Online Reporter
Sikhumbuzo Moyo [email protected]
THE United Nations Women (UN Women) has called for the active involvement of traditional leaders in the reintegration of Zimbabweans returning from South Africa, saying community-based support structures are critical to ensuring the successful resettlement of returnees.
The call was made on Tuesday during a visit by a UN Women delegation to the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) returnees’ transit centre in Njube.
Led by UN Women acting country director Ms Loveness Makonese, the delegation said the visit was prompted by the growing number of women and children among the returnees fleeing anti-migrant violence and heightened immigration enforcement in South Africa.
Ms Makonese said women and children constituted the majority of those returning home, making it imperative to strengthen protection systems and ensuring they were effectively reintegrated into their communities.
She said UN Women had been profiling the returnees and established that most of them were women and children.
“As the United Nations entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment, it is very critical for us to get a clear understanding of the situation. Everyone assumes that when people come back home after so many years they have a home to return to where they can quickly settle, send their children to school and earn a living,” said Ms Makonese.
She said the reality emerging from engagements with returnees painted a different picture, with some having nowhere to go upon their return.
“Some people don’t have anywhere to go and, therefore, there is a need to come up with strategies through a multi-sectoral approach involving Government, communities, churches and other stakeholders.
“We appreciate the work being done by churches, but we also need to engage traditional leaders because these are the communities where people are supposed to return to and be fully integrated into society,” she said.
Ms Makonese said comprehensive assessments were needed to determine the type of support required by each returnee.
“During the assessment we need to establish what kind of support the returnees need because, as Africans, we believe in uBuntu, where we value social capital. However, the reality is that this social capital, which is our social safety net, is itself under strain because many households are already struggling,” she said.
Ms Makonese said many families lacked the capacity to absorb returning relatives without additional support.
“As development partners, we’re saying let us coordinate our efforts and find sustainable solutions so that people can recover from the trauma, rebuild their lives and find their feet,” said Ms Makonese.
The delegation also assessed conditions at the transit centre and engaged Government officials and humanitarian partners involved in the reception and reintegration of returnees.
UN Women has since reaffirmed its commitment to working with the Government and other stakeholders to ensure that women and children returning home receive the protection, support and opportunities they need to rebuild their lives.
