The Zimbabwe Situation

The Zimbabweans driven out of South Africa by xenophobic violence are caught between two terrible alternatives

Blessing-Miles Tendi

May 28, 2008 5:00 PM

"The Mozambicans and Malawians are making transport available to ferry home their nationals affected by the attacks in South Africa, the Nigerian Senate has debated the issue and issued a stern statement. In fact, my friend Ovo in Lagos says that to read Naija [local] newspapers, you would think the affected are all Nigerian.

"And Zimbabwe - which has the largest number of affected people - the ambassador to South Africa has done diddly-squat and our Zanu-PF government has done less. I am willing to be a slave for life to anyone who can tell me just one good reason why people should vote for these unfeeling bastards."

Those were the words of a fellow Zimbabwean to me as we talked about the Mugabe government's stance on the xenophobic violence that has rocked South Africa. African immigrants in South Africa have come under violent attacks carried out by marauding local gangs, whose agenda is to drive out foreigners from their country because they "steal our jobs" and are "responsible for the high crime rate".

So widespread were the attacks and so ill-equipped was the South African police force to deal with them, that South Africa's president Thabo Mbeki was forced to deploy the army on to the streets for the first time since apartheid ended in 1994.

The violence has left 56 dead and displaced an estimated 70,000. The South African government claims that "the situation is now under control" but this is hardly the case. The violence may have abated but a considerable humanitarian problem has been created, with displaced foreigners desperately in need of humanitarian assistance in South Africa's biting winter. Neighbouring African countries and humanitarian NGOs have put in place mechanisms to have their affected citizens repatriated but, as lamented by my compatriot, Zimbabwe's response has been less proactive.

Two factors account for this tepid response. First, the South African government has desisted from attacking the Mugabe government publicly over its manifold human rights abuses since 2000. This has shored up Mugabe's position in the region and internationally. Mugabe is returning the "favour" by being uncritical of South Africa's xenophobic violence publicly. He does not want to ruffle the "special" relationship between himself and Mbeki.

Second, the Mugabe government does not want a return of citizens who have fled the economic hardships in the country anytime soon. Mugabe is on record as having offered Zimbabweans affected by the violence in South Africa land for farming if they returned home, but this is empty rhetoric. Imagine if the three million Zimbabweans who have emigrated to South Africa, and indeed those in the diaspora, were in Zimbabwe living a life of political repression, unemployment, hunger, eroded human dignity and contempt for their government. They would be the seed for an uprising that the Zimbabwean state could not suppress.

Many commentators grapple with why Zimbabweans have not staged an uprising in spite of the untold and mounting socio-economic and political problems in their country. One of the reasons is that many of those who could have engaged in civil unrest have simply left the country and now make significant foreign currency remittances to Zimbabwe, which prop up the Mugabe government. The Mugabe administration effectively exported responsibility for a large section of its population, which was now a "burden" the shrinking national economy could not cater for, to its neighbours and the rest of the world.

At no point has the Mugabe government made a concerted effort to stem the tide of emigration. In spite of the breakdown of many state services, the country's passport office continues to dole out passports to any Zimbabwean so long as they can foot the bill. In addition, while the Zimbabwean state has ceased to function as effectively as it did prior to 2000 it remains strong, particularly in terms of its coercive machinery and its monopoly of violence, further diminishing the prospects of civil unrest.

The violent xenophobic mobs in South Africa forget that had Mbeki's actions and policies on the Zimbabwe crisis been more successful the flow of Zimbabweans to their country would not have been as large. Angry South Africans are misdirecting their passions. The issue is not foreigners per se but the Mbeki government, which has turned its back on many of South Africa's poor in favour of big business, and Mbeki's failure to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis - the single largest source of illegal immigrants to South Africa.

Historical economic inequalities, failure to provide sufficient housing, poor immigration controls and rising urban poverty are pertinent problems an increasingly isolated and vilified Mbeki cannot resolve in the twilight of his final term in office. They are left to his successor who must address these issues earnestly from the outset, lest we witness even worse xenophobic violence in future.

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Samuel Zona: "They drove my brothers out, literally"

JOHANNESBURG, 28 May 2008 (IRIN) - On 11 May 2008, violence directed against
foreign nationals broke out in the Johannesburg township of Alexandra. In
the following two weeks, the xenophobia descended on seven of the country's
nine provinces. Samuel Zona, originally from Zimbabwe, used to live in Ivory
Park, a township about 20km north of Johannesburg, before the violence broke
out.

