HARARE
Without water, electricity or sewerage for seven months, residents of Tafara and Mabvuku are living under appalling conditions. Here are some of the images taken by a concerned amateur photographer, who put his safety at risk to expose the scandal.
The lids on the manholes in the streets are lifting and raw human excrement is flowing out of them. The stench is unbearable. The whole sewerage system has collapsed and, even after seven months, nothing has been done to repair it. Â
People have attempted to dig a makeshift canal so that the filth can flow into a pit. Their only source of water is a well, just 10 feet away from this stinking trench.
More than 40 people have died from diseases such as dysentery. Human excrement is flowing out of the residents’ toilets and into their backyards where they grow their vegetables. Many can’t use the toilets because they can’t even open the door to get in. They can’t clean up because they don’t have enough water. Â
One young woman who uses a wheelchair was now a prisoner in her home. She can’t get the wheelchair outside because of the mess so, when she needs the toilet, she wheels herself to the back door and does her business just outside the doorway.
What looks a little like paving stones is actually dried human excrement, six inches deep. Mealies are growing in the same area.
Children are exposed to the danger of disease every day. The filth is lying stagnant around the shops, butcheries and schools and vendors are selling fruit and vegetables in the midst of all this waste.
The people who live here cannot enter their premises through the front gate because raw sewage is blocking the entrance. They have to go next door and climb over the fence.