An 82-year old woman who lost her cottage during the demolitions told the mission how she had previously lost all her children and now was looking after nine orphaned grandchildren. Rent from the cottage was her sole source of income, and helped provide funds for school fees, uniforms, water, electricity and food. However, the cottage had been demolished leaving her and her dependents completely destitute, with nowhere to go. 80 A Catholic priest told the mission how he had met three women taking care of 11 children, all Zimbabwean-born, but of Malawian origin. They had been evicted from their homes in the Mbare neighbourhood of Harare and had nowhere to go. The priest decided to provide them with water and sanitation at his church, but had no long-term solution to offer. In the end, the women and the children got a ride to Mount Darwin with a driver who promised them a place to stay. The women knew neither the driver nor the area they were going to, and were leaving to an uncertain future. Many of the evicted traders in informal markets were women who have now lost their livelihoods. The impact on these women and their dependents is therefore very serious, and the burden of family care for some can become too heavy to bear. For female-headed households, a complicating factor is that women in many cases do not own land in the rural areas from which they can earn an independent livelihood.81 In particular, there is a risk that displaced women and girls could be forced into transactional sex, because of economic destitution. One women’s organization noted that the displacement of women to rural areas made them more vulnerable, as they were moving to an unfamiliar environment often without their husbands.82 There is therefore a strong need to assess the added vulnerabilities of women created by the Operation and to provide adequate support and protection. The rhetoric by some officials that the operation was meant to curb prostitution was not only offensive, but hardly credible. As one observer retorted angrily during civil society consultations in Mutare” “Does prostitution cause poverty or vice versa?”. 3.6.9 Refugees UNHCR reported that there were about 10,000 registered refugees in Zimbabwe prior to the Operation. Eighty percent of the refuges were staying in urban areas in contravention of official encampment policy. However, during the Operation, Government started to implement this policy more aggressively. Arrests of refugees and asylum seekers in urban centers have continued throughout the Operation, and many refugees staying in urban areas have lost their homes. While many of these refugees used to be self-reliant, they are now entirely dependent on assistance. UNHCR reported that, although it had earlier managed to secure the release of refugees on the condition that they relocate to Tongogara Camp, it had become increasingly difficult to gain access to the refugees and asylum seekers detained as part of the Operation.83 Government policy is to relocate all refugees and asylum-seekers to the official Tongogara Camp. By 6 July, the camp population had swollen to 2,500 which exceeded the camp’s maximum capacity of 2,000. If this trend continues without the necessary expansion of facilities (shelter, water, sanitation etc.), living conditions in the camp are likely to deteriorate sharply.84 UNHCR 80 Testimony made during consultation with women’s organizations on 30 June 2005. Confidential submission. 82 Confidential submission. 83 Submission by UNHCR, 6 July 2005. 84 Submission by UNHCR, 6 July 2005 81 44