Forced from his Ivory Park home after giving his five brothers from
Alexandra shelter, Zona took refuge at his place of work, The Village Safe
Haven, a charity that runs a foster care home and feeding scheme, in
Johannesburg's northern suburbs.

Zona was employed as a gardener by the charity, but his duties have changed.
Each day he wakes at 5 a.m. to help prepare more than 9,000 meals for the
hundreds of foreign nationals who have sought refuge at the police station
in Alexandra, including his own brothers.

"After the attacks started in Alex (Alexandra), five of my brothers came to
me in Ivory Park. Two days later a group of men came to my house and woke us
up - it was about 2 a.m. - they said they were looking for thugs from Alex.

"I told them: 'I have no thugs here', but it didn't matter. They said that
[if my brothers] were from Alex, then they must go and die in Alex. They
drove my brothers out, literally."

"We asked them to let us wait until morning because there were no
[minibus-]taxis operating at that time, due to the fact it was still very
early. We waited until 4 a.m. and I walked my brothers to the taxi rank. It
was quite scary, but such is life.

"Since then three of my brothers have returned to Zimbabwe. There are no
jobs there, so we will have to support them from here. My other two brothers
are at the police station in Alex."

"The other day I phoned them and asked them if they had had supper. They
said, 'yes'. I asked them what, and they said, 'rice, samp [coarsely milled
white maize] and [marrow] bones. I realised that they really were getting
what I have been preparing, and it made me feel very proud."

[ENDS]
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

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A day in the life of a community's response

Photo: Laura Lopez Gonzalez/IRIN

The kindness of strangers
JOHANNESBURG , 28 May 2008 (IRIN) - It is 5 a.m., but the winter night sky is yet to lighten over Johannesburg, South Africa; Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the international medical and humanitarian aid organisation, says the persistent drizzle and near freezing temperatures are contributing to respiratory infections and diarrhoea among the thousands displaced by xenophobic violence.

Samuel Zona, a Zimbabwean national, and the other staff of the Village Safe Haven, a group foster home and feeding scheme that sprawls across several hectares of land on the northern outskirts of Johannesburg, are just waking.

An hour later, among the bags of maizemeal and fresh vegetables, Susan Harris, who runs the charity with her husband, Michael, plans the day's menu with Zona under the makeshift tent erected over an outdoor kitchen. They check the expiry dates of donated food, which ultimately decides the menu.

MSF is providing medical care to thousands of people seeking refuge from the xenophobic violence that began more than two weeks ago and claimed at least 56 lives. MSF spokesperson Sune Kitshoff told IRIN that basic needs like food, shelter and security dominated the needs agenda, and the effect of displacement on those living with HIV and receiving antiretroviral treatment had not yet been assessed.

South Africa has the world highest number of HIV infections, but the rate of infection among foreign nationals is difficult to assess, as many are in the country illegally. Village Safe Haven's Harris said she and her team ensured that the meals they provided could support those living with HIV and on treatment.

From about 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Zona mans two pots - almost 200 litres – of nutritious vegetable soup, while Harris is on the phone, coordinating the donations that have been streaming in from the public as well as organisations like MSF.

MSF's Kitshoff said they had received a landslide of unsolicited donations after the attacks began and have started to pass on some of the blankets and foodstuffs to organisations better equipped to distribute them.

Safety and security, we do that - but we've never run a refugee camp before
At about 10.30 a.m. a volunteered pick-up truck full of policemen pulls into the Village Safe Haven driveway and blankets, toothbrushes and any other donations ready to go are loaded into it for the foreign nationals sheltering at the Alexandra police station, the epicentre of the xenophobic attacks that have swept the country.

As the truck disappears from sight, Zona and Harris wash the pots and start preparing the evening meal. By 1 p.m. Zona's soup is being eaten by Solomon Monyama, a fellow Zimbabwean national.

The violence has subsided in Alexandra and many of those who sought refuge at the police station have left to search for piecework during the day, but return at night for food and a safe place to sleep in the three large plastic tents erected in the parking lot of the police station.

