MOZAMBIQUE: New bridge puts children at risk

CHIMUARA, 7 November 2006 (PlusNews) - Fears of HIV/AIDS and child prostitution have gripped the towns of Caia and Chimuara on opposite sides of the Zambezi River in central Mozambique as construction of a new bridge draws in hundreds of mostly male migrant workers.

The towns have waited long for a bridge connecting their communities, but health and social workers have become increasingly concerned over the impact the project will have on vulnerable women and children in the area as construction gets underway.

"There are serious implications. It's a very poor area so the project will attract many people and the whole social environment could change. Sex workers will come in from all over the country because they see an opportunity - just like now with the truck drivers," Nicole Engering of rights NGO Save the Children UK (SC-UK) told IRIN.

Both communities have suffered as a result of their location along national highway number one (EN1), the main route connecting Mozambique's ten provinces. "This is a corridor; when the bridge is finished the communities will be liberated, but its construction could bring more problems, similar to the ones we are already facing" said Judite Waera, the SC-UK programme officer who monitors Caia and Chimuara.

A sex industry has grown up in the area to cater to truck drivers and motorists, who "were often forced to sleep here for days, sometimes weeks, waiting for their turn to cross over", Waera said.

A slow, unreliable ferry service shuttles traffic across the river and the 'Barracas' - informal beer stalls and restaurants - set up along the river to serve stranded drivers have developed.

"At the barracas there are also a number of rooms that are rented out by the hour. There is a lot going on - children also work in the bars - and there is nearly no monitoring by authorities," Engering commented.

A former barraca owner quoted in 'A Bridge Across the Zambezi', a recent report by SC-UK assessing the social consequences of the bridge construction project, admitted to profiting from child prostitution: "I had six girl sex workers working for me, and I had rooms in the back ... others continue to have bars and rooms available and hire girl sex workers."

One 12-year-old was quoted as saying, "Many young girls in this area chat with men. They get pregnant and make abortions here by the river ... they do not know how to use condoms and do not want to go to school."

The SC-UK report estimated HIV/AIDS prevalence in Caia and Chimuara at over 20 percent.

"It is a problem brought on by poverty. Many people who have a lot more money than the people who live here just pass through. There is not much work here, so women - even married women and children from the village - spend days down by the river to be with the men. They make some money so that they can buy the things that they need," said Jaquim Povo, a volunteer at United Organisation for the Children of Chimuara, a local support group for orphans and vulnerable children.

"It would be better if the men here were employed in the construction of the bridge so that they would have money, and women would not want to go to the river," he added.

"Its true that these men are not coming here to harm the population, they are coming here to work. But a man who comes here without his family and his wife for two or three years and cannot go back to visit might want to use women here. I think it will get worse than it is now, and more women and children would be abused," Waera said.

Manecais, 14, who sells jugs of diesel to truckers at the ferry crossing point, said he could "understand that some people need to be brought in for special work like driving [heavy machinery], but I really hope that the companies will have other jobs to give to local people, so that we can be less poor and that there is less spread of HIV/AIDS."

According to Chris McIvor, SC-UK Programme Director, "None of these negative consequences are inevitable if action is taken now to put in place measures to mitigate against these impacts." He has suggested recruiting local workers "where possible, as it will make the community more integrated" and less vulnerable to abuse or exploitation.

Engering warned that the bridge project could also lead to exploitative child labour like "grinding stones and carrying heavy equipment".

"We decided to create local organisations to defend the interests of the children." Povo said. "The construction of the bridge will be dangerous for the children; they have nothing to do here so they will be curious and want to hang around the construction sites. There is heavy machinery there, and holes and building material, so it is a dangerous area for children."

McIvor said that although there were areas where there did not seem to be much progress, "there had also been positive indications that stakeholders were receptive to the concerns of local residents and have shown considerable interest and motivation in ensuring that children are protected."

"The National Road Administration and the Zambezi Bridge Construction Office have concrete plans to reduce the negative effects on both workers and local communities", with controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS the top priority, a recently updated SC-UK report released this week said. "The ministry of health has also built a GATV [Office for Advice and Voluntary Testing of HIV/AIDS] in Caia, partly in response to an increased need for such a facility during the bridge construction."

The construction of the bridge linking the northern and southern parts of the country will bring much needed jobs and access to better healthcare to both towns, Save the Children acknowledged. But to help mitigate the possible negative impact of the project, the NGO has recommended allowing workers to visit their families regularly, and pointed out that the government had made the promotion of HIV/AIDS awareness programmes in the area mandatory for the construction company.

tdm/he/oa

Theme (s): Prevention - PlusNews,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]