Exodus into South Africa grows

By Lance Guma
08 September 2005

The number of people from Zimbabwe seeking refuge in South Africa continues to grow. According to the Zimbabwe Torture Victims Project the situation is dire and looks set to get worse. A study done by the group based on 236 interviews with Zimbabweans living in Gauteng province highlights a range of concerns regarding the worsening situation especially after operation ‘murambatsvina’ and the plight of those fleeing the country.

Piers Pigou the project Director says although the findings are not a scientific representation of the situation facing all Zimbabweans its conclusions are an indicator of particular trends and conditions. 85 percent of those interviewed went to South Africa since 2000 while 20 percent have come in the first seven months of 2005. Only 20 percent of interviewees have permits to legally stay in the country. 56 percent said their reasons for leaving were economic while 34 percent claimed it was for political reasons.

Worryingly though, 30 percent are direct victims of violence and torture with a further 20 percent saying they had been threatened and intimidated. The scenario is made even more gloomy by the fact that 80 percent of people do not have valid permits to be in South Africa with the governments perceived support for Robert Mugabe blamed for the negative attitude.

Pigou says there is a pressing need to understand better the position and plight of Zimbabweans that have come to South Africa in search of refuge, and to ensure that those who legitimately can be called refugees as opposed to economic migrants receive the treatment and care expected under South African and international law. Although it is estimated that as many as 10,000 Zimbabweans have now managed to access South Africa’s asylum process, ZTVP believe that many more may be eligible.

They believe that although some of those who claim they are in South Africa primarily for economic reasons are indeed not eligible for refugee status, the situation is by no means clear-cut as there are many instances where the political and economic are closely intertwined. South Africa’s refugee legislation incorporates the African Union definition of refugee, which allows for the consideration of refugee status for persons fleeing from “events seriously disturbing or disrupting public order in either a part or the whole of his or her country- a situation that many would argue has characterized contemporary Zimbabwean conditions , especially in the wake of Operation Murambatsvina.