Elderly Mozambican Women Refugees in the Tongogara
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I female heads of households and vul- nerable women are illiterate with no Elderly Mozambican Women Refugees income-generating skills, although they may be skilled as seamstresses, in the Tongogara Refugee Camp cooks, or midwives. Projects should be in Zimbabwe: A Case Study based on a participatory approach, and with sensitivity to the changing gen- Dodo Thandiwe Motsisi der roles and relationships in the coun- try of return. In order to ensure that women are included, a certain percent- age of female beneficiaries should be Introduction of living, elimination of poverty, access written into all project documents and to dignified employment, and a reduc- agreements. In traditional African rural communi- tion in social inequities, women are References ties, the elderly often provide their often deprived in one or more of these wisdom, cultural orientation, and life areas; they also make up the majority Chantavanich E. and B. Reynolds, eds. 1988. experiences to the younger generation, of the refugee camp population. Their Indochinese Refugees: Asylum and Resettle- and older women, in particular, fre- concerns need to be heard. ment. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University. quently receive special recognition. Elderly rural women who have be- Cooper, R. et al. 1991. The Hmong. Thailand: However, the dislocation and the diffi- come refugees constitute a large group Artasia Press. culties that some elderly persons expe- among the poor, the unemployed, and Forbes-Martin, S. 1992. Refugee Women. Lon- rience in adjusting to alien social the economically disadvantaged in don: Zed Books. environments may lead to a lowering refugee camps. Some of the personnel Harrel-Bond, B.E. 1986.Imposing Aid. Oxford: Oxford University Press. of their status in the community, when interviewed for this study, who pro- they can no longer perform their usual vide assistance in the refugee camps, Kelly, N., ed. 1980. Working with Refugee Women-A Practical Guide. Geneva: NGO social responsibilities (Wiest, have described these women as "hav- Working Group on Refugee Women. Mocellin, and Motsisi 1994, 32-33). ing no energy," "a spent force," "with Ledgerwood, J. 1992. Analysis ofthe Situation Traditional extended family support no real productive role," and have sug- of Women in Cambodia. Phnom Penh: may also disintegrate in refugee situa- gested that opportunities "need to be UNICEF. tions, as it has adverse effects on the provided more for the younger Loescher, G. and L. Monahan. 1989. Refugees mental and physical health of the eldw women." Due to such attitudes, elderly and International Relations. Oxford: erly and their ability to cope (Popline women in refugee camps tend to be Clarendon Press. 1991a, 3). Without sufficient under- "pushed aside" (Munyai 1990) and Shawcross, W. 1985. The Quality of Mercy. standing of the socioeconomicand cul- their perspectives on issues are rarely Bangkok: DD Books. tural background of elderly refugee solicited. Standley, L. ed. 1990. Back to a Future? Bang- women (and, for example, their role as In general, women's work tends to kok: Thecommittee for the Coordination elders), Western planners may over- be under-remunerated and underval- of Services to Displaced Persons in Thai- land (CCSDPT). look their situation when planning as- ued, and the attitudes within refugee Thorn, L. 1991. From Rice Truck to Paddy Field. sistance strategies. camps with respect to victims of mass Geneva: UNHCR. This paper argues that development displacement tend to reflect this view. UNHCR. 1990. Policy on Refugee Women. Ge- assistance interventions by interna- At the same time, however, it is widely neva: UNHCR. tional and domestic non-governmen- acknowledged that elderly women are . 1991. Guidelines on the Protection of tal organizations, as well as by the host vital to the continued survival of com- Refugee Women. Geneva: UNHCR. governments assisting refugee women munities. Much of the labour of food . 1992. Framework for People Oriented in the developing countries, need to be production and processing, and the Planning. Geneva: UNHCR. designed and planned from the van- provision of fuel, water, health care, Women's Commission for Refugee Women tage point of poor women (Sen and childrearing, sanitation, and other ba- and Children. 1992. Going Home: The Pros- Grown 1985, 1).The perspective of sic needs, are handled by elderly pect of Repatriationfor Refugee Women and poor women provides a unique and women in the refugee camps. Conse- Children. Proceedings of Symposium by powerful vantage point for practical quently, if we are to understand the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, June 8. Washing- reasons. While development goals impact of rural development and refu- ton, D.C. generally include improved standards gee assistance strategies upon the Zolberg, A.R. et al. 1989. Escapefrom Violence. meeting of these basic needs, then the Oxford: Oxford University Press. 