Journal of Social Development in Africa (1993),8 23-5 
Editorial 
This issue of the Journal has as its major theme the situation of Mozambican 
refugees within Southern Africa. This is timely as the conflict in the sub-region 
appears to be heading towards resolution: repatriation is the catchword and 
concerned agencies, both governmental and non-governmental are now working 
with the large displaced and refugee populations with this goal in mind. 
Comprehensive repatriation is however a future goal; at the present time large 
numbers of refugees are still confined within refugee camps in countries bordering 
on Mozambique. Social workers and other NGO personnel need to be aware of the 
needs of the most vulnerable groups in the context of these camps - women who 
continue to remain marginalised, children, the single-headed households, the 
disabled and frail elderly, among others. An awareness of their needs must extend 
also toconsideration of the assistance they will requireoncerepatriation commences 
in earnest. 
This Refugees issue has been developed in the context of a major cooperative 
project involving a consortium of three institutions: Save the Children Federation 
(USA), the School of Social Work in Zimbabwe and Duke University, North 
Carolina, USA. This is an interesting project (termed the Southern Africa Training 
and Research Initiative, or S ATARI), funded by the US State Department's Bureau 
for Refugee Programs, which seeks to enhance the thedevelopmentof programmes 
and policies that are more responsive to the needs of refugees/displaced persons in 
southern Africa. S ATARI has formed a consultative group involving government 
personnel from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, and representatives from 
UNHCR and NGOs, developed field-based workshops to examine the situation of 
vulnerable groups - in particular children - in the camps and in the context of 
repatriation, and is developing a Documentation Centre based at the School of 
Social Work, among other initiatives. This issue of the Journal is a product to some 
extentofSATARI:twoofthepaperspublishedhere were specifically commissioned 
by S ATARI, and the Refugees theme for the Journal was identified as appropriate 
given the timing with regard to repatriation in the region, and the School's 
involvement in this project. All the papers published in this issue are by persons 
who have some connection with, or knowledge about S ATARI. 
Neil Boothby considers the situation faced by unaccompanied children in 
Mozambique and argues for sensitive, community-based programmes that build 
on traditional community networks. Initial efforts of the Mozambican government 
to develop foster care services proved excessively bureaucratic and overlycentralised. 
However, following a combined initiative which included government 
and NGOs (termed the "Llanguene Initiative", more inclusive and district-level
4 Editorial 
strategies were employed. The success ofthese strategies indicated thatif government 
and NGOs worked together and, crucially, involved local people and refugees 
themselves in these efforts, then significant numbers of unaccompanied children 
could be documented and family members located who could provide care for 
them. 
The emphasis given by Boothby to the active involvement of refugees and 
displaced persons is continued in the article by Madzokere on the situation of rural 
Mozambican women at Mazowe River Bridge Camp in Zimbabwe. Madzokere 
provides a critical analysis of the continuing subordinate role of women in the 
camps and their lack of involvement in decision-making and in any meaningful 
participation in the administration of the camp. Following her study of the role and 
status of these women, Madzokere recommends several strategies which, if 
adopted by the existing governmental and NGOs actively working with refugees, 
could significantly impact on their position. 
Gillian S traker extends the theme of this Refugees issue by examining the aftereffects 
of violent situations and consequent trauma that ensues. Writing from the 
experience of the South African conflict, Straker's particular interest is to examine 
the effect that working with "survivors" of trauma has on those in the helping 
professions. She points out that workers' reactions to trauma mirror those of the 
survivors (eg a sense of powerlessness, anger, anxiety and burnout) and creates a 
"secondary traumatisation". Those in the helping professions need to recognise 
this transference and work on ameliorating its effects. To this end Straker 
recommends several practical exercises which should assist them to do so. 
While trauma is one consequence of violent situations, another is the serious 
social dislocation that is an inevitable by-product of conflict In this context 
Muchini examines the phenomenon of unaccompanied Mozambican children in 
Zimbabwe, who are to be found in refugee camps, towns and cities, commercial 
farms, communal areas and institutions. Many become street children, working for 
a living by vending and taking on other jobs in the informal sector. Through 
detailed case examples, Muchini introduces us to the lives of some of the children 
- Jose's experience in the communal areas, in Harare, arrest by the Police, 
placement in a children's institution, followed by a refugee camp and finally a 
fostering situation. The stories of Mosses and Mario, abducted by the MNR, and 
Eduardo orphaned in Mozambique, provide further graphic and personal accounts 
of how children are affected by war. 
Muchini concludes that while the experience of these children has been masked 
by the trauma of loss and separation, they still demonstrate a range of coping 
capacities and resilience. He suggests that agencies should provide a higher level 
of support to them through improving systems of documentation, tracing and 
assessment, and through making quick (but informed) decisions about child 
placement, foster care and the need for intensive casework.
Editorial 5 
Korstad extends the concept of documentation to include projects involving 
refugee and displaced children. He points out that documentary projects drawing 
upon African traditions can assist Mozambican children to regain a sense of 
identity with their past He relates this to documentary projects carried out by 
children from impoverished communities in the United States, which helped them 
to communicate their sense of the world. Projects could include a variety of formats 
- oral history, photographic, autobiographical, use of video and role play. 
Documentary projects not only help the children develop better communication 
and learning skills, but also provide a source of information to the community 
itself, the nation and the outside world. 
Phiri and Duncan also focus on the needs of the unaccompanied refugee child 
and examine the value of good substitute family placements in restoring a senge 
of belonging, and providing support and guidance to children. Problems in 
organising and arranging these placements are considered and the authors suggest 
the necessity of developing a set of guidelines to monitor the appropriateness of 
placements. Caseexamples areprovided - the stories of Rosaand Carlos demonstrate 
some of the problems and difficulties of these placements, while Jose's story 
indicates a reasonable successful placement. Further training, policy review, 
involvement of the community and a greater sensitivity to cultural issues are 
suggested as aspects which will enhance substitute family placements. 
The review article by Lent and the book reviews all focus on refugee-related 
publications, or are concerned with children in difficult circumstances, enhancing 
the thematic nature of this issue. 
The Journal of Social Development in Africa is pleased to be able to publish 
articles directly related to current political and social realities in the Continent It 
is hoped that this Refugees issue will provide useful information and will help to 
provoke readers into thinking through some of the issues relating to the needs of 
refugees and displaced persons in southern Africa. 
If readers wish to know more about SATARI and its objectives, the 
following publications will be sent free of charge if requested from the 
editor of (his Journal: 
• SCF (USA) (1992) "Not Making Matters Worse: Recognizing and 
Enhancing Strengths of Displaced Children and Their Families", 
Summary Report Chimanimani Workshop Dec 1-6,1991 and Followup 
Symposium, April 29,1992, Save the Children Federation, USA, 
Harare. 
• SATARI (1993) "Repatriation of Vulnerable Groups: Field-Based 
Planning and Coordination Workshops: Summary Workshop Report 
(Chiredzi, Zimbabwe & Mwanza, Malawi), Harare.