The Movement for Democratic Change was put in a fix when more than 2 400 displaced persons, including 471 children, camped at its headquarters at Harvest House after fleeing from the violence in the run-up to the presidential elections run-off of 2008.
The party, which had been able to provide the displaced person with two meals a day when they were still about 500, had reduced the meals to one a day and was running out of food.
Although party leader Morgan Tsvangirai had set up a Victims Assistance Fund, the money had not yet been channelled into the country from the donations made abroad.
The party was thinking of sending back some 300 back to their homes but most of the displaced persons were concerned that they would have nowhere to live if they returned.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 08HARARE522, HIDDEN HUNGER AT HARVEST HOUSE: THOUSANDS OF IDPS
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO3986
OO RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0522/01 1720914
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 200914Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3047
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2066
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2186
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0728
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1463
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 1821
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2242
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 4673
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1332
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000522
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR S. HILL
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM KDEM ZI
SUBJECT: HIDDEN HUNGER AT HARVEST HOUSE: THOUSANDS OF IDPS
AT OPPOSITION HQ
REF: A. HARARE 503
¶B. HARARE 470
Classified By: Charge d’Affaires, a.i. Glenn Warren for reason 1.4(d).
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Two months after the start of a
government-led campaign of violence, as many as 2,400
homeless and hungry Zimbabweans, including at least 471
children, many of whom are ill, continue to seek sanctuary at
Harvest House, the opposition MDC’s Harare headquarters. On
June 19, poloff toured the building with a local contact who
is working to assist the displaced and saw evidence of the
plight of these opposition supporters and their families, all
of whom fear for their lives if they return home, have no
home to return to, or both. There are few resources being
directed toward this vulnerable group. IDPs are surviving on
one small meal a day and have extremely limited access to
supplies, including medicine, baby formula, and sanitary
products. Frustrated by the large number of people in its
headquarters and its own limited resources to help them, the
MDC is rumored to be considering ending its meager assistance
in an effort to force them to return to their homes. END
SUMMARY.
¶2. (SBU) On June 19, poloff visited MDC headquarters at
Harvest House in downtown Harare, escorted by a local
opposition supporter who is attempting to virtually
single-handedly assist an estimated 2,400 internally
displaced persons (IDPs) who have sought shelter there. The
IDPs went to Harvest House to seek sanctuary after ZANU-PF
security forces, war veterans, or youth militia, destroyed
their homes and/or threatened them during the government’s
post-March 29 election crackdown. (NOTE: The number of IDPs
at Harvest House has sharply increased since the last
reporting cable (Reftel B) on this subject. END NOTE.) In
addition to nearly equal numbers of men and women, some 471
children are living in the seven story building that also
houses all central MDC operations, including the office of
the president, Morgan Tsvangirai. While many IDPs travel
outside of Harvest House during the day, in the evening the
house, which rarely has electricity, is reportedly packed,
with men staying on two of the bottom floors and women and
children on the top floor. All inhabitants are sleeping on
the floor, often without blankets, and sharing the offices’
limited toilets and sinks.
¶3. (SBU) Many of the IDPs have reportedly been hospitalized
for injuries related to the ZANU-PF campaign of violence, or
for illness bred by current living conditions at Harvest
House. Poloff observed numerous women and children who had,
according to our contact, a variety of illnesses, including
pneumonia, diarrhea, and HIV/AIDS. There were reports of two
recent cases of measles. Two children seen by poloff were
just returning to Harvest House from the local hospital after
bouts of pneumonia. Families are often separated and some
children are being cared for by relatives because one or both
of their parents is in the hospital due to government
perpetrated injuries or recent illness. We observed a number
of men with casts encasing broken arms or legs; some were in
wheelchairs.
¶4. (SBU) Food and other commodities are in severely limited
supply. With money reportedly pooled by members of
parliament from affected provinces, the IDPs are provided
with one meal per day of sadza, the Zimbabwean staple made of
corn meal, with relish, down from two meals per day in late
May (Reftel B) when the population at Harvest House was
estimated at 500. While NGOs have reportedly been assisting
the IDPs, the recent government suspension of NGO operations
(Reftel A) and the prevailing climate of fear associated with
political activities, in addition to soaring prices and
HARARE 00000522 002 OF 002
scarcity of commodities, mean that the supply of assistance
for the IDPs is quickly drying up. IDPs are increasingly
reliant on donations and discounts from individuals. While
our contact reported that she had recently been able to
secure donations of anti-retrovirals and antibiotics and had
made a large purchase of food, she noted that the supply
could last only a few days. Many in Harvest House are going
without such critical medicines as insulin and blood pressure
reducers.
¶5. (C) When asked about the MDC’s response to the situation,
the contact reported that she had been told that the majority
of Morgan Tsvangirai’s Victim Assistance Fund (Reftel B) had
not yet been channeled into the country from donations made
abroad. Furthermore, she reported, the MDC was so
overwhelmed with the number and needs of the IDPs that it was
considering cutting off assistance in order to force the
displaced to return to their home areas in time for the
election. (NOTE: While poloff was unable to confirm this,
it tracks with a comment made to poloff by an MDC official,
who stated the MDC was planning to return the IDPs to their
homes, and with recent reports by the MDC that it had
transported some 300 people back to their home areas. END
NOTE.) Our contact reported that IDPs remain fearful of
being abducted, injured, or killed if they return to their
homes, and/or are concerned they will have no where to live
if they return.
¶6. (C) Our contact told us she had set up two Harare
safehouses for the IDPs, one of which is in her own home.
She had focused on moving as many mothers with infants and
young children out of Harvest House as possible in order to
reduce their exposure to illness and to address sanitation
issues. When asked what was most needed to contain the
spread of disease and assist the IDPs, the contact reported
that food and supplies, particularly medicine and baby
formula, were priorities, but that ultimately rent money for
additional Harare safehouses (ideally two at approximately
US$500 per month per house) was imperative.
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: No matter that the MDC plans to do, the
situation at Harvest House is grim, with no indication of
improvement on the horizon given the government’s ongoing
crackdown on any and all activities that may be perceived to
be favorable to the opposition. Those NGOs that can operate
and those donors willing to assist are stretched thin by the
overwhelming need throughout the country in the wake of the
violence and government suspension on NGO activities. As a
result, IDPs in Harvest House are considered, as indicated to
us by the International Organization for Migration, to be a
low priority because they are “within the MDC’s purview.”
END COMMENT.
Warren
(23 VIEWS)
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