Archbishop expresses concern for asylum seekers
October 19, 2010 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
Human rights activists have praised the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, for showing concern about the safety problems failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers face if they are forced to return and live under the regime of President Robert Mugabe.
“I would love to see more and more Christians and church leaders follow his example and warn the British government that there must be checks and monitoring systems in place before these people are sent home,” Sarah Harland, co-coordinator of the Zimbabwe Association said in an interview with me this week. “This is not the time for enforced returns.”
‘They’ll go back Home in Coffins’
February 1, 2010 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
The Standard – More than 2 000 Zimbabwean immigrants are under siege again in the volatile farming area of De Doorns in South Africa’s Western Cape about 100 km outside Cape Town. The Zimbabweans are currently accommodated by United Nations and Red Cross at a local sports field after locals drove them out of their homes at the beginning of December last year.
South Africans from the local townships have publicly warned the traumatised Zimbabweans that if they return to the townships, they would go back to their country in coffins.
The authorities are taking the threats seriously. Zimbabweans are even afraid to go to the shops for fear of being attacked.
While the authorities are trying their best to make foreigners feel welcome, the locals have made it clear they are not wanted. Zimbabweans in Cape Town top the list of the most hated African immigrants.
In De Doorns the locals also accuse the Zimbabweans of depriving them of income by accepting to work for lower wages.
Short Film about the lives and experiences of refugees and asylum seekers
HAT News in partnership with Leicester Libraries have made a short film which is a documentary about the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees who have come from Zimbabwe to Leicester, United Kingdom.
Featured in the film are interviews with The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Leicester Councillor Roger Blackmore, Aidan Hallett – Area Manager for Refugee Action, Catherine Stevenson – Service Manager(British Red Cross), Peter Yates (Diocese of Leicester), Patson Muzuwa (Director of Zimbabwe Association), Lovemore Muchenje (Community Leader – ZIMALIVE), David Harris(Election Officer-South Africa) and other Zimbabwean refugees.
Richard Strong – Director/Writer/Editor
Producer – Elisha Shamba
Camera & Audio – MichaelYoung
As usual we’d be grateful for any feedback you might have at [email protected]
Stay put, Zimbabweans tell diasporans in survey
July 10, 2009 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
(The Zimbabwe Independent) – MORE than eight in every 10 formally employed workers in Zimbabwe will not encourage their relatives in the Diaspora to come back home despite being relatively optimistic of the inclusive government formed in February.
An employee confidence survey carried by Industrial Psychology Consultants, a human resources think tank in June shows that 83% of workers in the survey sample — drawn from industry and commerce —would advise their relatives and peers beyond the borders to continue working outside the country.
Interestingly this poll was conducted in the same month Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai –– during his three-week international tour seeking to engage Zimbabwe with the West and the United States –– failed to convince Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom to come back home.
“When asked what advice they will give to their Diaspora relatives at this stage of our economic development, 83,1% of the respondents said ‘hold-on there. It is still a long way to go’ and 16,9% said ‘come back home now, employment opportunities are available’,” reads the survey.
“While the economy seems to be stabilising the majority of respondents feel it is not yet the time to advise their Diaspora relatives and friends to come back home. There is still a lot of work to be done on the ground by the inclusive government to increase the confidence of the populace.”
An area of major concern for employees according to the survey is that the economy is not creating more jobs as shown by 59,6% of formally employed not feeling that they were secure in their current jobs and were actively searching for other job opportunities. With manufacturing industry operating at 10% capacity and most banks on flexi-time, workers in the two sectors seemed hardest hit by the transitional period.
Low salaries, the poll further stated, would make it difficult for companies to attract skilled labour that moved to more economically active countries.
“While the government and the private sector have been holding conference after conference, including rebranding of the country in order to attract foreign investment thereby creating employment, very little is happening on the ground to impact positively on the lives of the working population. The government has been very slow to implement key initiatives to inspire confidence in working population,” the survey said.
However, at least half of Zimbabwean workers continue to pin their hopes on their current employers while the other half considers moving on.
An estimated 50,7% of employers interviewed in the survey feel that the future of the employees was bright, compared to 49,30% who said they do not see a bright future for their employees.
