Globally, humanitarian organisations are ideally expected to render expedient and effective assistance to all (indiscriminately) vulnerable populations, ranging from victims of adverse natural hazards to those fleeing from intra-state or inter-state conflicts. Consequently, the role played by international organisations vis-à-vis creating structural justice in these contexts can be equated to restoring the displaced people's capabilities. Capabilities are entrenched in the ability to do or be what one values in life while entitlements denote the resources that individuals should access through legal channels. Therefore, this paper intends to explore the differences between the application of the capability approach and entitlement approach and the role of international organisations (in praxis) in enhancing or hindering human capabilities. Using qualitative data from participants who work for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Zimbabwe, the paper discusses the assumed, conventional role of humanitarian institutions juxtaposed with the reality of their activities in alleviating challenges faced by the displaced communities in Zimbabwe. The findings of the paper indicate that effective interventions for the displaced communities are adversely affected by power dynamics around key actors in internal displacement. This connotes that the bid to remain politically correct hinders the NGOs from enforcing their mandated roles towards IDPs in Zimbabwe. Therefore, the paper reaches the conclusion that the Zimbabwean context of internal displacement has exposed the gaps created by the polarity between theory on displaced people's humanitarian assistance and praxis in real-life contexts. This has particularly exposed the forced migrants to increased vulnerabilities as well as reducing the IDPs' chances of gaining their capabilities.

Involuntary human mobility within and outside national borders continue to raise connotations of these migrants being dispossessed of more than their physical shelter. In 2005, the Zimbabwean government demolished hundreds of buildings, which it had condemned as illegal through a program code named Operation Murambatsvina. Likewise, for the people dislodged by this program, the article contends that internal displacement did not only lead to loss of shelter but also denied them their inherent dignity and rendered them ‘invisible’. In turn, this heightened their susceptibility to deprivations that are synonymous with forced migration. Therefore, this article aims to explore the forced migrants’ perspectives of the effects of displacement on their lives vis-à-vis the above contentions. It mainly seeks to address the displaced people’s perceptions and socially constructed meanings of internal displacement. This qualitative article is based on empirical data gathered from Hopley and Caledonia settlements in Zimbabwe. The essay uses purposive sampling and snowballing to capture the people living in displacement. The article’s findings indicate that displacement births adaptive preferences which are used to counter the negative effects experienced due to the conditions in their settlements. Despite the conspicuousness of Hopley and Caledonia residents’ type of shelter, the article also establishes that internal displacement has ironically increased their invisibility both within and outside Zimbabwe. The article determines that their ‘invisibility’ is manifested through waning interest by institutions mandated to safeguard their assistance and protection, which exposes them to heightened vulnerabilities.

This qualitative article aims at unraveling the impact of displacement on the access to (quality) education. The article is premised on the inherent role played by education to equip displaced children with functional skills and act as a liberating force in the face of forced displacement. Using purposive homogeneous sampling from Hopley and Caledonia settlements for internally displaced people (Zimbabwe), the article attempts to evaluate effects of displacement on the quality of education or access thereof. The article uses inter-textuality as a method to complement empirical evidence with reviewed literature. The Capability Approach is applied to assess the implications of forced migration on the provision of (quality) education. In terms of the Capability Approach, quality education is measured through the actual achievements realised by any human being who has been exposed to it (education). Therefore, the Capability Approach posits that every human being has the inherent potential to be who they aspire to be when exposed to a conducive environment. In the context of this article, access to quality education is an enabling environment. The findings indicate that displacement is invariably detrimental to the provision of quality education. Moreover, this condition enhances the vulnerabilities of forced migrants as education is critical, instrumental, and of intrinsic value to the socio-economic development of its recipients. This being so, the impact of displacement on internally displaced persons’ access to quality education is a topical issue worthy of discussion so as to chart relevant solutions to the varying contexts of displacement.

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