Monyama and the other men mill around a lone Home Affairs official who has arrived to sort out lost documentation. A salvaged television set is half-hidden among Chinese-made plaid plastic bags containing a few hurriedly packed belongings.

The police station has also been receiving donations. A hall in building, housing women and children, looks more like a playroom during the day. Along one wall, cereals, biscuits (cookies), tea, coffee and oatmeal are stacked for distribution during the day.

Learning to run refugee camps

Constable Neria Malefetse, who said the police have been on a steep learning curve in trying to feed and house the roughly 1,000 people at the station, told IRIN the donations and volunteer help from those in Alexandra and the surrounding areas have been of great assistance. "Safety and security, we do that - but we've never run a refugee camp before."

I've never seen anything like this in South Africa, especially considering it's a tricky issue - not everyone thinks xenophobia is a bad thing. In actual fact, it's quite difficult to cope with the number of gifts we have received
In downtown Johannesburg, the Central Methodist Church has had to learn how to do safety and security. According to Bishop Paul Verryn, the church is housing 1,500 to 2,000 foreign nationals and has come under attack at least twice in the past week, but the police and public have been committed to providing for those in his care.

"I've never seen anything like this in South Africa, especially considering it's a tricky issue - not everyone thinks xenophobia is a bad thing. In actual fact, it's quite difficult to cope with the number of gifts we have received."

As night falls in Alexandra, the number of people at the police station swells; by 7 p.m. people have eaten the last of Zona's meals and by about 9 p.m. most have fallen asleep, except for Solomon Monyama.

He stays awake after hearing rumours that a bus is on its way to take those wanting to return home back to Zimbabwe. "We were afraid in Zimbabwe and came here looking for survival. We did not expect this."

[ENDS]
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

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Honour for student who fled Zimbabwe

Telegraph and Argus, UK

By Dan Webber

A Zimbabwean refugee and mature student has told how he escaped becoming a
victim of Robert Mugabe's regime by hours - to rebuild his life in West
Yorkshire.

Sakile Mtombeni, a 38-year-old father of two, will graduate from a social
work degree at the University of Bradford this summer.

Mr Mtombeni was presented with an award from university bosses last week in
recognition of his outstanding performance on the course. His is expected to
get top honours when results are released this summer.

Mr Mtombeni was forced to flee Zimbabwe in 2000. While working as a
secondary school teacher in the capital, Harare, teachers were ordered by
senior officials from ruling party Zanu-PF to terminate classes and
accompany all students to a political rally.

Mr Mtombeni said: "The whole school had been instructed to go and attend the
rally. I approached the other staff and said it was not appropriate to take
students to a political rally without parental consent because they were
meant to be in school.

"I knew that the information that I didn't want the students to attend would
get back to Zanu-PF and knew when I made that decision that I would be in
danger."

Concerned for his safety, Mr Mtombeni spent the following night at his
sister's house - a decision which soon proved correct.

"My colleagues said there were people who came looking for me that night at
my house. My house was surrounded by so-called War Veterans who were part of
Zanu-PF. I arranged for some time off from school and stayed at my sister's
house. Zanu-PF did not know where I was."

Mr Mtombeni hoped the situation might change and he may be able to return to
his job. However, after two months in hiding, it became apparent this would
not be the case and, alongside his wife Hilda, a nurse, and daughters Amanda
and Audrey, now 17 and 12, he moved to West Yorkshire.

After finding work with an engineering company he returned to education in
2005 by signing up to study for a social work degree at Bradford University.
During a work placement with Bradford Council's children services department
earlier this year, he impressed bosses and was offered a full-time position.

"There are always challenges in returning to education as an adult but I
would encourage anyone who wants to, to do it," he said.

"The welcome that I received when I came to England was so wonderful that
it's now my time to do what is right for the people of England and
Bradford."

Mr Mtombeni's personal tutor, Ella Mistry-Jackson, a social work lecturer at
the University of Bradford, said he had proved "an inspiration" to her.

She said: "He has faced a lot of personal difficulties but has been a real
joy to teach. He is a good, solid role model to other students."

Mr Mtombeni also received an Adult Learners' Award from the National
Institute of Adult Continuing Education.

e-mail: dan.webber@telegraphandargus.co.uk

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Samuel Zona: "They drove my brothers out, literally"

A day in the life of a community's response

Honour for student who fled Zimbabwe