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Introduction
Johan Viljoen visited the Archdiocese of Nampula over the period 25 to 30 November 2021. The purpose of the visit was to monitor progress being made with the current programme of Caritas Nampula, to assess new needs, and to plan for future program implementation.
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Rapale
Rapale, approximately 17 km west of Nampula, is the site where new IDP’s are settling. The government has already recorded 350 new families, but according to Fr Hernan, the local Catholic Priest, there are close to 1 000 families there. Currently no assistance is being provided by anyone. IDP’s live in rudimentary shacks constructed from sticks and mud, with grass to cover the roofs. They have no food, no cooking utensils, no matrassas, no construction material, no medication, no seeds, no agricultural implements. Conditions are sub-human. There are new arrivals daily. During the DHPI visit, a woman arrived from Macomia, with her sister and three children. All report that attacks continue in the areas they fled from. The IDP’s at Rapale are in urgent need of humanitarian support. See below scenes from Rapale:
Johan Viljoen with Fr Hernan (second from right) and men and IDP men and children at Rapale.
Left: Dona Angelina, with her sister and three children, who arrived from Macomia (Cabo Delgado) during our visit. The straw mat she is carrying is the only possession they managed to carry with them.
Below right: Dona Anabela, who fled on foot from Macomia (a distance of about 300 km) with her blind husband, to reach Rapale. The journey took almost two weeks.
See below more pictures from Rapale.
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Corrane
Corrane is the main reception centre in Nampula Province for IDP’s from Cabo Delgado. With technical support from DHPI, Caritas Nampula has embarked on a program to build 200 houses for indigent IDP’s. The program is making good progress. Below are photographs showing existing IDP shelters:
The picture above shows construction material for new houses.
The two pictures below show new houses for IDP’s built by Caritas Nampula.
The humanitarian situation in Corrane is a matter of great concern. It has not rained at all this year, consequently nobody is able to produce food. With attacks in Cabo Delgado continuing, new IDP’s continue to arrive daily at Corrane as well. The WFP and UNHCR have been unable to distribute food in the camp for the past three months. Since the beginning of September, it is only Caritas Nampula that has been able to distribute emergency food supplies.
Below are scenes from Corrane:
The lady on the photo at left came to Corrane from Muidumbe. She watched her husband being beheaded by insurgents, before they kidnapped her three teenage sons. She has not heard of them since, and wonders if they have been killed, or have been forced to become child soldiers.
At left a family from Matemo Island. They were fishermen, and find it extremely difficult to survive in Corrane.
DHPI was accompanied by Dom Inacio Saure – the Archbishop of Nampula andf President of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique – see the two photo’s at left.
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Ongoing Attacks
Despite assurances from the Rwandan military and the Mozambican authorities, that the situation in Cabo Delgado is now stable, and that it is now safe for IDP’s to return, this is clearly not the case. New IDP’s arrive daily in both Rapale and Corrane, fleeing from ongoing attacks. The latest arrivals DHPI spoke to came from Macomia, Mueda and Muidumbe.
During the visit, reports were received of insurgent attacks in Mecula, Niassa Province, and of the burning of vehicles along the road between Mecula and Balangane. It appears as if the insurgents have dispersed into smaller groups, continuing with attacks in the districts of Muidumbe, Macomia and Mueda, and are now concentrating on attacking villages in Niassa Province. Reports were also received of ongoing attacks on villages across the border in Tanzania.
The inability of WFP and UNHCR to provide emergency food relief is a matter of great concern. The humanitarian crisis is nowhere near over. With the failure of rain, it is not possible to cultivate food. IDP’s are fully dependent on the food they can get from humanitarian organizations.
The education of children is a serious problem. At Rapale there is no school. At Corrane, DHPI visited a school with over 1 500 learners, and only 13 teachers – more than 100 learners per class.
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