They came back because they did not plant anything because they had no draught power and no seeds. They also did not have enough money to come into town to collect food from the churches. The school was also too far away for their children to walk. They are now surviving by selling vegetables and milk in their area. They get the milk from people with cows nearby and resell to the community. The only child of school going age is not in school as the school refused to accept her half way through the year, having missed more than a term. This couple has separated because the husband allegedly ran off with another woman. He went to South Africa in May. He said he could not cope with the demands of life since the demolitions. She has had no word and no money since he left. The two families with good harvests initially remained in the resettlement area – but by midJune, it was reported that one of these two families had also returned to Bulawayo. Summary: • • • • • • • One family left for town in October owing to the uncertainty over tenure. Another family left in March 2006 – the wife went back to Killarney looking for food and a source of income and did not return. The husband followed in April. The families had no experience of rural life and did not adjust to the activities needed to plant a harvest. They were born and bred in Bulawayo, and they had no idea how to adjust to rural existence. Three out of the four families that returned to Bulawayo say that they were driven back by economic necessity and the lack of food in rural areas. Day to day community activities were not to their liking and they did not have the skills needed to survive in a rural context, such as farming skills. They could not cover their share of community expenses. For example, all families were asked to contribute cement to the building of a classroom at the school, and they could not afford this. Community leadership fined those who failed to provide cement. There was no allowance made at community level for the fact that they were from “Murambatsvina’d” communities and had nothing. In fact, the other families in the resettlement area insisted they sell the blankets they had been given by the churches, so that they could then contribute that money to community overheads. So they arrived with almost nothing and then had to sell the little they had. Situation three Rural district, Matabeleland North One extended family of 4 adults (brothers and their wives) and 6 children Originally from Ngozi Mine informal settlement Interviews: bi-monthly since September 2005; most recently mid June 2006 This family was pictured in the last report living on an open veranda in a rural district. They had a three-month-old baby and had lived in seven different places in three months as a result of the demolitions. They had been forcibly relocated to the rural area by the police, being among those abducted from the churches in July 2005. The authors were in the process of negotiating a permanent place for them in a rural district at the time of writing the last report. 56