also allows users to save a copy of their contacts in their digital vault, limiting loss of contact,” said Mr Hwenga.
While the app is a pilot project between South Africa and Zimbabwe, it is also available to those in Botswana, Lesotho, eSwatini, Mozambique, Malawi, Switzerland and Zambia, providing useful and regularly updated information not only for those migrating, but also for those who have already settled in South Africa.
Beitbridge district development co-ordinator, Ms Sikhangezile Mafu, described the centre as a necessity for Zimbabwe.
“We are a migrant district and the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society response is important and essential. It is needs-based and unites families, which is key to the development of any country,” said Ms Mafu.
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