“judgemental language.”65 On August 17, in a forty-six-page response to the report, the government claimed that the evictions were carried out in the confines of Zimbabwe’s national laws and were consistent with international provisions.66 Movement of people to the rural areas Following the evictions, thousands of people—more than 100,000 according to the UN67—were left with no alternative but to move to the rural areas, often with traumatic consequences since these areas offer few employment opportunities and suffer acute food shortages. There has also been a reduction in the delivery of social services in the areas of health and education. In addition, many of those forced to the rural areas have no relatives there. This is particularly the case amongst Zimbabweans of foreign origin that were either brought up on farms or grew up in the urban areas. A number of people in this category told Human Rights Watch that they had no place to go to other than the urban areas.68 Women face particular hardship. One of the reasons many women—especially widows—are likely to have left the rural areas is that many were likely to be evicted by their in-laws when their husbands died. For such women, it would be almost impossible to return to the area where their property was taken from them. They may also face forced widow-inheritance (forced marriage to an in-law) if they return, as occurs in some rural areas of Zimbabwe. In addition, no guarantee exists that these women will have family in their rural homes willing to take them back, especially in the context of food shortages.69 Since the evictions began, the government has attempted to convince and coerce evictees into relocating to the rural areas. The government provided few transit camps and ignored the thousands of people sleeping in the streets in an attempt to force them to return to the rural areas. For example, at Porta Farm, police told victims that they had a choice: to either go back to the rural areas or end up at the transit camp in Caledonia.70 65 See SABC News Online, “Zimbabwe says UN report biased, hostile, false,” July 22, 2005. The Herald, “UN report on clean up biased says government,” July 23, 2005. 66 Response by Government of Zimbabwe to the report by the UN Special Envoy on Operation Murambatsvina/ Restore Order, August 17, 2005. 67 UN Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe, Report of the Fact-finding missions to assess the scope and impact of Operation Murambatsvina, July 22, 2005. 68 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims, June 2005. 69 Human Rights Watch interviewed a number of women in particular widows, who detailed their concerns about returning to the rural areas in June 2005. 70 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims on Porta Farm, June 29 and 30, 2005. 17