When asked if they were confident of finding a new job in the current environment, 76% of the respondents said yes. Out of these, 83% aged below 25 years said they were confident of finding a new job compared to 87% in the 26 – 30 age group, 70% in the 30 – 40 age group and 80% of those above 40 years.
Eighty percent of the respondents said they were confident of getting a new job compared to 66% for the females out of the hopefuls, while 78% of the managerial employees also indicated that they were confident of getting a new job.
When analysed by marital status 76% of married employees said they were confident of getting a job compared to 82% for the single (never married) and 67% for the single (married before).
At least 34% of the interviewed workers view career development as the major source of stress followed by 28% who view “lack of job security’ as another stressor. More than a 10th of workers according to the poll are discontent over management style with 6% worried about “lack of communication on the developments in the company”.
The cited top stressors seem to cut across all the demographic categories like age and gender. “Those with post graduation qualifications are more worried about job security (36%), while those with first degrees (40,4%) and those with diplomas (47,9%) are worried about developing their career. Employees with ‘A’ Levels are stressed by lack of job security,” the report said.
When analysed by industry, the results indicate the top stressors for the major industries are as follows: manufacturing employees are stressed by the need to develop their career (27,3%), compared to “lack of job security-actively looking for a job” at 4,6% for the financial services employees. In mining the major stressor is the need to develop their careers at 30,8%. This same stressor is true for those in the NGO or diplomatic sector at 40%.”
Special permit for Zimbabweans on hold
June 24, 2009 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
 Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN  |
| Zimbabwean migrants |
(IRIN) – The special permit for Zimbabwean migrants, announced by the South African government, is being put on hold pending a review of the decision by cabinet.
The outgoing home affairs minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula announced in April 2009 that Zimbabwean migrants would be eligible for a special permit allowing them to stay legally in South Africa for six months.
NGOs concerned with migration and human rights greeted the move as a progressive and necessary step to effectively manage the estimated more than three million Zimbabweans who have travelled to South Africa to escape their country’s economic collapse.
Chairperson of the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA), Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, told IRIN: “The special permits have never been available. Home affairs issued some kind of document indicating they would be available, but they have not been.”
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba said at the time, “We have taken an important decision, which acknowledges that migration patterns between South Africa and Zimbabwe have probably changed permanently.”
Home Affairs director-general of Immigration Services, Jackie MacKay, told local media: “The permit confers on them [Zimbabwean migrants] the right to stay in South Africa for a period of six months, it confers on them the right to schooling or education, it confers on them the right to work and access to basic health care.”
But after South Africa’s general election on 22 April, the new president, Jacob Zuma, appointed former foreign affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to the home affairs portfolio and the much heralded special permit system for Zimbabweans came under review.
Home Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa told IRIN: “The [home affairs] minister wanted cabinet to be briefed about the matter, about the scope and implications of that decision [to grant special permits to Zimbabweans], and we’ll take it from there.”
CoRMSA’s Ramjathan-Keogh commented that regardless of whether the special permit was approved or not, Zimbabweans would continue to come to South Africa and work, “legally or illegally”.
An international aid worker based in the South African border town of Musina, told IRIN that around 350 Zimbabweans a day were applying for an asylum seeker’s permit, and adequate shelter for the migrants was an ongoing problem.
The aid worker said “there was not a firm ‘no’ yet” [from Home Affairs on issuing special permits to Zimbabwe migrants]. More than 90 percent of applications for asylum seeker permits were turned down, and all they did was “clog” the system and delay “genuine” applications.
Most Zimbabweans are seen as economic migrants; in line with the Southern African Development Community’s immigration policies, South Africa has granted Zimbabweans a free 90-day visa on demand. However, Zimbabwean travel documents are difficult to obtain and very expensive.
“We will find no answers to South Africa’s problems by halting migration,” CoRMSA said in a report released in June 2009: Protecting Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Immigrants in South Africa.
“Substantively restricting migration is neither possible nor is it a solution. Migration is not a threat to South Africans’ economic or physical security; managed properly, it can lead to investment, job creation, and a more productive economy.”
Immigrants in South Africa Protest Job Discrimination
June 8, 2009 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
By Benedict Nhlapo
Zimbabwean immigrants working in South Africa are calling on the government of Jacob Zuma to protect them against abuse by unscrupulous employers. They claim business operators are taking advantage of their desperation. The Zimbabweans believe many firms are exploiting foreigners in their attempt to survive the global credit crunch.
