Thousands of Mozambicans have fled to Malawi to escape violence triggered by the disputed October presidential election.
The latest statistics show that Malawi has received about 13,000 refugees from Mozambique in recent weeks, many of them women and children. Authorities say that the number is expected to rise.
Sofia Jimu, the traditional leader of the Tengani area in Mozambique, is among those who fled to Malawi. She said a lack of food is the main challenge at the evacuation center where she is staying, adding that three children collapsed because of hunger in just one day. However, she said, the following day she was given 150 bags of maize flour and four bags of beans to distribute to people at the center.
The political tension in Mozambique escalated after the Constitutional Council confirmed Daniel Chapo, presidential candidate for the ruling Frelimo Party, as the winner of the Oct. 9 election.
Runner-up Venancio Mondlane, presidential candidate for the opposition Podemos party, disputes the results.
Plataforma Decide, a monitoring group in Mozambique, says more than 200 people have been killed since post-election protests started in October.
Dominic Mwandira, the commissioner for Nsanje district in Malawi, told VOA on Sunday that the biggest challenge is a lack of resources to take care of the asylum-seekers currently staying in makeshift camps near the border.
“In terms of food and then nonfood items, tents, issues of water, they are several,” he said. “But we are happy that partners have started coming in, the government is coming in to support these people.”
He said organizations offering help include the Malawi Red Cross Society and Plan International.
Jane Mweziwina, a program area manager for Plan International in Malawi, told reporters they are working to ensure new arrivals are protected.
“You know women, people with disabilities and children are always vulnerable when they are in a crisis like this. So, our advice to the leadership is that they take special consideration for these special groups of people in terms of accommodation, security, even in terms of food,” she said.
Malawi authorities say plans are under way to relocate asylum-seekers to a more spacious center.
In the meantime, Malawi’s Department for Refugees and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Malawi are conducting a joint assessment to identify the needs of asylum-seekers.
