SA must expect Zimbabwean flood

from The Daily News, South Africa

Some 200 000 Zimbabwean refugees are likely to cross into South Africa in the next month or two if it becomes clear that Robert Mugabe will remain in power.

This is according to Braam Hanekom, of Passop (People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty), which released a statement on the ramifications of Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the election.

"We fear that Zimbabweans will flood into South Africa, as never before, resulting in further frustrations among poor South Africans.

"The numbers we can expect, if the Zimbabwean people have no chance of changing their president, will result in massive bloodshed. It is the worst possible time for a drastic increase in migration into South Africa, it will be war," the statement noted.

"Anybody with the capability to walk, swim, beg, or borrow to come to South Africa will," Hanekom also said.

The Cape Times visited the area under the foreshore overpass on Monday where undocumented immigrants have been queuing for the past two weeks to be taken to the Department of Home Affairs.

Zimbabweans there said that they wanted to go home, but couldn't while Mugabe's Zanu-PF was in power.

Calos Mambosasa had spent almost six months waiting for papers from Home Affairs, and still had not received them.

He said that "all his friends" in Zimbabwe wanted to come to South Africa to escape the economic and political troubles, but he wanted to go back.

"If this ruling party's out maybe we can go home. We would like to go home," he said, as other Zimbabweans who had gathered around nodded.

"We don't really believe that Mugabe will concede a defeat," said Bruce Mashinya, another immigrant from Zimbabwe.

Mashinya queued under the overpass for a month before getting papers, which he said was a short time compared with other people.

He left his family behind in Zimbabwe when he came to South Africa in May. He said that they asked him for money so that they could move to South Africa too, but he doesn't have a job yet.

"We are hopeless. (Tsvangirai) has let us down, the only hope is on him," he said.

Then with a smile, he said "But we still love (Zimbabwe) more than South Africa."

Homeless South Africans and victims of xenophobic attacks also stay underneath the overpass, creating a volatile situation, according to a report released last week by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).


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