Human floods to SA

Some businesspeople fear that Zimbabweans bring crime and steal jobs, while others praise their work ethic, writes JOHN KANINDA THERE was a time when the border between Mexico and the US was the theatre of one of the most astonishing exodus of Mexican migrants in modern history. The situation is not much different on the border between SA and Zimbabwe. Spurred by hunger and the economic crisis rocking their country, thousands of documented and illegal Zimbabwean migrants cross every day in search of food, solace and jobs. Though official figures are incomplete, it has been confirmed that 6000 documented Zimbabweans pass through the Beit Bridge border post every day. Last year alone, 25000 Zimbabweans sought political asylum in SA. This is an astonishing figure when compared to the 6000 Pakistani or 5000 Congolese nationals who applied for asylum in the same period. The latter at least have the excuse of coming from war-torn countries. These figures also don’t reflect those who illegally cross the border. If reports are anything to go by, SA should brace itself for the most formidable influx of migrants it has ever witnessed. SA is now considering setting up refugee camps along its border with Zimbabwe to accommodate the tide of refugees. The plan provides for two transit camps, where incoming Zimbabweans would be held until their eligibility for refugee status can be determined. Such prospects have businesses in Polokwane wary of the future. Hans Jacobs, the manager of Absa in Polokwane and the president of that city’s Chamber of Business says he is worried about the high numbers of people coming into the region, putting a huge strain on its natural resources. “Despite what is being said, they don’t only come here to shop,” he said. “They come here to stay.” There were two dangers arising from that situation, he said. “Desperate as they are, many of these migrants will end up taking jobs at any salary. In an environment where jobs are scarce, locals will be quick to complain about migrants taking their jobs. Moreover, should the latter be successful in getting jobs, there will be a mushrooming of informal settlements around the border cities.” Jacobs also worries about crime as a consequence of joblessness. “The very things — hijackings, violent robberies — we read about in cities like Johannesburg will start happening here,” he says. In Musina, a stone’s throw away from Beit Bridge, where the presence of Zimbabweans is really being felt, not everyone shares Jacobs’ views on the influx. One trader says that an increasing number of migrants were finding jobs — specifically as manual labourers and shopkeepers — in the city. “Most of them are really hardworking people who are not afraid of putting lots of efforts where needed,” she said. “This is certainly a reflection of the hardship they went through across the border.” Jason Rana, a wholesaler of household appliances and luxury products says that Zimbabweans were not a threat to the local workforce as only a handful of them were able to secure an asylum seekers permit from home affairs that would allow them to take up employment in SA. But he was aware that growing numbers of farmers were applying for “farmers work permits” for their Zimbabwean workers. “They, however, need to motivate why they were not able to secure the services of local workers.” But those unable to secure work legally are not left without options. Some, especially women, are controlling a black market foreign exchange business. Seated around one of the main taxi rank in Musina, they can be seen handling piles of bricks of Zimbabwean dollars, which they exchange for South African rands. Rana says such activity prompted a recent police crackdown on Zimbabwean migrants, which left Musina looking like a ghost city. “Many were deported that day across the border, but this is not the solution,” he says. “As soon as the police vans that took them to the border were back in Musina — about 18km from Beit Bridge — the migrants had already crossed the border again.” President Thabo Mbeki could not have been more right when he said in a recent address to Parliament that SA could not build a “Wall of China” at the border and that it was time we “learned to live with this reality”. “Despite what is being said, Zimbabweans don’t only come here (to Polokwane) to shop. They come here to stay”