South African businesses are bracing for the devastating sting of the worldwide economic crisis. Job losses are being reported in a variety of sectors, while pundits and analysts warn consumers to curb their spending. Zimbabwean immigrants working in the country complain they’re being abused by companies eager to save money.
Over the years Zimbabweans have found employment in an array of industries including catering, construction, security and farming. These sectors are being shunned by local workers because of the low wages. Desperate foreigners don’t have that luxury.
In the wake of the global economic meltdown, those low wages have dropped even further and in some instances disintegrated.
25-year-old Hilton Mushambi has been working as a waiter at a restaurant in Sandton, Johannesburg, for the past 4 years. He says his employer has removed their basic salaries. This means the only money he earns is tips left by customers.
“The problem is we’re not being treated fairly like the local ones,” Mushambi says. “Because the local ones they can go to the government or institutions which they know they can be helped. But like us, the foreigners, we’ve got nowhere to go. We’ve got nowhere to complain. We’re not being treated fairly like the locals ones. I’m not happy there.”
Zimbabweans allege they’ve been subjected to unfair dismissals, wage cuts, non-payment and the withdrawal of employment benefits to name a few.
Ndumiso Malaba is a father of three working as a farm laborer in Limpopo. For the past five years his monthly wage has risen from 500 rand to 900. He claims last month his wage was slashed to 450 rand.His employer blamed shrinking agricultural output, “They’re underpaying us because they know that we’re from Zimbabwe. So if they can, say, they can give us 20 rand – we are going to be happy because of the situation we left behind. [We don’t have papers]. We don’t have rights. That’s why they are treating us like hell,” he says.
However, the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup has seen an increase in construction projects all over South Africa. Construction crews often comprise foreigners, who also complain of abuse and exploitation. Machona Zimbudzi has worked for three years as a casual painter for a construction company in Pretoria. While he’s paid 250 rand per week, he claims he’s owed at least R5000 in unpaid wages, “We’re not getting our salaries. For us to go and claim [salaries], it’s a problem because they ask you about the papers. When you are ill you just go home and you get ill at home. So the government must help us,” he says.
Security guard Jeckchan Mabayo is pleading with Jacob Zuma’s government to intervene, “When it is compensation, let it be done properly. Ask them never to treat us like we’re foreigners. Just treat us like we’re people just the same as anyone else in the country.”
Home Affairs minister Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula says while the government will continue to protect the rights of all workers via the department of labor, foreign workers can also stop the abuse by legalizing their status in the country. She urges Zimbabweans to take advantage of the special dispensation permits set to be issued at the Tshwane Interim Refugees Office, situated at the Pretoria show grounds. “And we’ve opened the show grounds for processing Zimbabweans who are in the country illegally,” she says. Some of them are coming to apply for asylum seeker documents. So we talk about huge numbers of Zimbabweans who are already in South Africa, and who are coming to South Africa for different reasons! So out of 800, 80% you can be assured, are Zimbabweans.”
But with a number of unions in South Africa up in arms over job losses, analysts warn retrenched locals may resort to attacking foreigners seeking work. – VOA News
School opens for refugees in Jo’burg
May 20, 2009 by Webmaster · 2 Comments
By Munyaradzi Mutizwa
The Solidarity Peace Trust (SPT) civic group has opened a primary and secondary school in central Johannesburg for about 350 Zimbabwean refugees living at the Central Methodist Centre.
SPT deputy director Selvan Chetty told The Zimbabwe Times on Tuesday that Albert School will also provide food to refugee students worth more than R20 000 per week. It was set up with the full support of the Methodist Church whose Bishop Paul Verryn who has been at the forefront of assisting Zimbabwean refugees in Johannesburg.
SPT is a non-governmental organisation, which is a coalition of churches in Southern Africa and other organisation committed to human rights, freedom and democracy in the region.
Chetty said the majority of the residents at the church faced difficulties in accessing local schools because they do not have temporary residence permits to allow them to enroll in South African schools.
“Our idea is to empower the future of Zimbabwe and the future of these students and the only way to do that is to avoid giving charity and charity, hand outs and hand outs everyday,” he said, “but to provide love and education to them. That is why we have opened this school for them to have access to education.
