Between January and September this year, 31 834 Zimbabweans were deported. Every week, South Africa deports about 700 Zimbabweans. During the same period, 74 771 Mozambicans took the express train to that country’s border of Ressano Garcia.
Most are deported after anonymous tip-offs to the South African authorities. The numbers are growing increasingly controversial as human rights organisations and activists accuse the South African government of encouraging xenophobia. One even likened the practice to Nazi Germany, when “real” Germans were encouraged to point out Jews.
Among those deported in recent months – after a tip-off — were five middle managers and the entire catering department of Eskom. Those caught were all found to be Zimbabweans carrying fraudulent South African identities.
Willem Vorster, who is in charge of the control of illegal immigrants into South Africa, explains: “We have so many people who phone us anonymously.”
Vorster is not perturbed about the accusations of xenophobia. He says informers make it easy for the department to root out those masquerading as South Africans and taking the locals’ jobs.
The South African government is also about to enact a new refugee Act, which is already under attack from sections of the media and human rights organisations. Many believe that those seeking refugee or political asylum in South Africa may now be sent back to the country of their first entry. For instance, a family escaping the fighting in Ethiopia may cross into Kenya first. If they try to leave Nairobi for Johannesburg, there may be a problem.
Vorster said the Act — which he says falls in line with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees policy – was meant to control people who moved to other countries before they first sought refuge in South Africa.
Many refugees and illegal immigrants in South Africa are currently held at the notorious Lindela Detention Centre near Krugersdorp which becomes home to thousands of Zimbabweans and Mozambicans before they are deported from Johannesburg.
The centre has been run by the Dyambu Trust on a three-year contract after Meritum Hostels won the tender to accommodate illegal immigrants before their deportation.
Lindela is part of a mine hostel that closed down and consists of separate accommodation for males and females. The male section is larger and can sometimes accommodate as many as 30 beds in one room.
Inmates tend to group according to their nationalities. There are rooms for Zimbabweans, Nigerians, Mozambicans, Ethiopians and so forth. The majority of residents, though, are Mozambicans and Zimbabweans. There have sometimes been tensions between the different nationalities.
Said Vorster: “Lindela really represents a small community and you will have criminals in that community, but it will be in the same percentage as you will have in a normal community. So if you say there are 1 000 people, real criminals are a small percentage of the thousand.”
One of the most violent incidents at Lindela recently involved some Tanzanian “thieves” who targeted Nigerians. War broke out. The Tanzanians had to be separated from the rest and accommodated in a notorious area — “Room 33” — which inmates say is filthy and lacks basic necessities such as blankets and toilet paper.
Zimbabweans and Mozambicans do not stay long at Lindela. Every Tuesday, a train leaves Johannesburg with hundreds of Zimbabweans who are dropped at the border to be taken over by local authorities. A similar train takes Mozambicans every Wednesday to the border.
According to officials at Lindela, the longest a Zimbabwean can stay at the centre is a week or two while they investigate their nationality. Vorster says it is very easy for his staff to pick out Zimbabweans.
Language is one of them, he said. But the department has been criticised for targeting darker-skinned Africans as illegal immigrants. One South African journalist of a darker hue had to be rescued from Lindela just before he was to be shipped to Zimbabwe.
John Mlambo, a Zimbabwean detained at Lindela, said he had slipped into South Africa to avoid famine in his home area of Chipinge. He had lived in South Africa since 1996, playing cat and mouse with the police while selling vegetables in the streets of Hillbrow and Yeoville, before being caught without an identity document. He had already been told he would be deported soon.
A Malawian, Timothy Phiri, said he was arrested in Rosebank while selling some wares. Phiri says he is a veteran of Lindela. He has been there before. Although he was going to be deported soon, he promised he would be back in South Africa within a week.
It is much easier for Malawians to return to South Africa after being deported – what is called, in Department of Home Affairs jargon, the “revolving door” problem – because Malawians do not need visas to visit South Africa.
Vorster says the “revolving door” issue is not so much of a problem. What has become a real problem is the involvement of ruthless East Asian gangs who make millions from smuggling human cargo. The gangs – or Triads as they are known – are known to kill “squealers” and bring in a lot of children and women for prostitution.
Another problem, says Vorster, are the Nigerian drug lords. He says some come to Lindela with wads of money, which easily tempts officials. There have been a number of “escapes”.
For the Zimbabweans and Mozambicans, who are the usual residents of Lindela, the centre is no longer that bad. Veterans say officials no longer assault them. Their main complaint was that the food was inadequate and at times not well cooked. They are allowed to phone home and can buy small luxuries such as bread, cold drinks and cigarettes from the kiosk. They roam freely around the complex during the day and are only locked up at night.