Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Heavy police presence creates panic
JOHANNESBURG - A heavy presence of police in central Johannesburg has sent many Zimbabwean immigrants here panicking, fearing this could herald the beginning of a campaign to round up them for deportation back to Zimbabwe.
The police deployment appeared heaviest in the Hillbrow and Berea areas of Johannesburg, districts notorious for crime but also the home of the majority of Zimbabweans living in Johannesburg. “What is happening here is scary. There has been a heavy presence of police in the last few weeks. My stay here is becoming a nightmare as police openly declare they are ready to arrest undocumented Zimbabweans,” said Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu of Berea.
South Africa has given Zimbabwean immigrants up to December 31 to obtain permits to stay here or face deportation.
But the Pretoria authorities have said they will not resume deportations immediately after expiry of the deadline to give time for the home affairs department to process the tens of thousands of applications for permits submitted by immigrants.
Police authorities say increased patrols in Johannesburg and other parts of South Africa are normal to combat crime during the festive season.
But Monica Tagwireyi, a Zimbabwean living in Johannesburg, was not convinced especially because junior police officers – who have been accused of extorting money from illegal immigrants – have reportedly been publicly boasting that they will be rounding up all Zimbabweans with permits to stay in South Africa for deportation. Tagwireyi said: “I am scared as I applied for my passport but I have failed to obtain in the six we were told it would take to process them.”
Thursday, December 16, 2010
South Africa Eases Deportation Threat Against Zimbabweans Seeking Work Permits
The South African government has announced it will not deport Zimbabwean migrants who can show they have applied to work legally in the country. But it says it will not extend the deadline for applying for the permits, causing concern among civic groups that work with the migrants.
Activists working with Zimbabwean migrants have welcomed South Africa's announcement that it would not begin deporting undocumented Zimbabweans until it has finished a three month-old registration process.
But Home Affairs Minister Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma reiterated that the migrants still must apply by December 31 . "We will not extend the deadline. That is why we are saying, bring in your form. Even if you do not have fingerprints, bring it in. Even if you do not have a passport, bring it in. So that we know you are here. And then we we will extend the process in time," he said.
The government in September announced it was ending an 18-month moratorium on deportations of undocumented Zimbabweans. At the same time it launched a program to give legal status to those who could prove they were working or studying here.
There are an estimated 1.5-million Zimbabweans in South Africa. Officials say they have received about 100,000 applications and of these 40,000 still remained to be processed.
Civic groups while welcoming the announcement said the registration process had been slow and confusing to some migrants.
Some applicants stand in line for days before being able to apply. Others have been unable to obtain necessary passports or birth certificates from the Zimbabwean embassy.
Activists say many Zimbabwean workers in remote rural areas either do not know about the process or cannot afford to travel to the cities where the program is being conducted.
Attorney Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh of Johannesburg's Lawyers for Human Rights said it is not likely that all eligible Zimbabweans would be processed in time. "The process has been a failure and the only way to remedy the situation is if the deadline is extended to allow more Zimbabweans access to the process and to be able to regularize their situation," Ramjathan-Keogh said.
Dlamini-Zuma said a meeting Tuesday with the activists had raised legitimate concerns and led to the decision to postpone any expulsions. "That is why we are saying there'll be no deportation until we have finished processing everything that we would have received including waiting for those people who are waiting for their passports," he said.
Many of the Zimbabwean migrants apply for political asylum citing political oppression and human rights abuses in their country.
The South African government says 90 percent of these people are actually economic migrants looking for jobs because of Zimbabwe's economic crisis.
The government says the economic and political climate in Zimbabwe has improved since the installation of a unity government nearly two years ago.
But Ramjathan Keogh says the power sharing agreement between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is shaky and notes that Mr. Mugabe has called for elections next year. "The situation is not improving. The national unity government, the agreement will end in February of 2011 before the elections which are scheduled in Zimbabwe. And after the end of that agreement we do not know what will happen and it is likely that we will continue to see an influx of Zimbabweans coming over the border in need of protection," Keogh said.
In addition, activists say an average of 17,000 Zimbabweans are being deported each month despite the moratorium. And they say the thousands of unemployed Zimbabweans in South Africa do not qualify for the permits. As a result, they say the crisis is likely to continue.
- VOA
Activists working with Zimbabwean migrants have welcomed South Africa's announcement that it would not begin deporting undocumented Zimbabweans until it has finished a three month-old registration process.
But Home Affairs Minister Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma reiterated that the migrants still must apply by December 31 . "We will not extend the deadline. That is why we are saying, bring in your form. Even if you do not have fingerprints, bring it in. Even if you do not have a passport, bring it in. So that we know you are here. And then we we will extend the process in time," he said.
