Locally Led Integration of IDPs in Chimanimani in the Aftermath of Cyclone Idai

Rural landscape in Malawi in the wake of Cyclone Idai. Photo by GovernmentZA via Flickr.

by Joyce Takaindisa

Mainstream perceptions in public, media, and policy discourses predominantly assign the responsibility of integrating internally displaced persons (IDPs) to local and national institutions. Much academic attention has tended to focus on the role of state institutions in international migration, side-lining community-centric approaches of integration in internal migration or displacement. Moreover, the integration literature is predominantly Eurocentric, with a strong focus on integration dynamics in Europe and the USA as a ‘crisis.’ Consequently, the bulk of research studies have tended to focus on integration of persons who have crossed borders to seek refuge or asylum in another country, akin to what has been described as the mono-directional conceptual flow sourced in the Global North. Rarely do scholars and policy makers consider the role of traditional integration mechanisms in fostering social cohesion and peace among IDPs and receiving communities. 

Rarely do scholars and policy makers consider the role of traditional integration mechanisms in fostering social cohesion and peace among IDPs and receiving communities.

Such approaches overlook the role of indigenous practices that communities have utilized across generations to welcome newcomers into their spaces. Yet in contexts of climate-induced displacement, certain cultural practices and rituals are crucial avenues for promoting integration and fostering a sense of belonging for IDPs in the aftermath of climate shocks. In this piece, I reflect on recent fieldwork conducted in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe where Cyclone Idai displaced thousands and left a trail of destruction in 2019. Fieldwork was conducted in November 2024 with the aim of understanding the climate change/climate security nexus in displacement contexts. Here, I reflect on unique traditional practices that transcend conventional framings of integration. These local practices offer insights into alternative ways of integration and demonstrate the agency of vulnerable communities in local adaptation. 

When Cyclone Idai hit Chimanimani, in Eastern Zimbabwe, close to the Mozambiquan border, survivors were forced to move to neighbouring villages that had not been severely impacted. I interacted with IDPs who had relocated to Ward 14 in the aftermath of the disaster as well as the host community. For context, Ward 14 is comprised of five villages. The key issue I interrogated focused on the displacement/conflict nexus, considering that tensions between host communities and IDPs are frequently presumed to define displacement mobility. Despite the devastating circumstances, I learnt that the cyclone was, in fact, a unifier.

Most fundamentally, local coping mechanisms in response to the disaster were informed by ubuntu, premised on the African philosophy that a person is a person through others.

Most fundamentally, local coping mechanisms in response to the disaster were informed by ubuntu, premised on the African philosophy that a person is a person through others. Ubuntu, expressed through compassion and reciprocity, is anchored in the belief that one acts towards the collective benefit of others, not for individualistic gain. In the spirit of ubuntu, IDPs and their hosts narrated that the cyclone strengthened community responsibility towards one another. 

Cultural and traditional models of integration in Chimanimani

In this context, integration is closely tied to long-standing cultural and local traditional practices of welcoming newcomers, referred to as “vauyi” in the local Ndau language. Firstly, IDPs were allocated pieces of land by the village heads for agricultural production. Ward 14, typical of rural Zimbabwe relies on rain-fed agriculture, producing maize, yams, bananas, and vegetables. Such land sharing demonstrated collective community support towards IDPs, reflecting the spirit of ubuntu. Secondly, all newcomers were required to contribute to a traditional ceremony conducted by traditional leaders. Newcomers contribute chickens, maize, or foodstuffs for the village celebration. This ceremony is important as it signals the rite of passage facilitating the integration of newcomers into the host community. 

Normally conducted a year after the arrival of newcomers and after the first annual harvest, the ceremony‘mataapano’ – loosely translated to mean “we are now here” – is a welcoming ceremony that simply means that the host community and IDPs are now one family. This indicates the host community’s acceptance of newcomers and, crucially, the newcomers’ appreciation of their hosts by sharing their first harvest with them, to thank them for opening their doors in times of need. Symbolically, this ceremony effectively dissolves the label of the newcomer as the ‘other’ or ‘foreigner’, and demonstrates the significance of local structures of integration. Another community ceremony that brings together newcomers and host communities to bond culturally and socially is the beer ceremony often held in October to coincide with the rainy season. This ceremony serves two purposes: to thank the ancestors for the previous season’s harvest and to summon the ancestors to bring rains for the new season. Everyone, IDPs included, contribute two kilograms of maize, one kilogram of finger millet and one chicken. Led by the village head, beer is brewed, followed by a celebration where everyone eats and drinks together, thus fostering a shared culture of belonging.

