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Zimbabwe: Over 200 MDC Refugees Face Eviction At SA Embassy in Harare
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SW Radio Africa (London)
26 June 2008
Posted to the web 26 June 2008
Lance Guma
Around 200 MDC activists, fleeing the Zanu PF led political violence, camped outside the South African embassy in Harare Wednesday evening seeking refuge.
Press reports say women, children and men huddled together in the fenced car park at the embassy, battling the cold winter temperatures. Many said they had been caught up in the police raid on the MDC offices on Monday. Most of the victims interviewed said they felt safer at the South African embassy than in any other part of the country. Several of the victims have been roaming the streets for three days and told journalists it was better to sleep out in the open at a safe location, rather than risk staying anywhere else.
A woman interviewed gave harrowing accounts of how her home had been burnt down by ruling party thugs, resulting in her fleeing to the MDC Harvest House headquarters. This however did not stop the long arm of Zanu PF's terror campaign, in the form of the police, who raided the offices Monday and bundled over 60 victims into waiting ZUPCO buses. But now the MDC refugees might have to find another place of shelter after South Africa's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Professor Mlungisi Makalima, said he could not continue to accommodate them. 'We don't have enough infrastructure to house them at the embassy. We are talking to international agencies and NGOs to help with the situation,' he said.
SADC observers were seen distributing blankets to the victims, who were sleeping on the cold concrete tarmac of the embassy car park. The observers involved in this have complained about police intimidation, adding that riot police had mounted a roadblock near the embassy. A vegetable vendor whose house was also burnt down told journalists they hoped their presence at the embassy would help South African President Thabo Mbeki act quicker to help resolve the crisis. Meanwhile visa applications to South Africa were disrupted with some people telling Newsreel they were turned away because of the tense situation.
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