HIDDEN HUNGER AT HARVEST HOUSE: THOUSANDS OF IDPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000522 SIPDIS AF/S FOR S. HILL ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM KDEM ZI SUBJECT: HIDDEN HUNGER AT HARVEST HOUSE: THOUSANDS OF IDPS AT OPPOSITION HQ REF: A. HARARE 503 ¶B. HARARE 470 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Glenn Warren for reason 1.4(d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Two months after the start of a government-led campaign of violence, as many as 2,400 homeless and hungry Zimbabweans, including at least 471 children, many of whom are ill, continue to seek sanctuary at Harvest House, the opposition MDC's Harare headquarters. On June 19, POLOFF toured the building with a local contact who is working to assist the displaced and saw evidence of the plight of these opposition supporters and their families, all of whom fear for their lives if they return home, have no home to return to, or both. There are few resources being directed toward this vulnerable group. IDPs are surviving on one small meal a day and have extremely limited access to supplies, including medicine, baby formula, and sanitary products. Frustrated by the large number of people in its headquarters and its own limited resources to help them, the MDC is rumored to be considering ending its meager assistance in an effort to force them to return to their homes. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) On June 19, POLOFF visited MDC headquarters at Harvest House in downtown Harare, escorted by a local opposition supporter who is attempting to virtually single-handedly assist an estimated 2,400 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have sought shelter there. The IDPs went to Harvest House to seek sanctuary after ZANU-PF security forces, war veterans, or youth militia, destroyed their homes and/or threatened them during the government's post-March 29 election crackdown. (NOTE: The number of IDPs at Harvest House has sharply increased since the last reporting cable (Reftel B) on this subject. END NOTE.) In addition to nearly equal numbers of men and women, some 471 children are living in the seven story building that also houses all central MDC operations, including the office of the president, Morgan Tsvangirai. While many IDPs travel outside of Harvest House during the day, in the evening the house, which rarely has electricity, is reportedly packed, with men staying on two of the bottom floors and women and children on the top floor. All inhabitants are sleeping on the floor, often without blankets, and sharing the offices' limited toilets and sinks. ¶3. (SBU) Many of the IDPs have reportedly been hospitalized for injuries related to the ZANU-PF campaign of violence, or for illness bred by current living conditions at Harvest House. POLOFF observed numerous women and children who had, according to our contact, a variety of illnesses, including pneumonia, diarrhea, and HIV/AIDS. There were reports of two recent cases of measles. Two children seen by POLOFF were just returning to Harvest House from the local hospital after bouts of pneumonia. Families are often separated and some children are being cared for by relatives because one or both of their parents is in the hospital due to government perpetrated injuries or recent illness. We observed a number of men with casts encasing broken arms or legs; some were in wheelchairs. ¶4. (SBU) Food and other commodities are in severely limited supply. With money reportedly pooled by members of parliament from affected provinces, the IDPs are provided with one meal per day of sadza, the Zimbabwean staple made of corn meal, with relish, down from two meals per day in late May (Reftel B) when the population at Harvest House was estimated at 500. While NGOs have reportedly been assisting the IDPs, the recent government suspension of NGO operations (Reftel A) and the prevailing climate of fear associated with political activities, in addition to soaring prices and HARARE 00000522 002 OF 002 scarcity of commodities, mean that the supply of assistance for the IDPs is quickly drying up. IDPs are increasingly reliant on donations and discounts from individuals. While our contact reported that she had recently been able to secure donations of anti-retrovirals and antibiotics and had made a large purchase of food, she noted that the supply could last only a few days. Many in Harvest House are going without such critical medicines as insulin and blood pressure reducers. ¶5. (C) When asked about the MDC's response to the situation, the contact reported that she had been told that the majority of Morgan Tsvangirai's Victim Assistance Fund (Reftel B) had not yet been channeled into the country from donations made abroad. Furthermore, she reported, the MDC was so overwhelmed with the number and needs of the IDPs that it was considering cutting off assistance in order to force the displaced to return to their home areas in time for the election. (NOTE: While POLOFF was unable to confirm this, it tracks with a comment made to POLOFF by an MDC official, who stated the MDC was planning to return the IDPs to their homes, and with recent reports by the MDC that it had transported some 300 people back to their home areas. END NOTE.) Our contact reported that IDPs remain fearful of being abducted, injured, or killed if they return to their homes, and/or are concerned they will have no where to live if they return. ¶6. (C) Our contact told us she had set up two Harare safehouses for the IDPs, one of which is in her own home. She had focused on moving as many mothers with infants and young children out of Harvest House as possible in order to reduce their exposure to illness and to address sanitation issues. When asked what was most needed to contain the spread of disease and assist the IDPs, the contact reported that food and supplies, particularly medicine and baby formula, were priorities, but that ultimately rent money for additional Harare safehouses (ideally two at approximately US$500 per month per house) was imperative. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: No matter that the MDC plans to do, the situation at Harvest House is grim, with no indication of improvement on the horizon given the government's ongoing crackdown on any and all activities that may be perceived to be favorable to the opposition. Those NGOs that can operate and those donors willing to assist are stretched thin by the overwhelming need throughout the country in the wake of the violence and government suspension on NGO activities. As a result, IDPs in Harvest House are considered, as indicated to us by the International Organization for Migration, to be a low priority because they are "within the MDC's purview." END COMMENT. Warren