STORY: Nearly 2,000 Mozambican families trek to Malawi amid political instability
SHOOTING DATE: Jan. 1, 2025
DATELINE: Jan. 3, 2025
LENGTH: 00:03:15
LOCATION: NSANJE, Malawi
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of refugees crossing the river on canoes
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chichewa): SOFIA JIMU TENGANI, Mozambican refugee
4. various of Mozambican refugees at Bangula camp
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Portuguese): ANTONIA HUSSEI, Mozambican refugee
6. various of Mozambican refugees at Bangula camp
7. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): DANIEL MANDALA, Nsanje District Disaster Officer

STORYLINE:

Nearly 2,000 Mozambican families have fled their homes due to political violence in Mozambique and they have sought refuge in Malawi's border district of Nsanje.

Robert Nayeja, spokesperson for Nsanje district council, confirmed the development to Xinhua on Wednesday, saying a total of 1,988 families had camped at schools and evacuation centers in the district as of Dec. 25, 2024.

Nayeja said the council and civil protection and disaster management committees have visited the camps and filed a situation report to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) offices in the country for action.

According to Nayeja, the number of displaced Mozambicans seeking refuge in the district is likely to rise as the political turmoil in Mozambique continues.

The political violence in Mozambique intensified on Monday following the country's highest court's confirmation of Daniel Chapo of the ruling Frelimo Party as the winner of the disputed Oct. 9 elections.

Mozambican Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda is reported to have told a news conference on Tuesday that at least 21 people, including two police officers, had died following the political violence.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chichewa): SOFIA JIMU TENGANI, Mozambican refugee
"The violence has become so scary. People are escaping the fighting, leaving behind their belongings. From Dec. 4, 2024, when it all started, people have been scampering for refuge in safe places because they are being targeted while their houses are being demolished and burnt. As we speak, shops of high repute are being ransacked by those involved."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Portuguese): ANTONIA HUSSEI, Mozambican refugee
"We, including lactating and pregnant mothers, travel on foot for three days in thick forests and bushes without food. Some of us got sick on the way to Malawi."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): DANIEL MANDALA, Nsanje District Disaster Officer
"For us to set shelter materials or shelter issues, we need to have tents, which are supposed to be to accommodate people. We also need to have tarpaulins, which are supposed to be used to make sure these people are accommodated. Sometimes, there are cases where we are supposed to have housing units. For non-food items, we also need some lights because you can't do anything when there is darkness. So we need solar lamps, we need blankets, and we need sleeping mats so that we support them. Looking at other sites, because the health issues have also been compromised. We are also looking at water and sanitation and hygiene materials or facilities like kitchen tissues. All of these are supposed to be there to make sure that whatever is happening in this crisis, they are also compromising their part in terms of hygiene."

Currently, Malawi is keeping over 50,000 refugees and asylum seekers from the Great Lakes countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, at UNHCR-certified Dzaleka Refugee Camp.

Malawi also sheltered hundreds of thousands of Mozambican refugees at Mankhokwe Refugee Camp in Nsanje during the Mozambican civil war from 1977-1992, and at Kapise Refugee Camp in the border district of Mwanza in 2016, following conflicts in the neighboring Mozambique.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nsanje, Malawi.
(XHTV)