3 viewpoint of elderly women as pro- Dodo ThandiweMotsisi isa Ph.D. candidate, and ducers and workers should be an obvi- a member associated with the Disaster Research ous starting point. It has been noted Unit, University ofManitoba. that the vantage point of poor women Re@ge, Vol. 14, No. 8 (January 1995) 7 enables us not only "to evaluate the Tongogara camp in Zimbabwe. To be much older men; discontent with this extent to which development strate- eligible, elderly women had to be at practice was often voiced in inter- gies benefit or harm the poorest and least fifty years old and receiving, or views. But elderly women in polyga- most oppressed sections of the people, having previously received, assistance mous marriages also said that they but also to judge their impact on a from HelpAge in the form of skills tend to "survive better" (than women range of sectors and activities crucial training. Finallg they had to consent in non-polygamous marriages), "if the to socio-economic development and freely to an interview, either in their husband has a good heart." Men may human welfare" (Sen and Grown 1985, homes (which was usually the case), or enrol several times for food rations for 17). in a place onvenient to them and the their many wives and children, and are I will argue that refugee assistance interviewf r. The women interviewed often able "to cheat the system" and will improve the livelihood of elderly ranged in age from 50 to 80. The major- acquire more for the family network. women only if it builds upon their cul- ity, 40.7 percent, were between 61 and Among the interviewed elderly tural wisdom and life experiences. To 70 years old. Most of the widows were women, 59.3 percent were widows, accentuate this point, "learning from in this age group. The next group, 32.9 38.6 percent were married, 1.4 percent the poor" (Harrell-Bond 1986, 25-27, percent, were women between 51 and were separated, and only 0.7 percent 259-61) should be a central point of 60 years old, and 1.4 percent were over were single. Of those who were mar- departure for any refugee aid pro- 71. Thirty-five percent did not know ried, 27.9 percent were still living with gram.' The research in this paper is their exact age nor age bracket. The their husbands in the camp. Some (4.3 based on information derived from survey was intended to capture the percent) reported that their husbands policymakers in government (Camp social and economic background of were living with the second wife in Administrator's Office), the HelpAge these women before they left Mozam- Mozambique or elsewhere in the Refugee Programme (Harare and bique and during their residence in the camp. Some (3.8 percent) mentioned Tongogara Office), as well as the camp. It was thought that a compari- that their husbands were working as United Nations High Commissioner son of their pre-flight and camp condi- migrant labourers in the South African for Refugees (UNHCR), who are key tions would reveal whether or not they mines and only visited them once a informants about the programs of- are better off in the camp, and would year around Christmas time. In a few fered to elderly refugees in general, also illuminate the effectiveness of the cases, some women stated that their and women in particular. In addition, assistance programs to which they are husbands were somewherein Mozam- a semi-structured questionnaire was exposed. bique or had abandoned them. administered as an instrument to Fifty-three percent of the women gather information among elderly Household Relations stated that they lived with three to six Mozambican women at Tongogara The institution of polygamy is com- of their children. In some cases, due to camp in Zimbabwe in November and mon in Africa, particularly in the rural extended family relations, some December 1992. Three researchers car- areas, and Mozambique is no excep- grandchildren are regarded by the ried out the questionnaire survey. It tion. For the elderly, polygamy has women as their own children. Only 9.7 was important to deploy Mozambican been an integral part of existence. It is percent had none of their children liv- students because they understood not inherently patriarchal, partly because ing with them. Children and grand- only the national culture, but also it is essentially the man who has the children provided a form of family spoke the various languages used by option to have as many wives as he support, particularly with regard to the elderly women. Furthermore, they pleases. However, elders argue that food and clothes rationing. Families had a firm grasp of the geopolitical polygamous marriages are one of the with more children received more ra- background of the Mozambican refu- few remaining African institutions of tions, but in any case the food rations gee question in Southern Africa. Also, family organization that "provide were less than adequate (Keen 1992).