Zim kids splash in raw sewage
2008-11-28 19:10
Special Report
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A dusty road leads to the village of Wedza, where veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation war eke out a meagre living on their farm cooperative, which after a promising start now brings only despair.
Harare - Children in the suburbs of Zimbabwe's capital run along a stream of raw sewage, jumping between the mountains of garbage that has not been collected in months, just steps from an emergency cholera clinic.
The suburb of Budiriro is the epicentre of a nationwide cholera outbreak that has infected nearly 9 000 people and killed 366, according to the United Nations - the latest tragic consequence of Zimbabwe's economic collapse.
Nearly 100 patients are waiting for treatment at the clinic, but shortages of drugs and equipment mean that few will actually receive any help.
A vehicle from the funeral parlour stands parked outside.
Inside the clinic, patients lie on the floor to await treatment. The lucky ones sleep on beds that have no mattresses.
"Things are bad," says one patient lying on the floor. "There are no drips, when they come it may be too late for some of us."
Cholera causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting that eventually kills a patient, but is easily prevented by washing hands, cleaning foods, and keeping drinking water away from sewage.
Unimaginable luxuries
Those conditions are almost unimaginable luxuries in many parts of Zimbabwe, where the crumbling economy means burst sewage lines go unrepaired, and utilities can't always treat drinking water.
Vegetable vendors still sell their wares amid the urban debris, unconcerned by the swarms of flies hovering above their uncovered tables.
"There is no water and toilets are not flushing. We are struggling," Chipo Chimwe said across town in the neighbourhood of Kambuzuma.
"We will die if things remain as they are. They say we have to boil our water - when there is no water and no electricity. We need help urgently."
Zimbabwe's government insists the outbreak is under control, but residents here say they fear many more will die unless sanitation facilities are repaired urgently.
Women and children in Kambuzuma wash their laundry in a shallow well, saying they dare not use the water in their taps at home.
"The little water coming from our taps is not properly treated," Tracy Mutasa says.
"The drinking water - it smells of sewage. Children are suffering from diarrhoea. We don't know when things will get back to normal," she sighs.
'Leaders are wasting time'
Victoria Kuronga, another Kambuzuma resident, accused Zimbabwe's political leaders of wasting time in power-sharing talks rather than addressing the humanitarian crisis.
"These politicians just think about themselves at our expense," she said.
"It would have been better for them to hold these talks in Kambuzuma where they can see raw sewage daily. Then maybe they would appreciate our plight. We are suffering."
Zimbabwe has ignored warnings from neighbour South Africa, the United Nations and aid agencies, who say the country is facing a humanitarian crisis.
"The situation is under control," Deputy Health Minister Edwin Muguti told AFP, reacting to calls for Harare to declare a national health emergency.
The government's disdain has left Zimbabweans unable even to properly mourn the dead, some public health officials quietly lament.
Health experts say if a cholera patient dies, the body must be buried within 72 hours, meaning Zimbabwe's lengthy traditional funeral rites cannot be observed.
"Anyone who dies of cholera has to be put in plastic and the body is put into a coffin," said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"That person would have to be buried within three days and unfortunately there will be no body viewing, which is a very unpopular and hard decision."
- AFP