 |
|
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
ANGOLA: UNITA wives fear exclusion from govt aid
HUAMBO, 10 March 2003 (IRIN) - "Everyday I watch people leave Benfica. I am afraid that one day it will just be me and my sons left here. What will happen to us then?" asked Elisa Rebeca. "I was not a fighter but my husband was. I hope the government will remember me and my children."
With the palm of her hand she wipes the sweat off her infant's forehead: "This one has been sick for one week. For one week now I have been trying everything I know but nothing is working. People here say I must take him to the clinic but that is too far and I don't have any money."
For the past two months 27-year-old Elisa and her five sons have been living a hand-to-mouth existence at the Benfica transit centre on the outskirts of central Huambo, Angola's second largest city. The centre serves as a halfway house for some 2,000 people preparing to make their way to their areas of origin. Elisa's husband, a UNITA soldier, was killed in heavy fighting with government troops in the eastern province of Moxico in 1998.
"When the war ended I took my family to the Lucusse camp [quartering area in Moxico]. Although we were given help I already started to think about how long this help was going to last. In December we were told that we would be going home and I was very happy. But I didn't know that I would end up here without anything. At least in Lucusse we had food and medicine," she continued.
The living conditions at the make-shift centre, which is essentially a collection of flimsy tents, are squalid with most people dependent on international food aid. The nearest clinic is 10 km away.
Already, some people have left the centre and those who remain pin their hope on the promise of a "demobilisation kit".
But while food and medicine may be Elisa's immediate concern, she is worried that like thousands of other UNITA wives she may be passed over for any further government assistance.
The government's current demobilisation and reintegration programme limits assistance to UNITA soldiers and excludes wives and abducted women from guaranteed direct assistance.
"We have found that women have been extremely vulnerable following the peace agreement. And from talking to our women supporters in the camps we find that they feel betrayed. The government assistance to soldiers has been, broadly, quite insufficient. It is as if women have been completely forgotten," UNITA social affairs officer Carlos Morgado told IRIN.
He added: "While women may have not been fighting on the frontlines they played a very important [role] ... We must not forget that it is our women who are responsible for the child care and food production."
In a report on the effects of war on women in Angola, Refugees International (RI) has voiced concern over the reception women may face on return to their villages. Often used to cook, clean and carry supplies for the soldiers, women returning to their villages may be perceived as participants in the conflict, RI said.
But Elisa is optimistic: "I want to return home. I do think of what people might say but I am sure that I am not the only one. I cannot stay here [in the transit centre] for much longer. I am willing to talk to those people who might say something against me or my children. For now, I just hope I get the help from the government. The same help as everybody else."
Themes: (IRIN) Gender Issues, (IRIN) Refugees/IDPs
[ENDS]
The material contained on this Web site comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post any item on this site, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All graphics and Images on this site may not be re-produced without the express permission of the original owner. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
