Hunger-stricken Angolans flee to Namibia

TUYEIMO HAIDULA and TUNOHOLE MUNGOBA EPALELA She sits with one leg stretched out, breastfeeding her 10-month old baby. The baby suckles, but no milk comes. She makes a noise as though to alert her mother, who hushes her.Rosalia Sakaria (20) is one of the many Angolans who are seeking refuge in Namibia and have flocked the country over the past weeks.This is a result of the prolonged drought in that country which has displaced many young women and men. Sakaria is accompanied by her younger sister Lenolia David. David doesn’t know her age, so she tells me to guess it.As they catch up with Namibian Sun, they sit along the Epalela road hoping to hitchhike to Epako. They do not have any money left so they are hoping to catch a lift from a Good Samaritan. This is their second day without food. They last got a meal on Saturday night.The two are bare-chested and cover up when we approach them.We communicate through a passerby translator, Immanuel Tjitenda (79). They have come all the way from Oncocua village in Angola. “It was either stay and die, or flee and risk finding hope. Hunger was the main reason for us to leave,” Sakaria said.Sakaria tells how she left her two-year-old son at home with her mother.“It was not an easy decision. But it had to be done. Hopefully we can make something of our lives here in Namibia and help the family back home,” she said. She is the second of five children and her siblings too are searching for greener pastures.Throwing in the towelAngola’s long-lasting drought, which has affected residents since at least 2012, means its inhabitants have not been able to make a living.Sakaria said the father of her children works as a farmer at Etaka, and he asked them to come to Namibia so he can take care of them. They entered Namibia on 7 March through an unfixed fence along the Calueque border post.Sakaria said they had to get rid of all their livestock back at home and sold the remaining two pigs for 300 Angolan Kwanza (N$7) each. This money she shared with her mother and used the remainder for transport to Namibia.Sakaria is confident that back at home in Angola, her mother, father, grandmother and two-year-old son will continue with life in hope that she and her sister find their feet here and send money. Dire situationHeadman of Omakuwa village in Onesi constituency, Omusati Region, Tenete Shimbashi, has been hosting some of the refugees at his home.“As a human being you cannot allow someone to die at your doorstep, so we do the least that we can to assist, which includes cooking food for them.”He said the situation is so dire he has run out of options to control it.Shimbashi is irked that the Angolan government has failed to provide support to its citizens and that they have resorted to seeking asylum in other countries.He said the Namibian government must pronounce itself on the issue which has affected the whole country as these people have now been sneaking into Namibia through border posts.“What’s disturbing for us is also Covid-19 as some of the people come without wearing masks. The virus is spreading and people need to follow the protocols put in place.”Namibia’s responseOmusati governor Erginus Endajala said currently all Namibian-Angolan borders are closed, so the refugees entered the country through other means, making them illegal immigrants.He noted that the influx is a result of starvation in Angola. “We allowed them to stay while we notify their country,” he said, adding that the Angolan ambassador will visit the region from today until Thursday to come up with an amicable solution.

Hunger-stricken Angolans flee to Namibia

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-19

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Hunger-stricken Angolans flee to Namibia

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-19

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