[NYTr] Suffering sparks exodus from Zimbabwe

[nytr at olm.blythe-systems.com]

sent by Simon McGuinness

The Irish Times - Jul 23, 2007
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2007/0723/1184965208509.html

Suffering sparks exodus from Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Nearly a quarter of the population have fled the economic
collapse, writes Joe Humphreys in Musina.

They mainly come at night, scrambling in twos and threes across the
no-man's land between Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Like prison inmates on a mass break-out, they dodge police patrol lights
and cut through the fence that separates their homeland from apparent
freedom.

"We are suffering in Zimbabwe. We are dying of hunger," said Owen
Nyararai, one of the latest escapees.

"There is no flour, no mealie , no sugar, no cooking oil, no soap. It's
very hard," Marera Mugaga chipped in.

The pair travelled from Zimbabwe's Masvingo district to the border town
of Beitbridge where they were set upon on by the "guma guma" -
opportunistic thieves who swarm around the area.

Mugaga lost his money, Nyararai his mobile phone. One of their travel
companions had a gold filing prised from a tooth.

"There were more than 15 guys in the gang. They were carrying long
knives and knobkerries [traditional clubs]," said Mugaga, showing fresh
cuts and bruises on his legs.

Other such refugees crossing the Limpopo river have encountered
crocodiles. Yet more have become entangled in the electrified,
razor-wire barriers that run for hundreds of kilometres along the river
bank. The risk of injury is high, the risk of deportation higher, but
still there is no stemming the flow.

Between January and June, 600,000 Zimbabweans entered South Africa
legally.

How many arrived illegally is anyone's guess, with some estimating that
at least three million Zimbabweans - nearly a quarter of the population
- have fled south since their economy started collapsing under President
Robert Mugabe's ruinous economic policies.

A night drive along the border illustrates the scale of the human
flight. Long stretches of fencing patched during the day is once again
torn apart as people, mostly young men, climb and crawl their way on to
South African soil.

Pick-up trucks dart along the narrow road, stopping at pre-arranged
collection points. Refugees are charged exorbitant fares for a lift to
Musina, the main border town on the South African side of the Limpopo.

People-trafficking has undoubtedly become big business, and the
once-depressed Musina is now booming. Locals report an upsurge in
activity since Mugabe's decision last month to order a price freeze on
basic commodities.

Food shortages have become more widespread in Zimbabwe, and things are
set to get worse when a government ban on the import of unlicensed
foodstuffs comes into effect on August 1st.

Elinor Sisulu of the Harare-based Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said the
government policies were aimed at "making people more vulnerable" ahead
of next year's elections.

"The only parallels I can think of are North Korea, and Cambodia under
Pol Pot, and the only consequence will be the intensification of
hunger."

She said it was no coincidence that the food restrictions were
introduced just weeks ahead of the closing date for the electoral
register. "People who should be registering to vote are now busy chasing
after food, or are leaving the country. You'd have to assume they [the
government] don't want people to register."

Francis Hweshe (25) from Harare, who crossed the border last month, said
the government is trying to force people from urban areas - where
support for the opposition is strongest - into the countryside, or
abroad.

"It's all about preparing for next year. At the moment, there is no way
Mugabe will lose the election," he said.

Hweshe, a newspaper journalist who was detained and allegedly tortured
in custody, escaped across the border posing as a bus conductor. He has
since found a part-time job - unlike many of his compatriots for whom
emigration is merely another trial to overcome.

There is much hostility among South Africans to the new arrivals. Some
Zimbabweans have been linked to organised crime. Others are accused of
poaching jobs from locals. Exploitation is rife, and children are
particularly vulnerable.

Ennie Lelushi, a voluntary outreach worker in Musina, said she had found
employment for dozens of unaccompanied minors who had recently arrived
from Zimbabwe. However, the work was fraught with difficulty.

"One man told us he had a job for a girl," she said. "But when we got
there he said he had no job and instead would give her 100 Rand [
€10.50] to have sex. Just because the girl was suffering, starving, he
tried to take advantage." Nyararai (20) and Mugaga (40) had their own
story of abuse to tell.

On entering Musina, just hours after their dangerous crossing, they were
stopped by a white farmer and set to work in a field. After a while, the
farmer returned. "He kicked us, and threw stones at us, and told us we
weren't doing it properly," said Mugaga. "So we ran away."

According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which
is assisting refugees in the area, deportations from South Africa to
Zimbabwe have increased from 12,000 a month to 17,000 over the past
year. A survey indicates that 27 per cent of IOM clients had been
deported more than once.

"It's a very unpredictable situation," said Andrew Gethi, head of local
operations for the aid agency.

A number of humanitarian groups, including the IOM, have discussed the
possibility of setting up refugee camps in Musina. But the South African
government is understood to be resisting any intervention that might
accelerate the exodus.

Judging by Nyararai and Mugaga, Zimbabweans need little inducement to
leave their homeland. Both had steady jobs in Harare, earning between
300,000 and 600,000 Zimbabwe dollars a month. That was barely enough to
buy between six and 12 loaves of bread.

"When I left home, I told my wife I was going to war," said Mugaga, a
father of four. "I don't know when I will be back."

© 2007 The Irish Times