This ceremony engenders peace and cohesion as IDPs partake in the celebration on equal footing with their hosts. In the aftermath Cyclone Idai, traditional leaders conducted a mass healing ceremony in Chimanimani. Noting the community’s strong belief that this disaster was not natural but a curse or punishment from the ancestors for sins committed in the land, a healing ceremony was initiated to cleanse the area of evil spirits, plead forgiveness to their ancestors, and console those who had lost loved ones in the disaster. The IDPs agreed that the ceremony helped them to process the trauma they had experienced. The healing ceremony, largely rooted in local traditional practices, provides valuable insights on trauma recovery.

Post-disaster traumas are often addressed from clinical perspectives that favour medical interventions and therapies, with cultural healing practices often side-lined.

Post-disaster traumas are often addressed from clinical perspectives that favour medical interventions and therapies, with cultural healing practices often side-lined. Yet in this context, the healing ceremony reassured IDPs that they were not grieving alone, and their losses were felt collectively by the entire community. In this way, collective grieving in the spirit of ubuntu was key to their recovery. Commenting on this collective engagement, one elderly host expressed:

“How could we not welcome people who had suffered so much unless you are a witch. The number of people and animals that died taught us one thing – not to be too materialistic because you can die anytime. After the cyclone, everyone just went into their homes and shared whatever they had from food, clothes, blankets, pots etc. Most of us opened new things to give because we realized those displaced needed us, just like one day we may also need them – after all we are one people.”

Whilst trauma recovery is not the focus of this piece, the findings demonstrate the importance of integrating clinical science with traditional context-specific localized approaches. Finally, another local method of integration is done through periodic community festivals where IDPs are actively included. This has allowed them to take part in host community activities, fostering social bonding and connections. These periodic events engender peace, foster belonging, and help in trauma recovery. As one host community member humorously stated:

“We will never forget how cruel this cyclone was but where a terrible thing happens, some good things also come out of this – our children are now marrying each other, strengthening our relationships.”

Conclusion

Understanding first-hand the community models of integration used in Chimanimani following the Cyclone Idai disaster demonstrates the significance of traditional cultural practices for IDP adaptation. It uncovers the value of traditional processes of integration, despite their neglect in mainstream scholarship. Moreover, the role of host communities in supporting integration has not been sufficiently interrogated in the literature, although communities are significant actors in local integration, including trauma recovery. Moreover, debates on local integration have tended to focus on durable solutions for refugees in displacement situations in first asylum country. Consequently, research on the integration of IDPs has tended to focus on countries and regions in the Global North. Beyond this state-centric focus in integration debates, I argue for moving past formal policy regimes that often push Euro-American analyses, and instead advocate for local community-led integration in order to foster holistic approaches to integration that are culturally sensitive and context specific.

I argue for moving past formal policy regimes that often push Euro-American analyses, and instead advocate for local community-led integration in order to foster holistic approaches to integration that are culturally sensitive and context specific.

Overall, this piece contributes to a more nuanced understanding of integration that recognizes integration as a multifaceted process shaped by local context and attitudes. Further, the findings demonstrate that host community receptivity, or lack thereof, determines integration success. By incorporating empirical insights from the Global South, these reflections contribute to articulating Afrocentric approaches to the integration scholarship, emphasising one of the under-researched areas in the field, namely the integration of IDPs in rural localities. As I conclude, I recognize that this piece offers a somewhat one-sided approach on IDP integration. To counter this imbalance, future work will interrogate power relations between IDPs and host communities. By doing this, I hope to contribute more insights on integration scholarship from the Global South.

About the author

Joyce Takaindisa is a Migration and Climate Security Specialist at the Alliance for Bioversity International & CIAT based in Nairobi, Kenya. With a PhD in Migration & Displacement, her current work on the climate change/climate security nexus focuses on climate-induced migration, displacements, conflict, fragility and locally led adaptation along food, land, and water systems, among other related issues.