Villages Of Dust

GALE NGAKANE
Correspondent | Monday September 3, 2007 00:00

Here a single stomp on the ground can produce enough dust to choke two people standing near each other.The problem becomes worse during funerals and burials. Mourners usually contort their facial features and squint their eyes painfully as the windy dust hit them. Those who have experienced the dusty blast are left with red eyes. They become white as the famous Mmamashia phantom.

In Rakops, the off-road soil has been pounded into cement-like powder. The entrance to the Rakops Primary Hospital and the Junior Secondary School are even worse.
Rakops, like Mopipi, is a village whose people are becoming increasingly urbanised, partly because of the influence from nearby Orapa and relatives living in towns. Hence, it has signs of urbanisation like hair salons. But the women here face a tough time keeping dust from their hair after a visit to the salon. Some women wear balaclava-like woollen hats to shield their hair from the dust.

A medical officer at Rakops Primary Hospital said the dusty winds have caused a health problem in the area.

'We have received children in this hospital who had been affected by the dust,' he said. Health authorities in Xhumo and Mopipi could not be reached for comment.