The government in September announced it was ending an 18-month moratorium on deportations of undocumented Zimbabweans. At the same time it launched a program to give legal status to those who could prove they were working or studying here.
There are an estimated 1.5-million Zimbabweans in South Africa. Officials say they have received about 100,000 applications and of these 40,000 still remained to be processed.
Civic groups while welcoming the announcement said the registration process had been slow and confusing to some migrants.
Some applicants stand in line for days before being able to apply. Others have been unable to obtain necessary passports or birth certificates from the Zimbabwean embassy.
Activists say many Zimbabwean workers in remote rural areas either do not know about the process or cannot afford to travel to the cities where the program is being conducted.
Attorney Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh of Johannesburg's Lawyers for Human Rights said it is not likely that all eligible Zimbabweans would be processed in time. "The process has been a failure and the only way to remedy the situation is if the deadline is extended to allow more Zimbabweans access to the process and to be able to regularize their situation," Ramjathan-Keogh said.
Dlamini-Zuma said a meeting Tuesday with the activists had raised legitimate concerns and led to the decision to postpone any expulsions. "That is why we are saying there'll be no deportation until we have finished processing everything that we would have received including waiting for those people who are waiting for their passports," he said.
Many of the Zimbabwean migrants apply for political asylum citing political oppression and human rights abuses in their country.
The South African government says 90 percent of these people are actually economic migrants looking for jobs because of Zimbabwe's economic crisis.
The government says the economic and political climate in Zimbabwe has improved since the installation of a unity government nearly two years ago.
But Ramjathan Keogh says the power sharing agreement between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is shaky and notes that Mr. Mugabe has called for elections next year. "The situation is not improving. The national unity government, the agreement will end in February of 2011 before the elections which are scheduled in Zimbabwe. And after the end of that agreement we do not know what will happen and it is likely that we will continue to see an influx of Zimbabweans coming over the border in need of protection," Keogh said.
In addition, activists say an average of 17,000 Zimbabweans are being deported each month despite the moratorium. And they say the thousands of unemployed Zimbabweans in South Africa do not qualify for the permits. As a result, they say the crisis is likely to continue.
- VOA
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Zim permit process problematic
With the deadline for the Zimbabwean documentation process fast approaching, analysts believe many people will not be able to access those permits on time.
Researchers at Wits University say poor management and communication at Home Affairs have resulted in a slow process.
Thousands of Zimbabwe nationals across the country have until December 31 to apply for proper study, work and residency permits or face deportation.
While offices in KZN have experienced a few minor problems, branches in Gauteng have been so busy people have had to camp outside for days.
The university's Roni Amit says they have conducted research in that province and found the process is problematic. At least 100 000 people still have to apply.
"It's going to be a serious problem and we're very concerned about what's going to happen to these people in January and whether they'll be the start of mass deportations.
"The HA [Home Affairs] hasn't really given any reason for seizing to extend the deadline so if they're in fact serious about providing this documentation to all these people who are eligible, then there's not any reason not to extend the deadline," she said.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Congolese man stabbed in Cape Town tavern
In a xenophobic attack, a Congolese man was repeatedly stabbed in a Du Noon tavern on Sunday because he refused to buy beer for a trio of South Africans.Nyangoma Etasha, 27, was lucky to escape with his life after being stabbed four times: in his head, chest and arms after his attackers told him they would show him South Africa was their country.
Shaking with shock and trying to stem the blood from his wounds, Etasha said he had been having drinks with a friend at the tavern, and when his friend left him alone in order to go to the toilet, three men at a nearby table demanded he buy them beer.
When he refused, the trio started manhandling him and searching his pockets, he said.
They told him: “iMzansi wethu. Ndizakubonia ngoku (South Africa is ours. We will show you now).”
Etasha said two of the men pulled out knives and stabbed him while the third started throwing empty beer bottles around the tavern, causing a stampede as the approximately 200 patrons rushed to exit the single door.
After attacking Etasha the men calmly walked out of the tavern. As they sauntered down the street, their clothes spattered with blood, this reporter saw residents smiling at them as they walked by.
A pool of blood could be seen beneath the table Etasha and his friend Ted Ndayesenga were sitting at. The tavern closed for two hours while it was mopped up.
Ndayesenga, who drove Etasha to Somerset Hospital for treatment, said his friend was attacked simply because he was buying “plenty of beers”.
Tavern owner Alfred Jezile condemned the attack and said he was considering introducing a system of membership cards for patrons to avoid criminals drinking in his establishment.
Milnerton police station spokesperson Daphne Dell said no stabbing incident of that nature was reported to them, but encouraged Etasha to open a case against his attackers.
