Operation Drive Out Trash – One Year On –
Last year on 18th May the police in Harare began the systematic destruction of what were deemed to be illegal dwellings. In addition street vendors, even those trading legally, were arrested and fined, their wares and assets confiscated. All this was done under the guise of a clean-up operation for the cities, purportedly to reduce criminal activity. However most of the people affected were neither dirty nor criminal: most were victims of disastrous government policies and were trying by all means to eke out a living for their families. Operation Murambatsvina (which means clean out the trash) spread its stain indiscriminately across the country and in June the squatter camps of Killarney and Ngozi Mine were demolished, along with many suburban structures in this town
Photos by Sokwanele – This is Zimbabwe
