Inside the neglected Mwila people’s hardships

The Angolan embassy has turned a blind eye to the women and children of the Mwila community who travelled over a thousand kilometres from Lubango in southern Angola to Namibia.Here on the streets of Windhoek, they risk their lives begging on street corners and selling wooden spoons, cups and knobkerries for N$10 or N$20. The group lives in Okuryangava at Stop ‘n Shop. They sleep out in the open against the wall of the shop, with children as young as eight months exposed to the elements. Their bedding is a combination of garbage bags and pallets, putting them at risk of snake, scorpion and spider bites. Next to their bedding - stacked up as they left for their business of the day - are boxes and baskets of rotten apples, seemingly kept for the evening’s meal. One of the fruit and vegetable vendors nearby said she gives the Mwila children some of her fruit for free. “We cannot always help them because we are also trying to make ends meet,” the vendor, who introduced herself as Meme Shipanga, explained.Namibian Sun was also shown a tree where some members of the Mwila group sleep – it barely has any leaves to offer shade or shelter. Half-eaten rotten apples litter the ground close by.‘Life in the city is tough’Ndele, a teenage boy who is part of the Mwila group, said he took a bus from the north with six others, and they were all dropped off at Monte Cristo in Katutura. “I came with kids, they are six and we came with a car, then a bus. We do not have any national papers; we just passed the border at Ondjiva to Oshikango,” he narrated through an interpreter. When asked how they feed themselves and what they do with the proceeds of their sales, he kept quiet.One of the children, who looks like she could be 11 or 12 and acts as a spokesperson for her peers, confirmed through the interpreter that they are from Lubango and came to Windhoek through Oshikango by bus. The girl said she was in grade two in Angola, but added that their school had been closed because of the rain. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a male vendor - an Angolan national who has been living in Namibia for years - said the Mwila women and children work for a businessman in Angola.“The man is there in Lubango. When these spoons are finished, they must go and collect and come back again. You can only find these things in Angola – they are only made in Angola,” he said. A Mwila woman known as Tenka said their husbands remained in Lubango and only the women moved to Namibia with their children."I have no choice but to sell these traditional crafts," another woman, Nala, lamented through the translator.She said she’s been living in Windhoek for six months. "Life in the city is tough. I get tired easily and my children sell the items for us.”She added that they walk from Okuryangava early in the morning and head to the city centre where they try their luck, hoping to score a few coins or to sell their wooden items.HeartbreakingNamibian couple Dannie and Lucia Kooper, who live nearby, said it’s sad to see children as young as three walking around, trying to sell the wooden wares. “Sometimes we offer them food when we have a little more. It is so heartbreaking to see these little children so hungry and neglected,” Lucia said.Her husband highlighted that the young girls tend to their small siblings, adding that there are also pregnant young girls who are part of the group. Dannie, however, added that it is not clear who impregnated the girls as there are not many men among them. During our visit, Namibian Sun found a group of seven children, between the ages of two and three, who were all sick with flu. Their noses are runny, but no one helps the toddlers wipe them.The group is reportedly hesitant to seek medical assistance for the sick children out of fear that they will be deported.They don’t have any facilities to bathe themselves either, they said.Climate change to blameAngolan ambassador to Namibia Jovelina Imperial e Costa last Friday refused to comment on the matter, but instead released a statement in which she blamed the situation on climate change. “Angola defends the rights and protection of children, being a signatory to the relevant international commitments on the rights and protection of children. Furthermore, internally Angola is committed to the implementation of the 11 commitments to children in order to particularly safeguard the well-being of Angolan children.“Taking into account the devastating effects of climate change, particularly in the southern region of Angola, the Angolan government has been implementing a broad investment programme to mitigate the impact of the drought combined with financial support for families and credits to agricultural and livestock cooperatives, aimed at ensuring the well-being of the population,” it read.Julia Goncalves, press attaché at the Angolan embassy, added that the problem is a result of porous borders between the two countries and should be handled with sensitivity. However, on Monday morning, embassy staff still had not the faintest idea where these children and their mothers lay their heads at night, and had to be directed by Namibian Sun. They also had no way to communicate with the group as the embassy staff speak Portuguese and the women and children Mwila.Two embassy staff members joined Namibian Sun on the visit, and based on their engagement, they appeared to be completely oblivious to the group’s existence.Rape fearsPopular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Elma Dienda said Mwila children as young as three run up to her car daily to ask for money. “I have even been called by a club owner in Khomasdal who said these children are roaming around the club at 02:00 in the morning and no one can understand them. He said he is really concerned for their lives and fears that the children might even be raped,” she narrated. At a consultative meeting, Windhoek mayor Queen Kamati yesterday asked stakeholders to engage constructively and to propose real and lasting solutions to the social problems affecting this vulnerable group. “At the end of this meeting, it is my wish to see a working framework that spells out the responsibilities of every stakeholder - including each stakeholder’s commitment to implement the agreed-upon way forward,” she said.The Mwila people, a nomadic pastoral group, are left to their own devices because they often do not attend school - and if they do, they rarely finish.Speaking to Namibian Sun last week, former prime minister Nahas Angula described the group as semi-nomadic people who must not be forced to live a life alien to them.“If you tell them to change their nomadic way of life, it will amount to cultural imperialism. Government must engage them and inform them that child labour is an offence in Namibia. They must recruit people who are aged 18 and above to sell their crafts.”limba@namibiansun.com and jemima@namibiansun.com

Inside the neglected Mwila people’s hardships

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-15

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Inside the neglected Mwila people’s hardships

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-15

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