Shaking with shock and trying to stem the blood from his wounds, Etasha said he had been having drinks with a friend at the tavern, and when his friend left him alone in order to go to the toilet, three men at a nearby table demanded he buy them beer.
When he refused, the trio started manhandling him and searching his pockets, he said.
They told him: “iMzansi wethu. Ndizakubonia ngoku (South Africa is ours. We will show you now).”
Etasha said two of the men pulled out knives and stabbed him while the third started throwing empty beer bottles around the tavern, causing a stampede as the approximately 200 patrons rushed to exit the single door.
After attacking Etasha the men calmly walked out of the tavern. As they sauntered down the street, their clothes spattered with blood, this reporter saw residents smiling at them as they walked by.
A pool of blood could be seen beneath the table Etasha and his friend Ted Ndayesenga were sitting at. The tavern closed for two hours while it was mopped up.
Ndayesenga, who drove Etasha to Somerset Hospital for treatment, said his friend was attacked simply because he was buying “plenty of beers”.
Tavern owner Alfred Jezile condemned the attack and said he was considering introducing a system of membership cards for patrons to avoid criminals drinking in his establishment.
Milnerton police station spokesperson Daphne Dell said no stabbing incident of that nature was reported to them, but encouraged Etasha to open a case against his attackers.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Fury as police round up foreigners
Human rights groups have expressed their outrage at a massive crime blitz in Hillbrow this week that saw police officers round up foreign nationals, mainly Zimbabweans, while Home Affairs officials screened and fingerprinted them.
On Thursday, the 1 000-strong police squad launched dawn raids targeting hijacked buildings in Hillbrow, Berea and Yeoville, embarking on stop-and-search drills for its festive anti-crime campaign, Operation Duty Calls.
They were led by National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele and Police Minister Nathi Mthetwa and accompanied by Home Affairs officials and the SA Revenue Service.
But Gina Snyman, the head of the immigration detention project at Lawyers for Human Rights, said the operation appeared to contradict the Department of Home Affairs’s amnesty for Zimbabweans living in South Africa illegally, in place until December 31.
“The SAPS should be well be aware of this (amnesty) process. It’s high time the police engaged in real crime-combating. They have much more serious obligations, protecting all people in South Africa.
“It will only end up in more people going underground.”
The Star reported that the police stormed hijacked flats and rounded up residents, who were assessed by officials and split into separate groups, with Zimbabweans forming the bulk of the group.
Home Affairs officials screened the residents and the police loaded them into vans if they were found to be in the country illegally, or with a criminal record.
“It smacks of bad faith and is cause for serious alarm,” said Snyman. “We’ve also had alarming reports that Zimbabweans going to police stations to get information about the amnesty have been summarily arrested and charged.”
Dr Jo Vearey, a researcher at the Forced Migration Studies Programme at Wits, said such crackdowns were “entirely a media exercise feeding popular paranoia”.
“It further stigmatises groups trying to function in the city. There is positive work in Hillbrow – health interventions and social housing interventions, but those aren’t given the airtime.
“These raids aren’t useful in the long run. They’re nothing but a media circus. They create big tension in a small community… and that can trigger other problems.
“A lot of people are trying to reclaim the inner space so it can be somewhere we can all live and work.”
Mthetwa said he was disappointed at the state of Hillbrow. “We want to clean up Hillbrow and we want ordinary citizens to move into the area so they can be close to their place of employment.”
Veary said: “We’ve tried hard in our research on migration in Joburg to break down the stereotype that Hilllbrow is full of illegal activities.”
The perception remained that foreigners gathered there and engaged in drugs or sex work. “There are people who live in Hillbrow and function there like any other place in the city. It’s a residential suburb, home to families and individuals who work in the city.
“If they’re (the police are) targeting what they call hijacked buildings, then there’s quite serious issues. We know foreign migrants are discriminated against in terms of renting in the city … But they run the city, contribute to the city and live in the city.
“These inner city communities are fragile. In a space where building up trust with your community and neighbour isn’t always easy, the impact on these communities is incredibly traumatic.”
- IOL
On Thursday, the 1 000-strong police squad launched dawn raids targeting hijacked buildings in Hillbrow, Berea and Yeoville, embarking on stop-and-search drills for its festive anti-crime campaign, Operation Duty Calls.
They were led by National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele and Police Minister Nathi Mthetwa and accompanied by Home Affairs officials and the SA Revenue Service.
But Gina Snyman, the head of the immigration detention project at Lawyers for Human Rights, said the operation appeared to contradict the Department of Home Affairs’s amnesty for Zimbabweans living in South Africa illegally, in place until December 31.
“The SAPS should be well be aware of this (amnesty) process. It’s high time the police engaged in real crime-combating. They have much more serious obligations, protecting all people in South Africa.
