In the Shadow of a Pandemic
Harare's Street Youth Experience COVID-19
This story map was made with street youth in Harare, Zimbabwe in May and June 2020. This is their story – captured in film and video, as they share how they find work, food, shelter and safety on the streets, in the shadow of the pandemic.
Harare is Zimbabwe’s capital and largest city. For their safety, the locations where young people shelter are unmarked, but you can zoom in/out on the map.
As far as they know, none of the young people who made this map have been affected by COVID-19 itself. They live in its shadow, not only from fear of infection but because of drastic impacts on their livelihoods and freedom of movement.
Life under lockdown
Young people on the streets, some without a mask, which is now mandatory.
Harare's city centre is surrounded by police and army roadblocks and a daily curfew is in place. Access is only allowed to those with evidence of essential employment. Restrictions continue across the city banning free movement.
Street youth succeeded in recording visual material in these challenging circumstances – going out in pairs early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid police.
Filming and photography is sensitive in Zimbabwe. Only those who live in these contexts could capture their situation or gain permission to film, all on a borrowed mobile phone.
Lockdown began in Zimbabwe on 30 March 2020. A few days before the government conducted roundups of street children to remove them from the streets.
Harare street base left abandoned after police round ups
Street children and youth share sleeping spaces are called ‘bases’. Ralph filmed this abandoned base:
“This is the place where children used to stay. Some were taken by the police, others fled and hid in different places and then… The way children left this base was sad; everyone was running, no one wanted to be caught and each child just grabbed an item of importance to him or her and fled. Some had gone to buy food and came back to a deserted base, it was terrible…”
"Never give up"
Ralph’s film captures graffiti on the wall: “Street life… 2020… Never give up. We rise up… things must change”
Roundups have been used by the authorities in the past, with street children and youth being taken without their consent to children’s homes or dumped outside the city. In this case, it aimed to remove young people from the city centre, designated a high-risk area for COVID-19 transmission.
Those who remain
Children and youth were not informed of the background to the roundups. Many ran away due to fear of involuntary confinement; taking away their freedom, earnings, friends and support networks. The roundup moved children aged 10-16 into homes, leaving those under 10 (who live with parents on the streets) and over 17.
Infections and deaths
According to the Zimbabwean government (22 June 2020), 512 confirmed cases of infection have resulted in 6 deaths since the first case on 20 March 2020.
Public Health (National Lockdown) (Amendment) Order, 2020
10 million people living in poverty
Street children and youth are among two-thirds of Zimbabwe’s population of around 15 million who live below the poverty line.
Poverty and hunger have been deeply exacerbated by the lockdown.
Keeping safe
Using discarded masks
With incomes drastically reduced due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, street children and youth cannot afford to buy single-use masks for daily use, sold in pharmacies for about USD$2 each.
It is a criminal offence to move outside the home without wearing a mask, punishable by a USD$20 fine, or imprisonment, or both.
So street youth use discarded masks, exposing themselves to the virus.
Inside the 'secret' base
Around 10 young men live at the ‘secret’ base. They are receiving essentials to see them through the COVID-19 crisis - a donation from UK charity StreetInvest, distributed by Street Empowerment Trust - a Harare NGO working with street youth.
Street youth offer a prayer
When street workers (Shaibu, helped by street youth Ralph and Mathew) arrived, the young people suggested a prayer before the distribution of COVID-19 essentials.
In this picture are: Mavhuto, Fatso, Fungai, Tarwirei, Tonderai, Denford, Tobias, Zviko, Claude, Ranga and Jonso.
Education and supplies
Street youth were given two washable masks, (one to wear while the other is washed), hand sanitizer, and bags of mealie meal. The street workers also advised on the danger of reusing discarded masks.
The piles of cans and plastics have been gathered to sell - see more in 'Daily life in the shadow' below.
Cleanliness on the street
For street youth, keeping clean is important; even more so in the shadow of COVID-19. Due to drought and mismanagement, water is scarce in Harare, so a bucket of water for washing is a luxury.
Here young men are washing in an alleyway; they have been helped by a nearby clinic; who due to water shortages, have drilled their own borehole and allowed street youth to access it.
Boys taking a bath in their alleyway
Mai Future's story
Parenthood and pregnancy in COVID-19 lockdown
In Zimbabwe, it is common practice to call a woman ‘Mai’ followed by her first child’s name; or if she is expecting a baby, to call her Mai ‘Future’.
Mai Future was on the street where she met her boyfriend and fell pregnant with their first child. They moved in together in a low income settlement on the outskirts of Harare.
She explained to Mathew that all was well. But with the COVID-19 lockdown, her boyfriend found it difficult to earn money to pay the rent and look after the family, so he abandoned them.
