By: Ludorf Iyambo
The number of young Angolan boys who flee their country in search of green pasture in Windhoek is rising.
Most of these minors are forced to do manual work such as domestic work, selling eggs, fruits and airtime vouchers, among other things.
Most of them told The Villager that they do not attend school and wake up early to start with the day’s work.
One of the minors, Ndwau Tuhafeni, a 15-year-old boy from Angola, said that he came to Namibia in 2020 after being told that one of his uncles had a house in Windhoek and is leaving a luxurious life.
Ndwau said he couldn’t have gone back to his parent’s home because he didn’t have transport money to return.
“I started selling eggs and fish for a fellow Angolan man who has been in Windhoek before,” he said. He added that he made about N$ 200 per day from fish and maize but did not have a salary or a wage.
The minor said his boss said he would only get paid when he returned home. “I did not hesitate to do the job because I’m
trying to get money to go back home,” He said.
Another underaged street vendor of Angola descent who spoke to The Villager Newspaper is 16-year-old Andonya Batromeus, who came to Windhoek in 2012.
Batromeus said he is currently a self-employed street vendor. “I’m the owner of the business. I don’t work for anybody anymore, “he said.
The minor claimed that the business is not always good as it is supposed to be because their products do not get finished all the time.
“Sometimes, if the fish did not finish, I eat them up before they get spoiled. It’s always a loss because I have struggled to get money again and replace the stock,” he explained.
Another minor, Tuhafeni Johannes, a 12-year-old boy, said that a bad situation at home drove him out to come and look for green pasture.
Johannes said he just came to Windhoek in 2021. “I did not get a chance to go to school because the school was far from home. I want to work very hard to save up money to help at home,” He said.
There are many other cases of underage children roaming around Windhoek’s streets and another town in Namibia.
Question for comment from the Embassy of Angola in Namibia spokesperson Darcio Lukas said that he is not the right person to give any answers regarding this matter.
“what I advise you to do is write an email then I will forward it to my boss they will decide who can help to give this answers but not me”.
The communication, advocacy, and partnership specialist of UNICEF, Juditha Matjila, said that UNICEF does not have programs in Namibia but only support Namibia’s government on their programme.
“The best people you could have probably go to is the ministry of gender,” said Matjila.