“It is not easy for many of them to access local school because they don’t have funds and proper documentation”
The Central Methodist Church has provided shelter to migrants from various parts of Africa for many years. Presently about 5 500 refugees many of them Zimbabweans are accommodated there. The place is overcrowded with people sleeping head to toe and up to five or six families living in one room with their children.
Sixteen-year old Wilson Muradzikwa of Kadoma left school while in Form Three after his uncle failed to pay his fees in foreign currency. He came to South Africa to look for a job to support his two young sisters but he abandoned that plan when he arrived in Johannesburg.
“When I arrived at the Methodist Church my mind changed after I saw young people of my age wearing school uniform,” Muradzikwa said. “Working on these small-time jobs is no solution. It realised that the only way to eradicate my problem was to go back to school but the problem was who was going to help me with school fees.”
“I am really happy with this organisation. It has come to the rescue of many school-loving Zimbabweans at the church.
In March the Pitje Group of Lawyers initiated moves to have the refugees and asylum seekers evicted from the church premises, saying they were polluting the area and affecting businesses in the area. Verryn however maintained that his church would continue to house them because they have no place to go to.
“It pains me and other people such as the Solidarity Peace Trust to see such brilliant talent wasting time while doing nothing while we actually know that what they want is to go to school,” Verryn told The Zimbabwe Times. “All these people you see here are of school-going age but they left school in Zimbabwe because their parents had died or could they not afford to pay fees in US dollars or South African Rand. That is why Solidarity Peace Trust opened this school.
“We are very much pleased by the turnout of students and their interest in learning.”
At least three million Zimbabweans are said to be living outside the country, the majority of them in South Africa. Many Zimbabweans especially those living across the border in South Africa, have ignored appeals by the all-inclusive government to return home. – Zimbabwe Times
ZIMALIVE advancing integration agenda in Leicester
ZIMALIVE is a community organisation that has been formed to advance the integration agenda of recent immigrants to the UK from sub-Saharan African countries.It is supported by the Leicester City Council.
As a community organisation ZIMALIVE firmly believe that our communities should not be reservoirs of despondent, indigent or mediocre achievers in the land of opportunity. The organisation’s main remit is to help people achieve their full potential in all spheres of their life.
In addition ZIMALIVE aim to be the voice for its members on many forums and stakeholder events that are held to champion its cause.
ZIMALIVE will soon be launching an After School Club which will offer the following activities for parents and their children:
- after school care for children
- extra tuition classes/help with homework
- Shona/Ndebele and healthy eating classes
- mentorship/counselling and general motivation sessions
- parents/guardian computer courses
- talent shows
- summer fun events (playing games like ‘rakaraka’, ‘pada’
and ‘nhodo.’
- children fun day out during half term/holidays and family get
together events.
On Saturday 16 May 2009 ZIMALIVE is holding a community event at the Brite Centre, Braunstone Avenue, LE3 1LE from 10am to 5pm.Leicester Social services and the local police will address delegates and answer any community related questions. African food and entertainment will also be provided.
For more information contact:
Lovemore Muchenje on 0116 224 8642 or 0796 980 2790
Leonard Mukundi on 0116 232 2262/0777 352 2830
e-mail [email protected]
‘15000 Zimbabwean nationals are deported’
March 24, 2009 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
Lawyers for Human Rights will approach the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday for an urgent order to declare as unlawful an immigration detention centre located in Musina.
“Every month, around 15 000 Zimbabwean nationals are deported from a detention centre located on a military base outside the town of Musina close to the Zimbabwean border,” Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) said in a statement on Monday.
It said detainees were rounded up along the border and in town by police, immigration officials and soldiers, taken to the detention centre and deported.
“This is done without any recourse to due process and the procedures under immigration and refugee legislation. This detention facility is operated by the SA Police Service and not by the Department of Home Affairs, whose responsibility it is to manage immigration.
“People in need of asylum protection risk being returned to face persecution in violation of South African and international law,” the organisation said.
In addition, the conditions at this facility were appalling and violated even the minimum standards of detention set by the Department of Home Affairs under the Immigration Act.
LHR will be asking the court for an order
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UKBA to consider political and humanitarian factors in Zim before re-starting returns
By Elisha Shamba
A statement from the UK Border Agency Press Office disclosed that failed asylum seekers are currently not being sent back to Zimbabwe, but the British Government will monitor political and humanitarian developments in the Southern African country before they start removals.
