Zimbabwe: Farewell South Africa, but not just yet

MUSINA, 19 February 2009 (IRIN) - The formation of Zimbabwe's unity government, although seen as a positive step, is not enough to entice Zimbabweans to return to their homeland.

John Tinago, a supporter of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) who fled to South Africa in November 2008, is adopting a wait-and-see attitude until there is "firm evidence that life has returned to normal", he told IRIN.

In the past decade more than three million people are thought to have escaped Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, which has seen hyperinflation reach trillions of percent and unemployment rise to 94 percent.

Many have sought greener pastures in neighbouring states, such as South Africa and Botswana, while others have sought economic refuge further afield in Britain and Australia.

Tinago is living in a makeshift refugee site near the South African border town of Musina with hundreds of his compatriots who are either seeking or have obtained asylum status.

The former primary school teacher said he fled his home town of Chegutu in Mashonaland West Province after word spread that the security forces were trying to arrest him on allegations that he had received military training in neighbouring Botswana.

More than 20 people have been detained since late 2008 on allegations that Botswana, a staunch critic of Zimbabwe, was training an armed militia to overthrow President Robert Mugabe after 29 years in power. The allegation has been denied by Botswana and rejected by regional leaders. 

"I have been staying in this camp as officials from the UN assess my application for political asylum," Tinago told IRIN.

On 11 February 2009 Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, was installed as prime minister after a power-sharing agreement with Mugabe was signed on 15 September 2008.

"I am happy that Tsvangirai is now the prime minister and the home affairs ministry [which controls the police] is now shared between [Mugabe's] ZANU-PF and the MDC because that means it will not be easy for the police to arrest political opponents," Tinago said.

"However, I reckon it is just too early for me to go back home now. I will have to wait for at least six months to see whether the inclusive government will stick, and turn our fortunes around, before seriously considering returning."

The early days of the unity government has seen political rivalries remain intact, with detained MDC activists still incarcerated on allegations of banditry and a deputy minister designate, Roy Bennett, arrested on sedition charges soon after returning from self-imposed exile in South Africa.

A leopard can't change its spots

"I hear that our tormentors in ZANU-PF have not changed their spots and still want to harass those that belong to the opposition, and that is one good reason to wait for a long enough period before one can judge wisely," Tinago said.

Samukheliso Cele, 24, from Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, told IRIN she arrived at the refugee settlement in September 2008, after being raped by members of the ZANU-PF youth militia.

Her application for asylum was successful and she is allowed to work or study in South Africa. At the settlement she is provided with accommodation and one meal a day by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the South African government. A church organization about four kilometres from her temporary home provides a second daily meal.

"I don't like living in a refugee camp because that makes me feel like a second-class citizen. However, it is more comfortable here than in my country, where you don't know who will rape you next, and where people die of hunger or from cholera every day," Cele told IRIN.

"I am still scared of the people who raped me, and will return when the culprits have been arrested and it is safe for me to be back at home."

During the day, Cele hawks vegetables and earns extra income by safeguarding the goods left in her custody by Zimbabweans coming to the town to shop for basic supplies.

Musina almost felt like home, she said, because of the number of Zimbabweans either living there or coming to buy goods not available in their home country.

"For as long as business is booming here, and the future in Zimbabwe is not clear, I will hang around," she said. "[I will go home] when salaries mean something once again, and shops restore their glitter."

According to a UNHCR report in November 2008, the refugee agency was offering legal and technical expertise to the refugee reception office, which was processing about 350 asylum applications a day, mostly by Zimbabweans.

Tom Sithole, 19, from Zimbabwe's eastern city of Mutare, illegally crossed into South Africa recently and is looking for work.

"I left my country when Tsvangirai was being sworn in as prime minister because I know it will take a long time before things normalise. I plan to work here up to the end of the year and only then will I return home," Sithole told IRIN. "Things cannot be good enough before that time."

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