Sean and I are now in Zambia, the final leg of our trip, after two weeks in South Africa and Botswana. We crossed the Zimbabwe-Zambia border (nicknamed the Zim-Zam crossing) in Livingstone, site of the majestic Victoria Falls. We left Botswana after a very insightful week, driving 1,500 km along the country’s eastern border with Zimbabwe. We stopped in every major town to discuss with government officials, local civil society organizations, UN agencies and dozens of Zimbabwean migrants.

Botswana and South Africa are obviously two very different countries – from their unique historical trajectory since independence to their present policies on immigration. South Africa has a multi-ethnic population of some 40 million, with a vibrant civil society defending tooth and nail the country’s Bill of Rights. Botswana’s 1.7 million people on the other hand, are almost ethnically homogenous and the government has a conservative track record on immigration issues. The success of both countries in creating jobs, as well as their strong currencies, has acted as a magnet for Zimbabweans fleeing a collapsing economy and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

In both countries however, the sheer number of Zimbabweans entering legally and illegally has provoked a domestic backlash. To respond to what the media – with its usual subtlety – has termed a human tsunami, the governments of South Africa and Botswana are reacting with force: identity checks, police raids, detention and ultimately deportation. The numbers are staggering: some 150,000 Zimbabweans have been deported from South Africa since January, while a further 65,000 have suffered the same fate from Botswana in 2006.

These numbers include repeat offenders. We spoke to a number of Zimbabweans on either side of the border who had repeatedly been deported – only to “jump” the border back again the very same day. The official statistics show that 35% of Zimbabweans deported prefer to pay a fine and risk crossing the border illegally again, rather than being given a free ride back to their home towns.

These deportations must stop. They are costly, futile and most importantly put people at risk. Indeed, Botswana and South Africa pay a high price to arrest, detain and transport migrants. The high number of repeat offenders shows that it does not act as a deterrent, and while legal, it’s an affront to humanitarian principles to drive back desperate people who have nowhere to go. We heard numerous stories of the dangers of crossing borders illegally: from dehydration, extortion by smugglers, criminal gangs preying on both sides of the border, as well as attacks from wild animals (many game reserves straddle borders). Deportations are nothing but a dangerous merry-go-round…

--Patrick Duplat is currently assessing the humanitarian situation of Zimbabweans in southern Africa with Sean Garcia.

Labels: Zimbabwe