From: Yona Maro
While the Tanzanian government helps previous home-owners affected by the floods, many who lost everything face neglect.
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Karibu Jukwaa la www.mwanabidii.com
Pata nafasi mpya za Kazi www.kazibongo.blogspot.com
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Msimbazi valley, Tanzania:
On December 21, Tanzania experienced its most severe flooding in 50 years.
Over 40 died in the floods, which washed away many families’ livelihoods and homes making thousands homeless. According to the Tanzanian Meteorological Agency, the floods were the worst the country has seen since independence in 1961.
The Msimbazi valley, already an area known to be at risk of flooding, was particularly badly affected.
Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete suggested that the degree of destruction caused by the flood was down to the fact that people were living on unsuitable flood-prone land. Indeed, the area had been declared dangerous to build on since 1979, but to little effect.
Subsequently, victims from this area have been told they will not be allowed to move back and 580 households are to receive land in Mabwe Pande on which to build new homes.
The forgotten victims
The Tanzanian press has focused on these victims as they struggle to piece back their lives and adapt to their new homes. But one group is being ignored.
Mabwe Pande plots of land are only being given to former landlords and homeowners, but those renting rooms destroyed by the floods have received scant help from the government.
Many of these victims were housed in the Benjamin Mkapa Secondary School, but when school reopened they were asked to leave. They say that they were not offered anywhere else to stay and so they moved onto the pavement just outside the school.
It seems the government has assumed that because they were renting rooms in the flood-affected area, they can rent rooms elsewhere. But many of their livelihoods were also washed away and now they can no longer afford to rent. Since the start of January, Think Africa Press has met over 50 people who have been living on the street. Walking past, it is hard to miss the pile of mattresses and a stove that mark the home of dozens of adults and children.
What else to do?
Patrick John, who had been renting a room before the floods, explained to Think Africa Press, now “I don’t have anything.” He could no longer afford to rent a room because he lost all his belongings and money in the flood.
Musa Wazira, another victim of the flood, claimed that since school reopened, the group were not allowed to use any of its facilities. Instead, they have to pay to use a nearby public toilet.
Prior to the floods, Wazira had been renting a single room for his family in Msimbazi valley for 25,000 Tanzanian shillings (about $16) a month. Since then, he lost his job as a fruit and vegetable seller because of rotten stock. His wife earns TSh 2,000 ($1.25) a day as a food vendor, which they use to buy supplies, but they cannot save enough money to rent a room somewhere else.
Other family members did not have the space to offer them a room. Visibly depressed and with no alternative in sight, Wazira asked “What else to do?”
Mwanaharusi is living on the street with her five children. When the floods destroyed her rented room, she asked her husband, who she claimed had a drink problem and beat her, to leave. She says that without a husband it is harder, but that he used to steal her money to buy alcohol. He once appeared at the pavement camp and hit her. Mwanaharusi hopes to find work, but that would mean her sixteen-year-old daughter dropping out of school to look after her youngest child, who is just a few months old.
Ilham, a ten year old girl, said, “I don’t have comfort or pleasure here. But I don’t know what else we can do.”
Out of sight, out of mind
Patrick John claimed that Think Africa Press was the first press organisation to visit the group in two weeks. The government had provided some help, which they said they were grateful for, and some mattresses and school supplies were donated, but that now attention has faded from their plight.
But Wazira, insisted: “People know. People know we are here, we are suffering. But they can’t do anything, and the government doesn’t want to do anything.”
Aside from religious leaders donating food, those still on the streets have been met with polite indifference by many of the locals. One local, Micky, said that while he felt bad for them, he believed many were lazy and simply did not want to get jobs.
The political wrangling over Mabwe Pande plots has dominated Tanzanian news; some families are still waiting to receive their plots of land, and others are struggling to cope with long commutes and temporary houses. However, they are continuing to receive considerable help: tents, water, food, toilets, and electricity – much provided by international donors – and can dream of a better life. The Tanzanian Red Cross has already spent about TSh 200million ($125 million) helping those at Mabwe Pande.
These facilities are far beyond those that the families camped outside Benjamin Mkapa Secondary School can hope for. The sense of frustration and depression was tangible. Those who spoke to Think Africa Press knew that they would not be offered any plots by the government and that further outside help is unlikely.
By Sarah Collier