Mai Future was forced to move here, where she made a makeshift shelter. She is now alone, homeless and has recently discovered that she is pregnant again. She describes where she sleeps with her child: “Our house is cold, but I have these blankets and I have a mosquito net.”
Mai Future explains how the COVID-19 lockdown has affected her
Daily life in the shadow
Informal work remains prohibited; removing income sources for street children and youth. If engaging in informal activities young people risk arrest; and paying a bribe for their release.
Tobias explains how he collects and sells plastics
'Doing Plastics'
Informal recycling work is an important source of income for older youth (16-24 years) in Harare. In normal times, young men and women move around the city, collecting plastic bottles from refuse dumps to sell.
During lockdown, some recycling companies were closed; movement in and around town is banned, and street children have been rounded up and removed from the streets.
Less than 1 cent per kg
With the closing of the informal sector and the continued ban on commuter omnibuses, fewer people are in the city centre, thereby reducing the number of people using and disposing plastic bottles.
Companies that buy plastics for recycling come to the alleyway bases, the plastics are weighed and street youth are paid ZWD$1.30 in Zimbabwean bond notes, equivalent to only USD$0.004 per kg.
The bottles here were collected by the residents of the ‘secret’ alleyway.
Mada talks about lockdon impacts on her work
16-year-old Mada explains this situation from a girl’s perspective. She is being filmed by another young woman, Yeukai (which means ‘Remember’), as Shaibu chats to her.
“Our earning has reduced, because if one considers the plastic bottles one of the buyers was closed, we could not sell our plastics. We only managed to send our plastics when he opened. So how were you surviving? We had prepared for the lockdown. Has the lockdown affected your access to food? Yes. If you were to get assistance, what kind of help would you need? Help us get jobs, and help us with food.”
Madnax and Henzo on surviving during the lockdown
Madnax and Henzo earn money emptying bins. Ralph interviews them about working in lockdown; and how they both fear and protect themselves against COVID-19.
“We collect bins for resale as you can see... We get food from bins; there is no food anywhere. But you have no sanitizer – are you not afraid? Madnax: Hold on; cover your mouth with a mask so we can talk! We wash hands after working; no touching, no kissing or hugging… Boxes are our job, plastics are our materials to earn money, and we collect these boxes and plastics and sell them.”
Madnax told Raph: “Because of COVID-19, cover your mouth with a mask.”
Hunger in the shadow
Ranga explains how street youth survive on food from bins
Food from bins
Three residents of the ‘secret’ alleyway, Ranga, Zviko and Tobias, described how they find food. Ranga explains: “We get food that is left by others in bins; we come here, warm the food and eat it. This exposes us to get infected by COVID-19.”
Zviko cooks discarded Mopani worms
Zviko says: “COVID-19 is a disease that was brought upon us by God… we pick from bins but if people have not thrown food in bins there is nothing we will get. Hunger is going to kill us because of this disease. We are cooking the Mopani worms, were it not for someone who threw them in the bin because they were expired.”
Street youth use cooking from discarded bottles
Cooking in the alleyway
While finding discarded plastic to sell, Tobias retrieves left over cooking oil. This is then shared in the alleyway when they cook food together. Cooking pots are often discarded paint tins.
Shelter in the shadow
Socially distanced sleeping
Due to its relative altitude, winter in Zimbabwe (from May to August) is dry and cold, especially at night. Previously street youth would have slept close to each other and shared bedding for extra warmth.
Denford explains that now they now socially distance when sleeping on the ground. “We sleep leaving space between us. A person puts his cardboard box on the ground and the next one follows suit. If he has a blanket he puts it on, then covers it with plastic. We leave space between us and everyone know his place.”
Socially distanced sleeping arrangements
Entrance to the ‘secret’ alleyway
Shaibu took this picture of the entrance to the ‘secret’ alleyway, describing it as:
“Like an outside door to a room; we cannot see what is inside until we go in. A person without insight of street activities would think there is no-one living here, but that path gives tell-tell signs to street workers that deeper in the alleyway there are young people.”
For safety, people walking along the street must not see what is happening in the alleyway. Street children and youth like it that way; to keep away the police, soldiers and unwanted visitors.
Street base 'homes'
Bases are important for sleeping, relaxing, playing and cooking; and also as a place for street youth to store possessions and materials to sell.
Young people who live together at the same base belong to the same network, they help each other with food, clothes and sometimes work as a team to look for money, food, and fuel. When one is sick or lacks any essential base members will help.
Dedication
This story map is dedicated to Blessing, who died during lockdown.
Blessing was a research assistant for Growing up on the Streets from 2012-18. He was going to work on this story map.
Blessing had complained of chest pains in late March; because of movement restrictions his friends did not know or could not help when he was ill, and few people were able to attend his funeral.
He was an exceptional and committed researcher and leader on the streets who will be much missed by friends, family and colleagues.
Blessing, taken by Shaibu
