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Copyright © 2024 Peter Caton
Mushina looks out of a hole in her shelter. Many families weave together pieces of cardboard with small plastic bags until they form walls made up of dozens of piecesRefugee's gather under the shade of a tree in searing heat at Etunda Refugee Camp, Namibia.Velise wears the traditional beaded wigs called Ena meant for girls of the Mudimba tribeCooking what little food they can find at Etunda Refugee Camp.“This shelter is not as strong, it's not the same as home. For our homes we used to use strong sticks and sand mixed with cow dung, plus we had a fire inside the house. This is not the same as our homes, we can't put a fire inside, and when it rains it seeps in.” Mwandjukatji at Etunda Refugee Camp, Namibia.The Kunene River that splits Angola and Namibia. Police boats potrol the river to prevent migrants from crossing into Namibia in the hope fertile land and a better life. They explain that many are lost crossing the river, taken by the numerous crocodiles.Kahakojo Katjeja at Kunene river which she crossed when she migrated from Angola due to the drought causing hunger in their villages.Kakureukua (left) and Vahepapi (right) at Kunene river. Both women cross the river in an effort to escape hunger in Angola.Kahakojo (left) and Rosa (right) at Kunene river which they crossed when they migrated from Angola due to the drought causing hunger in their villages.Kaevarua and her grand daughter at Kuene river which many Angolan migrants have crossed after experiencing an intense drought in their homelandMbawiramo, 37, is a members of a group from the Zimba tribe, who are migrating from Angola to Namibia across difficult parched Namibian landscape.Kumbanu, 51, takes rest while travelling across a dry and arid landscape to reach Namibia.Woman find a water source at a dried up river bed on their journey from Angola to Namibia.Standing hungry and exhausted Twapwiratju advised her husband Mburajongambi to leave their village in Angola. After seeing the food situation worsening they thought that the solution would be to leave rather than stay and potentially face fatal hunger.“Some of my family had passed away because of this drought and because of the lack of food…so I said to myself, 'I will not allow my children to also die like the others, so I have to take them across to Namibia and look for a better life because if I stay in this place my children will die from hunger.'”Mekondjo, 29, migrated from Angola to Namibia with polio to look for a better life. He did it without a vehicle and crawled for 170 kilometres.The road to Opuwo, Kunene region, where many Angolan migrants have settled after migrating away from the drought in their homeland.Muajungatji lives in a small shelter built out of cardboard boxes, plastic, and blankets. Like many women of her community she collects firewood early in the morning to sell at the market and later on buy some food.Refugees gather for food which consists of porridge and contains few nutrients.A settlement for migrants coming from Angola in Opuwo, Namibia.Venonya is 1 year old and she crossed the border from Angola to Namibia already with severe malnutrition. Through aid provided by the Red Cross volunteers in Etunda Refugee Camp she was able to go to hospital with her grandmother, Diolinda, and receive immediate treatment for her condition.Muajungatji collects fire wood all day long in intense heat. She has no choice as it is the only form of income since she arrived from Angola.Muapata Uozombambi and his family now chops wood to be sold at the market in Opuwo so his family can buy some food. During the time when Muapata and his family were considering leaving Angola they survived by eating grass stalks.“If you look at our necklaces, they used to be tight around our necks. But now that we have nothing to eat our necklaces are loose around our neck.” Uapona talks about hunger while collecting firewoodFamily’s like Tjaunda’s sleep in the same way by laying blankets on the floor and using any spare blankets to cover themselves against the cold at night.A child wakes up after sleeping in the open at Otuzemba, an area in Opuwo where migrants coming from Angola have settled.Woman from the Zemba tribe from a refugee camp in Opuwo go off in search of water to drink.A group of migrants gather around a residential area to collect water from the home of a local pastor in Opuwo. He offers the people free of charge.Mbeungua, 47, and her daughter Ujama,6, on their way to Oukongo village where many Angolan migrants have settled.