Zimbabwe producing record numbers of refugees

By Lance Guma
22 June 2007

This week saw the passing of World Refugees Day on 20th June but for Zimbabwe that day could very well be commemorated everyday. According to the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum the country is now officially the biggest producer of refugees in Southern Africa. Two field researches done at the border in Messina and the main Marabastad Refugee reception office in Pretoria have shown that there is a shocking rise in the number of those fleeing the country.

Forum coordinator Gabriel Shumba said in the past couple of years it was Operation Murambatsvina that made people flee, while this year the hyper-inflationary environment is to blame. Their report documents how people are being killed by crocodiles in the Limpopo River while one Zimbabwean was killed by a lion while crossing the border a few weeks ago.

Every year hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans are fleeing a devastating economic and political crisis that seems to have no solution. South Africa, the United Kingdom, Botswana and the United States are some of the more popular destinations. Shumba said Botswana alone deported 6000 Zimbabweans in one week sometime this year, while South Africa deported over 100 000 last year.

Over 5000 refugees in South Africa converged in various cities to mark World Refugees Day this week. Undoubtedly Zimbabweans made up a significant number of these and all told of harrowing tales of police abuse, lack of proper accommodation and a struggle for acceptance in South Africa. Particularly devastating for Zimbabwe’s economy is that educated professionals are still leaving in their thousands while continuing the massive brain drain.

As if to emphasize how big the problem is South Africa now has over 4 refugee organisations dealing with Zimbabweans. The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, Zimbabwe Association of Refugees, Zimbabwe Refugees Association (ZIMRA) and Zimbabwe Refugees Forum. Just last week the Association of Zimbabwe Journalist’s website reported that the number of blind people fleeing to South Africa was fast increasing.

ZIMRA founding secretary general, Peter Muzanenhamo said the Zimbabwean government had failed to help this community of vulnerable people just like it has failed other citizens. These blind refugees are now begging on the streets of Johannesburg. ‘This clearly shows how Mugabe and his government have failed, if you see the handicapped and the blind leaving the country,’ Muzanenhamo said. ZIMRA, which assists blind Zimbabweans in Johannesburg with blankets and food, says the number is estimated to be above one thousand for those in Johannesburg only and that the numbers were increasing everyday.