An estimated 11,000 Zimbabweans have had their claims for asylum rejected but remain in the UK too frightened to return to Zimbabwe and widely skeptical of the new inclusive government.
The UKBA Public Enquiry Office in Croydon (Courtesy – Google Earth Images)
Responding to the enquiries made by Hatnews on the ‘failed’ asylum seekers’ fate following the consummation of the Global Political Agreement in Zimbabwe and the resultant formation of the national unity government which has been in place for almost a month now, the UKBA statement read:
“In the recent country guidance judgement on Zimbabwe, the courts agreed with us that there is no general right of asylum from specific countries and that each case should be considered on its individual merits.
To adopt a blanket approach to applications from particular countries would undermine the very integrity of the system we are seeking to uphold and strengthen. We will continue to consider every single claim for asylum with enormous care. Where someone is found not to need protection, we will expect them to return home. We have now published fuller criteria for deciding cases.
On the issue of Zimbabweans’ campaign to be allowed to work, we have always been clear that those in the asylum system should not be allowed to work as this could act as a draw for bogus claims. There is no need for asylum seekers to be destitute. We provide measures that ensure that individuals are not destitute and work to ensure that all are treated with respect and humanity.
We welcome the recent court judgement that there is no barrier to us re-starting returns for failed asylum seekers to Zimbabwe. However, we will always take account of the political and humanitarian factors before doing so.”
Behavior and conduct
Ivan Lewis, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development answering questions from MPs about Zimbabwe in the House of Commons in February, said Britain “respected Morgan Tsvangirai’s decision to assume the position of Prime Minister” in a government with Mugabe, adding: “Equally, however, we will judge that agreement and the Government on their behaviour and conduct in the period ahead.”
Country guidance
On November 19,2008, the AIT gave a new country guidance determination for Zimbabwe (a decision) – RN (Zimbabwe)[2008] UKAIT00083GG which the Home Office decided not to appeal against. Since then, there has been a remarked rise in the number of positive decisions granted in the legacy cases and fresh applications based on human rights and asylum grounds. But as the UKBA statement suggests, should the situation on the ground in Zimbabwe ‘improve’, a new country guidance ‘may very well’ be selected to replace RN.
Destitution
Hatnews obtained a statement from London based Zimbabwe Association which lamented the deplorable levels of destitution some Zimbabwean ‘failed’ asylum seekers find themselves in.
Most of them are unable to seek employment and barred from accessing benefits or key services. They face isolation and exclusion from any sort of normal life here yet often they are skilled and motivated people who would much rather pay their way and contribute to the society in which they have sought refuge.
“No Zimbabwean asylum seekers should be in a destitute situation now(although we know many are). People should put in fresh claims under RN ruling; this will enable them to access support.
Many ‘failed’ asylum seekers from the past may be granted leave under the new findings in RN. It is vital that people go to competent legal firms and get decent advice. The Refugee Legal Centre has branches all over the place now,” said the ZA spokesperson. (Read full ZA briefing)
Refugee Council
Gemma Juma, Head of International and UK Policy at the Refugee Council told Hatnews,
“The Refugee Council is extremely concerned about the ongoing destitution faced by Zimbabwean asylum seekers in the UK. We do not believe that Zimbabweans can be expected to return until the safety and sustainability of their return can be guaranteed. Clearly, this cannot happen given current conditions in Zimbabwe.
We are currently urging UK Border Agency to adhere to RN judgement as a matter of urgency and recognize the refugee status of all those are entitled to it. The Government must put an end to the deplorable situation whereby so many asylum seekers including Zimbabweans are left destitute, without any means of support and unable to work.”
Let Them Work Campaign
There is a concerted campaign by Refugee Council together with TUC, STAR(Student Action for Refugees) and a host of other organizations calling the government to let asylum seekers work. The Let Them Work Campaign is ongoing.
Early this month, Lynne Jones, Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham, Selly Oak, launched an Early Day Motion(EDM960) in the House of Commons to support the Let Them Work Campaign – and it is already attracting cross party support from Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats.
Early Day Motions are not expected to be debated but are ways for MPs to show their support for an issue.
Let Them Work campaign organizers are now calling on all supporters to ask their own MP to sign the EDM960. – Hatnews
Also see Government Standard Note: SN/HA/3391
