A few weeks before the massive Rhodesian air attacks into Zambia began on 19 October, a representative of International Defence and Aid Fund had visited a number of Zimbabwean refugee camps outside Lusaka. At Chikumbi camp alone, 20 km north of the capital, 226 non-combatant refugees were killed in a Rhodesian bombing raid and 629 wounded, six of whom died in hospital, according to ZAPU (Patriotic Front). Further attacks against ZAPU installations close to the capital took place on 2 November. The two main camps for Zimbabwean refugee children in Zambia, J.Z. Moyo (boys) and Victory (girls) are both situated in this area, and were visited by the IDAF representative.
The first camp visited, however, was a transit camp for 11½ thousand young men from 16 years upwards, about 9 km outside Lusaka. "We drove in a jeep over appalling roads, full of potholes and eventually turned off the main road into the bush where there was virtually no road at all. As we went further into the camp, I noticed hundreds upon hundreds of tiny huts made of reeds. These were the temporary shelters of the inhabitants which they had erected themselves.
"The food, maize meal, was being cooked in the open over a log fire in two huge cooking pots. It took from 3 am until the evening to serve each man one meal per day.
"I was then shown the camp clinic. It seemed absurdly small and the supplies so inadequate for the numbers to be serviced. They were short of everything. Despite the deprivation here, there were no signs of discontent - there was a feeling of belonging and of comradeship.
"Next, I was taken to the Jason Moyo school for 8,000 boys. The conditions here were somewhat better. The boys were sleeping under canvas tents but overcrowded. Tents for 8-10 were inhabited by 12-14 boys, whose ages ranged from 6-16 years.
"Classes were in session when we arrived. These were 12 year olds and were having a lesson in simple biology. I was surprised at the neatness of the work and the level of the education. All the teachers are Zimbabweans and the classes took between 45 and 50 children. Subjects taught were African languages, history, geography, maths, science, politics, biology. The principal indicated that they were very short of readers - at the moment had sufficient exercise books, but were also in need of pens."
At the Victory camp and school, housing 6½ thousand girls in the same age range as the boys, conditions were similar but some permanent dormitories and classrooms had already been constructed. A thriving sewing machine factory was already in existence, with plans in hand to set up a typing school.
"I spoke to 3 young women at random and asked them why they had left Zimbabwe. The first said that she was at home one day with her brother who was doing nothing more dangerous than combing his hair when the police arrived and beat him to death in front of her eyes. The reason was that he was wearing jeans which they say is the garb of terrorists.
"The second said she had gone to a multi-racial school in Salisbury and had passed her A levels well. All the white girls got employment but the black girls were unable to do so. After a long time she obtained work at 7 dollars a month, but as she could not exist on this, she decided to leave and join ZAPU.
"The third girl lived in a village near Plumtree. One day the guerillas came and asked for food. She said they were very polite, they did not threaten, and the people could see they were hungry and gave them food. Then they left. Shortly afterwards the police arrived, rounded up all the parents and interrogated them. But no one knew where the guerillas had come from nor where they had gone. They beat the parents unconscious; when they came to they burnt them with cigarettes, then beat them again. Finally they were all rounded up and taken to jail, where she understands they still are. They told the youngsters and children to remain there and each day came to harass and question them, till finally she and others decided to flee.
"I was informed that many of the teachers here had walked out of Zimbabwe with their entire classrooms of children."
