adminThe group, made up of 11 adults and 15 children, all from three families, are from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They said they fled from the eastern Congo because of the internal fighting during the build-up to last month’s general elections in their country. The group said they crossed into Zambia on foot and briefly stayed at a church in Lusaka before proceeding to Zimbabwe.
According to one of the family members, Mr Titus Bihojo, after staying for a month at the church in Zambia, they found a vehicle which ferried them to Livingstone and then crossed on foot through an undesignated crossing point into Zimbabwe and arrived in Victoria Falls. He said when they reached the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo highway, they begged a kombi driver to take them to Bulawayo and they arrived in the city last Friday and stayed at Amakhosi Cultural Centre for three days before they sought shelter at the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Zimbabwe in Makokoba suburb.
Since their arrival, residents of Makokoba have been providing the group with food, blankets and other necessities to make their stay comfortable. The residents even organised nurses from Mzilikazi Clinic to attend to the sick. We want to say thumbs up to residents of Makokoba who demonstrated that Zimbabweans are not just hospitable but are also loving and caring citizens. Residents of Makokoba, Bulawayo’s oldest high density suburb, are among residents considered very poor because most of them are unemployed but they managed to share whatever little they had with the desperate Congolese.
The residents’ efforts were complemented by a number of non-governmental organisations that included churches. When the group arrived in the suburb, residents did not see foreigners invading their suburb but they saw fellow Africans in need of help hence their overwhelming response that changed the lives of the Congolese. The group was, throughout the week, guaranteed three square meals a day, thanks to the generosity of the people of Makokoba.
What was however disappointing was the slow reaction by Government institutions that deal with such cases. The Congolese were only moved yesterday to Tongogara refugee camp in Manicaland, a week after their arrival. What then could have happened if the residents of Makokoba had reacted so lackadaisically to the arrival of these Congolese as what the government institutions did?
Makokoba suburb could have recorded a death or two as a result of starvation. The swift response from residents of Makokoba therefore averted an imminent disaster. It is important for Government institutions like the Department of Immigration to react swiftly and address such challenges as delays could result in human catastrophe or pose a security risk to the country.
Online Reporter