“It will only end up in more people going underground.”
The Star reported that the police stormed hijacked flats and rounded up residents, who were assessed by officials and split into separate groups, with Zimbabweans forming the bulk of the group.
Home Affairs officials screened the residents and the police loaded them into vans if they were found to be in the country illegally, or with a criminal record.
“It smacks of bad faith and is cause for serious alarm,” said Snyman. “We’ve also had alarming reports that Zimbabweans going to police stations to get information about the amnesty have been summarily arrested and charged.”
Dr Jo Vearey, a researcher at the Forced Migration Studies Programme at Wits, said such crackdowns were “entirely a media exercise feeding popular paranoia”.
“It further stigmatises groups trying to function in the city. There is positive work in Hillbrow – health interventions and social housing interventions, but those aren’t given the airtime.
“These raids aren’t useful in the long run. They’re nothing but a media circus. They create big tension in a small community… and that can trigger other problems.
“A lot of people are trying to reclaim the inner space so it can be somewhere we can all live and work.”
Mthetwa said he was disappointed at the state of Hillbrow. “We want to clean up Hillbrow and we want ordinary citizens to move into the area so they can be close to their place of employment.”
Veary said: “We’ve tried hard in our research on migration in Joburg to break down the stereotype that Hilllbrow is full of illegal activities.”
The perception remained that foreigners gathered there and engaged in drugs or sex work. “There are people who live in Hillbrow and function there like any other place in the city. It’s a residential suburb, home to families and individuals who work in the city.
“If they’re (the police are) targeting what they call hijacked buildings, then there’s quite serious issues. We know foreign migrants are discriminated against in terms of renting in the city … But they run the city, contribute to the city and live in the city.
“These inner city communities are fragile. In a space where building up trust with your community and neighbour isn’t always easy, the impact on these communities is incredibly traumatic.”
- IOL
Friday, November 5, 2010
Somalian shot dead in Khayelitsha – nothing stolen
Somalians in Khayelitsha say they are wondering which one of their countrymen in the township will be killed next after Somalian shopkeeper Cyrix Man was shot on Tuesday night.Man, 23, was shot twice in the head on the street outside his shop on Endlovini Street, in Khayelitsha C-Section at about 11pm last Tuesday, and died in hospital at about 3.30am on Wednesday morning.
Man’s friend Abduul Bush said Man was shot in the back of the head and it seems he was running away from his killers when the shots were fired.
Bush said nothing was stolen from Man’s shop, which was open at the time, and only his cellphone was taken.
“These people know us, they know our opening and closing time. We been reporting cases like this to the police but they are not doing anything.”
Another Somalian living in Khayelitsha, Feleke Abula Debore said: “We are living in fear now. We are wondering who’s going to be next. We came to South Africa to survive not to die.”
Nine Somalians interviewed in Khayelitsha after the incident said they don’t know what to do because the police are not doing anything to help them.
Khayelitsha’s Somalia Retailers Association chairperson Abbi Ahmed said more than 22 Somalian’s had been killed in the past three months.
But South African resident Sandiso Ntlanganiso said it was not only Somalians who were at risk from crime in the area.
“Every one is a target especially if you working night shift or early in the morning. People cry everyday here but the police are doing nothing.” said Ntlanganiso.
He said police patrols needed to be stepped up in Khayelitsha to reduce crime.
Harare police station spokesperson Constable Nosiphiwo Mntengwane said it was “risky” for Man to be trading from his shop late at night.
She said police were investigating a case of murder. – West Cape News
Man’s friend Abduul Bush said Man was shot in the back of the head and it seems he was running away from his killers when the shots were fired.
Bush said nothing was stolen from Man’s shop, which was open at the time, and only his cellphone was taken.
“These people know us, they know our opening and closing time. We been reporting cases like this to the police but they are not doing anything.”
Another Somalian living in Khayelitsha, Feleke Abula Debore said: “We are living in fear now. We are wondering who’s going to be next. We came to South Africa to survive not to die.”
Nine Somalians interviewed in Khayelitsha after the incident said they don’t know what to do because the police are not doing anything to help them.
Khayelitsha’s Somalia Retailers Association chairperson Abbi Ahmed said more than 22 Somalian’s had been killed in the past three months.
But South African resident Sandiso Ntlanganiso said it was not only Somalians who were at risk from crime in the area.
“Every one is a target especially if you working night shift or early in the morning. People cry everyday here but the police are doing nothing.” said Ntlanganiso.
He said police patrols needed to be stepped up in Khayelitsha to reduce crime.
Harare police station spokesperson Constable Nosiphiwo Mntengwane said it was “risky” for Man to be trading from his shop late at night.
She said police were investigating a case of murder. – West Cape News
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