… Angolan drought illegaly pushes over 7,000 to Namibia
By Kaundjire Humbu
According to Amnesty International, the crisis nobody wants to see is already playing out on the streets of Windhoek, Grootfontein and other towns, where vulnerable Angolan women and children are selling cooking sticks, begging for food and money, and struggling to survive after being displaced by drought, hunger and collapsing livelihoods in southern Angola.
The presence of the children and women on Namibian streets has recently sparked conversations around safety, deportation and parental exploitation, especially of minors, some between four to 10 years old.
Meanwhile, in its recent report, “The Drier It Gets, The Longer You Have To Walk, The Deeper You Have To Dig: The Human Rights Impacts of Drought-Induced Displacement on Angolan Women & Children in Namibia,” Amnesty
International traces a devastating chain of events from drought-stricken communities in southern Angola to Namibia’s towns and cities.
The report exposes how repeated drought, food and water shortages, livestock losses, land degradation, family separation and a lack of access to formal work can push displaced women and children into desperate forms of survival.
According to the report, the findings challenge the increasingly common tendency to view the Angolan women and children at Windhoek’s traffic lights simply as an immigration, begging or law-enforcement problem.
It notes that the crisis began hundreds of kilometres away, in drought- stricken parts of southern Angola, particularly Cunene, Huíla and Namibe, where repeated climate shocks have destroyed crops, killed livestock, depleted water sources and pushed families beyond the point of survival.
“The 2021 drought alone left 3.81 million people food insecure and more than 1.2 million people facing water shortages, while economic
losses were estimated at more than US$749 million. In 2024, drought affected an estimated 1.32 million people,” the report reads in part.
Quoted in the report, one displaced person described the decision to leave in devastating terms: “There was nothing left to stay for, no harvest, no water, no animals, and no support.”
Another reportedly maintained said: “We have no means to live at home, we have nothing there, everything is dead and we have not received any rains for many years.” Around 11.1 million Angolans depend on largely rain-fed rural livelihoods, leaving millions exposed to changing rainfall patterns and climate shocks.
7,000 IN SEVEN MONTHS
The report reads that between January and July 2021, more than 7,000 people, predominantly women, children, pregnant and lactating women and older people, crossed into northern Namibia.
Since at least 2020, Amnesty says sustained numbers of Angolans have continued crossing into Namibia’s Kunene and Omusati regions, with arrivals increasing during severe drought periods. The international body says the reasons for crossing over to Namibia are food, water, healthcare and employment, but the real scale may be larger. “Many displaced people cross through informal routes, unmarked areas and unofficial crossing points, making comprehensive figures difficult to obtain.” This means Namibia may be dealing with a displacement crisis it has never fully counted.
STREET SURVIVAL
Amnesty International says many displaced Angolans arrive without documentation that gives them a clear route into formal employment, while visa-free entry for eligible Angolan passport holders does not automatically provide the right to work.
Social activist Rosa Namises, who is of Angolan origin and whose father was catered for by Namibia during the war, expressed disappointment and shame. She said it was shameful that Amnesty International had to speak to Namibia to take action, adding that the government had failed the children and Angola at large.
She said the action to cater for the children had been delayed.
Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) deputy present and member of parliament, Kalimbo Iipumbu said Namibia should not allow a gap to develop between Namibia and Angola, given the historical ties between the two countries. “During the liberation struggle, some of our people died in Angola. There is no way we can run away from these kids and women.
It is high time we take these people as our own brothers and sisters. It is time we register them and let them get all the necessary services like any other Namibian. Let us not shy away from the history and relationship that Namibia and Angola holds. There are still Namibians who reside in Angola freely, and we must take that into consideration too.”
Efforts to get comment of the Angolan evnoy to Namibia, Pedro Mutindi proved futile, he however, indicated that he is willing to give an interview on that matter.
