CONCILIA CHIZARURA PROJECT PROPOSAL

PROJECT PROPOSAL

IMPACT OF EMIGRATION ON THE FAMILY UNIT:  A  STUDY OF ZIMBABWE

BY   CONCILIA   CHIZARURA

INTRODUCTION

The political changes and events in Zimbabwe between 1999 and 2009 have had a remarkable effect on the people of Zimbabwe especially the smallest unit of the society which is the family. It was during this period that there was a continued one party rule by the ZANU (PF) government which brought about the land reform programme which led to the economic meltdown because our agro- based economy could not be sustained without agricultural produce. The economic breakdown affected at least five institutions of our society as I shall outline briefly below.

Lack of the primary producers in the farms led to the subsequent closure of manufacturing industries and this in turn led to mass unemployment both in rural and urban areas of Zimbabwe.

Given the above scenario it was imperative for every able bodied male or female to go and seek jobs to sustain their families back home. It was not a case of seeking greener pastures but a job to enable them to put food on their tables because they were suddenly jobless or what they were earning was no longer enough to sustain their families.

The institution of education was affected in that the failure to pay fees by  parents of the masses in public schools left teachers frustrated, with big classes and low salaries. Some had no salaries for some months and eventually they chose not to report for duty. Some teachers left for other countries which could pay better and the children in these schools had no teachers consequently missing a whole year of school (2008).Only a few were privileged to carry on with their studies in private schools.

The finance institution also succumbed to this melt down with the printing Of a total of 30 notes in an attempt to bring down inflation by the Reserve Bank but alas all it yielded was the fuelling of the black market, and lack of foreign currency in the banks. There was also an issue of people standing in queues for days to get the local currency which was also out in the streets. Children, men and women were now taking turns to hold places in bank queues instead of working and being at school. Religious institutions were also affected by the emigration of pastors, deportation of some catholic priests Fr McGuire (2003)

The health sector also faced a mass exodus of doctors and nurses, break down of machinery from ambulances to renal unit equipment and several which could not be repaired due to lack of spares, manpower and most important of all no money to pay for all  the services rendered in every institution.

Last but not least the institution of the family, indeed the subject of this research,  has been affected most by the events in Zimbabwe during that period.

According to the UK Statistics Authority in 2001 there were 49524 Zimbabwe born people living in the UK and in 2008 the figure had gone Up to 112 000. The United States of America is home to 45000, the UK has 100000 and South Africa has 1to 5  million  Zimbabweans living in the respective countries 2008 ( Wikipedia) In a publication by Dan Tevera and Jonathan Crush entitled Zimbabweans who move, Southern Africa Migration Project, Migration Policy No. 25 They found out in a sample Survey that over 70% Zimbabweans had gone to South Africa for an Economic purpose. In their findings 29% had gone to look for work and42% had gone to trade or shop.

Given these figures and the situations above the family unit was affected because a once a family member (husband or wife) left to seek work the partner that stayed behind had the full responsibility of looking after the children. Such situations brought a lot of hardships, psychologically and physically, to all concerned i.e. the family. The direct consequences of these hardships include divorces commitment of suicide and promiscuous life styles and in some instances leading to early deaths. Moreover, this has left, in some cases, poor orphans to be raised in harsh ways and conditions.  I shudder to think of what generation of Zimbabwean adults we will have twenty years from now.

Given this sad situation, this research seeks to provide a better understanding of the extent of damage resulting from emigration in the last ten years. In particular, the research aims to establish the following facts —–

1)    A number of families were destroyed as a result of emigration

2)    The relationships within the extended family  have been marred as a result of people emigrating

Methods

Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used in this study. A number of avenues will be used to gather data.

First, data will be collected  through Video or audio interviews. Interviewees will be assured of the confidentiality of their information.

Following the interviews, questionnaires will be sent out through my contacts in the UK, S.A. and U.S.A. and some will be sent around Zimbabwe. I plan to reach between 200 and 1500 people

Third, data will be sourced from official publications such as those prepared by the UN, World Bank etc and other publications relevant to this topic.

I shall seek permission of interviewees to be published and acknowledge

Appropriately the relevant sources I would have used.