By Brenna Matendere
Cyclone Idai disaster survivors and families of victims who lost their beloved ones in Chimanimani have strongly demanded compensation from the Government of Zimbabwe for the painful losses.
The survivors and families of the deceased victims made their demand recently during a TaCCET-ZIM multi-stakeholder workshop in Mutare which deliberated on disaster preparedness and lessons from Cyclone Idai.
The workshop sought to assess the state of disaster preparedness of Manicaland, four years after Cyclone Idai and presentations were made by Mutare City Council, Civil Society Organizations and Chimanimani communities.
The families and survivors of the cyclone said as citizens of the country, the Government ought to have protected them from the disaster hence the need for compensation. Although the government was aware of the pending disaster, nothing was done to evacuate the people to safe places. Even during the disaster itself, no help was rendered to rescue people. Women spoke of spending hours precariously holding on to a tree. Some who could have survived the first few hours of the disaster eventually succumbed as the torrents carried heavy debris which included boulders.
Mary Chirwa, a 47-year-old lady from Ngangu village in Chimanimani said she lost her husband who was the family’s breadwinner and a six-year-old child also, hence her demand for the government to compensate her for the losses.
“When the cyclone started, we were alerted by neighbours to come out of the house and flee to a higher ground area and so we chose to go to the nearest police station. I took a warm blanket and wrapped my younger child while my husband assisted with other children.
“During that escapade, I lost my child who was stuck on my back and my husband too as we tried to cross the waters using a rope. It was a very painful loss and have no one to take care of me and my children now because we lost the breadwinner. It is for that cause that I feel the Government must compensate me for these lifetime losses,” she said.
Mary Tashinga, another survivor of the cyclone said she personally broke her limbs and had to be treated using money from her church coffers as the government did not provide support for her medical expenses.
“I feel the government must therefore compensate me for the medical expenses I incurred. I am not alone in that situation and my call is for compensation of all people affected by the cyclone. That is the general feeling in Chimanimani, but we do not know where to go to demand this compensation,” she said.
Hardlife Nyika said he owned a poultry project of 50 chickens but all of them were consumed by people who were brought to his homestead from low-lying areas.
“I never received any compensation and I have a heavy heart. It was my belief that compensation would come from the government, but I got nothing. I strongly feel that the Government must compensate me for the loss of my source of income while helping fellow villagers who were fleeing from the cyclone in low-lying areas,” he said.
Members of TaCCET-Zim also said the villagers are justified in calling for compensation.
Fungai Nhaitai, the leader of Young Entrepreneurs Trust said the communities in Chimanimani must start now to make noise over the need for them to be compensated for the Cyclone Idai losses.
“We must now see meetings of community members taking place to organise how they can effectively demand compensation. It is a matter of utmost urgency. The community members are justified in demanding compensation,” he said.
Centre for Natural Resource Governance director Farai Maguwu said it would be a crime against humanity if Cyclone Idai survivors are not compensated.
“There must be a demand for justice for people who lost relatives and properties. We want to have the people compensated by the government. That is what we call climate justice. There are people who were buried in Mozambique whose remains haven’t been repatriated back home, four years on. It is worrying.”
“We are demanding justice, and the government has a responsibility to protect its people. There was severe disaster preparedness laxity that happened.”
“If people keep quiet, there will be more people who will die. We want to make sure that if another cyclone happens there will be no casualties or the number of casualties will be significantly reduced. The security forces must be prepared and well equipped to help the people in times like these,” he said. “It’s high time climate change is reflected in our national budget so that the Civil Protection Unit gets the necessary enablement to help in times of need,” he added.
Since its formation early this year TaCCET-Zim has been consistent in pursuing its goal to demystify climate change by taking the climate justice message to the people most vulnerable to climate change as evidenced by its recent workshop in Mutare. The Mutare workshop enabled survivors to tell the untold stories of Cyclone Idai and raise awareness to the nation on what still needs to be done.
There is no doubt that four years after Cyclone Idai hit eastern districts of Zimbabwe, the need to demand justice for the victims of climate change is becoming stronger.
The economic, psychological and social impacts of the disaster remain a cause of concern.