More Zimbabwean Migrants expected in Musina (IRIN News)

MUSINA,, 30April 2009 (IRIN) - The South African border town of Musina is bracing for anincrease in migrants as faith in Zimbabwe's new unity government wanes and thelure of a new permit system specifically tailored for Zimbabweans makes iteasier for them to work and study in South Africa. 

Musina, 17km south ofZimbabwe, has been the first port of call for millions of Zimbabweans fleeingan economic collapse usually associated with a country at war, and has testedthe capacity of the South African authorities. 


Concerned NGOs have eitherpolitely termed South Africa's approach to the flood of Zimbabwean migrantspouring across the border for almost a decade as "fluid", or morepointedly noted that "the only consistency of its migration policy is its inconsistency".

Before South Africa's Home Affairs Department decided to adopt the newone-size-fits-all policy, which has been warmly welcomed by NGOs and the UNRefugee Agency (UNHCR), it tried a variety of solutions to staunch the flow ofmigrants - from mass deportations to handing out asylum seeker permits - but byits own admission succeeded only in encouraging corrupt practices in thedepartment. 



The nature of Zimbabwean migration makes it difficult todetermine the numbers involved, and estimates range from one million to morethan three million people, a figure further complicated by those criss-crossingthe border for a variety of reasons, but despite the numbers involved, SouthAfrica has leaned towards accepting rather than preventing migration. 



Thereare myriad categories of migrants, from asylum seekers escaping politicalpersecution to people fleeing economic collapse for a better life over theLimpopo River, cross-border traders, students and shoppers, all contributing toclogging South Africa's bureaucracy with their differing demands. 

SebeloSibanda, in the Musina office of Lawyers for Human Rights, told IRIN the policewould need a sea change in their attitude to Zimbabwean migrants if a newpermit system was to work efficiently, because of their track record of"highly confusing policies, contradictory to the rest of thecountry". 

The scale and complexity of migration can be overwhelming."Either I'm the crazy one, or the system is crazy, or I am failing tograsp what is happening," Sibanda commented. 

"According to theRefugee Act, if someone is inside the country seeking asylum, regardless of howthey got into the country they cannot be deported and they can apply fordocumentation. South Africa acts contrary to its own Act." 


Musina'spolice spokesman, Captain Sydney Ringane, told IRIN: "We do arrest[Zimbabwean migrants], except when they are on their way to the showgrounds." This is a barren shadeless area a couple of hectares in extent,enclosed by a broken chain-link fence, adjacent to the home affairs offices atthe southern end of town, which is viewed as a sanctuary by migrants seekinggreener pastures in South Africa. 

"There was an understanding that whenpeople get to the show ground they [migrants] won't get deported [by thepolice]," Sibanda said. "But migrants still had to negotiate a 20kmgauntlet and risk arrest and deportation on the way." 



The police havenot always respected the show grounds as a sanctuary. Sibanda recollected policerounding up asylum seekers and placing them in "preventative detention forthe week-end", after blaming migrants for an increase in crime. Later theyimposed a 100m cordon around the area and arrested and deported anyone strayingbeyond this point. 

The effect of the cordon forced 5,000 people to stayinside it without adequate sanitation facilities or water supplies, which waswidely blamed for contributing to the outbreak of cholera in the town. Aidagencies subsequently supplied sanitation facilities and drinking water. 

"Whetherwe like it or not, the decision to introduce a permit system will attract morepeople from Zimbabwe, and that is inevitable. In Zimbabwe the reaction to theannouncement of special permits was 'Great!' as people said, 'We can go toSouth Africa and not be harassed or deported.' But the arresting is not goingto stop, they [the police] will continue to arrest; people will be arrested fora nationality check," Sibanda said. 



Since the demise of apartheid, SouthAfrica, the continent's largest economy, has become a magnet to other Africannationals; according to analysts, the Zimbabwe permit could spawn a new avenueof corruption as other African nationals use it to gain access. 

Methods usedto determine someone's country of origin include proficiency in the languagesspoken there, and testing specific local knowledge of the regions people claimto come from. 



Migrationis an acid test of Zimbabwe's recovery 



Migrationfrom Zimbabwe is seen as a barometer of the country's ills. It was hoped thatthe formation of the unity government on 11 February 2009 would be the firststep towards recovery, but confidence in the new administration has yet toimpact significantly on the flow of migrants. 


