Operation Murambatsvina
Operation Murambatsvina started in 2005 and according to United Nations estimates has affected at least 2.4 million people. Robert Mugabe and other government officials characterize the operation as a crackdown against illegal housing and commercial activities, and as an effort to reduce the risk of the spread of infectious disease in these areas.
"We had nothing then and we still have nothing": the fourth anniversary of Murambatsvina
Sokwanele Article: May 25th, 2009
View our archive of Murambatsvina images here. Our article from 2005 titled "Operation Murambatsvina": An Overview and Summary, can be found at this link. Archived articles about Operation Murambatsvina can be read here. Remind people about Operation Murambatsvina by sending an e-card.
It was this time, Africa Day 25 May 2005, that Operation Murambatsvina was orchestrated by the Mugabe Government.
It was as cold then as it is today, with temperatures getting to well nigh freezing at night, when over 300,000 already impoverished Zimbabweans were thrown forcibly from their homes and forced to spend many nights out in the open.
Their homes had been razed to the ground by fire or bulldozers, their scanty property scattered in the dirt and Operation "Drive out the filth" took shape in Zimbabwe.
'The day I was troubled' : a Zimbabwean child's essay
Sokwanele Article: February 9th, 2008This is a story written by a 14 year old child, a victim of the Zanu PF government's Operation Murambatsvina.We give it to you here, literally in her own words. We've obscured some details to protect the child from potential reprisals.
'Mugabe made us into refugees': Murambatsvina victims talk about living in Zimbabwe today
Sokwanele Article: June 21st, 2007Yesterday was World Refugee Day. Many Zimbabweans have been left homeless and struggling to survive as a result of the government's senseless 'Operation Murambatvina' - a policy of 'clearing out the trash’, which manifested itself in the destruction of homes, trading stalls and the theft of property. What kind of leaders, are these, who destroy peoples' homes at the height of a harsh winter leaving women and children at the mercy of the elements? What kind of mind conceives such an evil and heartless thought? We asked a supporter to write us a piece that included real-life stories of Murambatsvina refugees in Zimbabwe. Names have been changed in this article.
