Cabo Delgado IDPs: Restarting life in Nicoadala

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Cabo Delgado IDPs: Restarting life in Nicoadala

2:41 CAT | 08 Oct 2020

Photo: O País

Forty-two families displaced by terrorism in Cabo Delgado are starting life again in the district of Nicoadala, Zambézia province, in the face of multiple challenges.

Housing is actually the watchword in Nicoadala. Families are producing building blocks with clay, and set off to look for grass in the bush to cover their homes.

Since the families started arriving , the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) has been distributing food, kitchen utensils and tents for shelter.

One young man, Elias Jacob, fled Muidumbe for Nicoadala, leaving his parents behind. He says that the terrorists kill without mercy, and destroy people’s assets for no apparent reason.

“I arrived in the province of Zambézia about two months ago. For lack of conditions, other families remained in Muidumbe, but there is always communication by telephone,” Jacob says. But the fear lingers, and he leaves it all in God’s hands, he says, living in the hope of seeing his parents again someday.

Maria Luís is another displaced person, this time from Mocímboa da Praia, where terrorist activity is intense. She tells ‘O País’ that the district is unrecognisable , says that the armed group took the town and destroyed it.

INGC regional director in Central Mozambique, Lurdes Daniel, visits the displaced to see first-hand the conditions in which they live, and calls for cooperation between the families and local authorities.

“I am struck by the fact that families are moving forward to building homes on their own. This is very positive and encouraging. We understand that they are displaced and have lost everything, but it is essential that they have hope, as the government is doing everything it can to restore Cabo Delgado to normality,” Daniel says.

The INGC director says the institution will continue to provide necessary support to families, mainly in the form of food, even as more people from Cabo Delgado continue to arrive in various districts of Zambézia.

By Jorge Marcos

Source: O País