"People are very scepticalabout it [unity government]. Shops are now full, but what's the point? No work,no money to buy goods, and the schooling remains compromised," Sibandasaid. "If you criticize the unity government then you are unpatriotic -it's back to the ZANU-PF [Zimbabwe's ruling party for 29 years] thing thateveryone has to sing from the same song sheet." 



Timothy Mugabe, 30, aformer Zimbabwe policeman, was one of about 500 people queuing fordocumentation at the show ground recently. He fled the country in September2008 after being tortured and detained for seven days because he refused toobey an order by the commanding officer of Midland Province, CharlesMufandaedza, to vote for Robert Mugabe in the 2008 run-off presidentialelections. 

After persistent death threats he left for South Africa inSeptember 2008 with his four-year-old son, but went to Musina in April 2009 tomeet his wife, who was coming across the border. "I will return [toZimbabwe] when there is a new government. The unity government will not solvethe political problems," he said. 

Raphael Majoni (not his real name),22, said he had arrived in Musina after paying a policeman R100 (US$10) tocross the border, and a further R150 (US$15) for safe passage by taxi to theshow grounds. The usual taxi fare from the Zimbabwe border to Musina is R30(US$3). 


Majoni wasdrawn to South Africa in the hope of continuing his education. He passed nine O(Ordinary) Level subjects to obtain a school-leaving certificate in the Britisheducation system followed in Zimbabwe, and had worked at odd jobs for threeyears but still could not afford to study for his A (Advanced) Level graduationcertificate. 

"I want to get a job and go to school, to try my best tomeet my goals and objectives, and to make money to feed my family backhome," he told IRIN. 



A migration specialist who declined to be namedtold IRIN that bribing officials on both sides of the border was big business,but the South African police consistently denied that their members indulged incorrupt activities. 

"The Zimbabwe permit allows migrants to work andstudy and to go back and forth [across the border]. This is what a lot ofZimbabweans - who in some cases are supporting an entire family - have beenlooking for as a way to take remittances or food back to relatives, and thenreturn to their job in South Africa," UNHCR field officer CamillaKragelund told IRIN. 



"It is an initiative that we welcome and is a verypositive step by South Africa. The new permit will address the need for manyZimbabweans, and will also ease the pressure on the asylum system, as thismeans those people coming to South Africa seeking international protectionbecause they are not safe in their own country will now have a better access tothe asylum system," she said. 

Before South Africa's authorities decidedto introduce special permits for Zimbabweans, the policy had been to giveasylum seekers permits, but after six months these had to be reviewed by apanel, and a decision taken on the validity of the application, whichoverloaded the asylum process. 



UNHCR assisted home affairs in processing afew hundred asylum seeker applications daily at the show grounds. "We setup a pre-registration desk and worked closely with the department, which wasvery responsive, and ensured free access to the asylum system and a fair refugeeprocess," Kragelund said. 

"The new permit will not require the sameresource-intensive process as the asylum seekers permit, and just has a timelimit, which will really relieve the asylum seekers system." 



DecongestingMusina 



Desperationdrives most Zimbabwean migrants to South Africa. They arrive in Musina withlittle more than the clothes on their backs and, if they are lucky, a few randsin their pockets. The migrants compete for work in Musina to earn money totravel to South Africa's urban centres, where job opportunities are greater. 

"Johannesburgis the gold city, not of Africa, but of the whole world. People have a choiceto go anywhere, but most choose Johannesburg," Jacob Matakanye, CEO of theMusina Legal Advice Centre, told IRIN. 

The advice centre uses South Africa'srail network to ferry as many as 500 migrants a day to destinations of theirchoice, and reunite migrants with relatives or friends in the country, whichhas reduced the pressure in Musina, but has increased pressures in other partsof South Africa, where the newly arrived compete with locals for increasinglyscarce resources. 


"Thespecial permits will see people coming, knowing that they will not be pushedback home, and there will be a problem in Musina, as greater numbers will comeacross, and where are they going to stay? There is no shelter," Matakanyesaid. 

Faith-based organizations have established a few temporary shelterswhere migrants stay for three days on average, and although international aidagencies say the conditions are not of international standard, they concedethat with little else available they are better than nothing. 

The permitsystem is seen as a key incentive to make returning to Zimbabwe an easierchoice. "People are not going back in numbers because the asylum seekerspermit does not allow them to return," Matakanye said. 

"But withthe new permit people can go back to Zimbabwe and return to South Africawithout losing their status. It provides people with freedom of movement."