It is 3pm and the blazing sun shows no signs of slackening up. The hustle and bustle in the Avenues area carries on unabated. A vendor calmly stands by the corner of Mazowe Street and Baines Avenue roasting his mealies.
By Phyllis Mbanje
“Thigh vendors” casually sashay up and down the streets waiting for prospective clients. They idly chat among each other and occasionally squat suggestively by the roadside.
Visitors waiting to see their sick relatives admitted in the posh Avenues Clinic, a private hospital, hang around the gate, oblivious of the sorry scene a few metres away.
A group of people living with disabilities are gathered outside one block of flats. They are surrounded by a wide array of their earthly possessions — torn mattresses, a rickety dressing table, a chair and all sorts of household furniture and clothes.
The sight is not in sync with the serene neighbourhood.
The tenants were evicted from Leonard Cheshire Disability Home after losing a legal battle that had spanned almost 18 years.
Established more than 20 years ago by the founders of the Leonard Cheshire Disability Global Alliance, the home has now been closed and the tenants evicted.
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Leornard Cheshire Home Zimbabwe Central Trust sought the court’s intervention in taking over the property.
There are “plans” to relocate them to Ruwa Rehabilitation Centre, but the tenants are displeased by the fact that their new home is a dormitory.
For those with families, the set-up is clearly unthinkable.
The highly-publicised court case was brought to an end on Wednesday, with its shattering results.
The former inmates of the flat found themselves out in the open with no place to go.
The heartache and the despair is palpable. Hopelessness hangs in the air like a very present and physical being.
But they are not willing to speak to NewsDay.
“After yesterday’s article in one of the small papers (private media) we have been cautioned against talking to the media from the small papers,” one woman who seems to be in charge said.
Although a few had indicated their willingness to communicate their grievances ,they were seemingly afraid to do so.
“Today [Thursday] we have received many visitors from higher offices and they do not want us to talk to you,” she said angrily, turning her wheelchair away.
Their anger, though misdirected, is understandable.
They have been through a lot and are faced with homelessness and because of their physical challenges, many cannot be gainfully employed and prospects of making a living especially in such difficult times are next to nothing.
Passersby glance curiously at the group, one or two stop to ask questions, but largely everyone minds their own business and life goes on.
One of the tenants is busy preparing a meal on a small fire. Judging by the small pan, the food is obviously not enough for everyone. Many are worried about the cold and the rains.
Their threadbare clothing and blankets are not enough buffer for cold blizzards more so the heavy storms that have become a normalcy in Zimbabwe.
The group is clearly in distress, but has vowed not to move as per court orders.
A health time bomb is looming, as they have no ablution facilities and are relying on a few good Samaritans, mostly neighbours, who occasionally give them a few supplies.
A few lucky ones have been collected by their relatives or church members, but the rest are staying put at the entrance to the block of flats.
“This is our home, we have nowhere else to go,” mumbles one woman who is sitting slightly apart from the group.
Members of the public were irked by the fact that riot police accompanied the Messenger of Court and his team to enforce the writ of execution on people who are clearly not in a position to resist or fight back.
“It pains us to see people living with disabilities being treated harshly. Where is the First Lady who purports to be the saviour for poor and vulnerable people?” said a cab driver passing by.
On being contacted for comment, Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe director Greaterman Chivandire said the issue was being handled by social services and the President’s Office.
“You can come over and then I will walk you through everything and let you make your own judgment,” he said.
