Refugee anguish at border

Already-stressed Somalis and other displaced Africans locked in disease-infested prison at Beitbridge en route to SA

More than a hundred Somalis and other refugees from the Horn of Africa are holed up at the disease-infested Beitbridge prison.

They were caught by Zimbabwean police trying to cross into South Africa a fortnight ago.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says an increasing number of Somalis are fleeing their country amid a deteriorating security situation, with 50000 arriving in other African states in the first quarter of this year compared to 23000 in the same period last year .

Most have settled in Kenyan refugee camps, but some have gone further south to settle in enticing South Africa.

En route to South Africa, some refugees go through Zimbabwe, entering trough the northern Nyamapanda border post . However, their journey through Zimbabwe is at risk of contracting disease, with some being admitted to Beitbridge Hospital with suspected cases of malaria. So far one has died.

"Ten refugees have been admitted at Beitbridge Hospital suffering from what is thought to be malaria. Unfortunately one died at a police station before being taken to hospital. He had malaria tablets with him," said Chief Superintendent Hosiah Mukombero, the commander of the Beitbridge police.

Those who had been arrested were taken to the prison at Beitbridge, where they are waiting to be transported to Tongogara refugee camp. The camp has more than 1800 refugees from all over Africa.

According to immigration sources, the Somali refugees are easy to notice because of their "distinct appearance" in this part of the region. They say that is why it was easy for South African immigration officials to send back to Zimbabwe a group of about 100 Somalis.

The UNHCR says in a recently published policy document that the working environment for refugees in Zimbabwe "is strained".

"The challenging economic and political environment places constraints on the implementation of humanitarian programmes in Zimbabwe. With most refugees restricted to Tongogara camp, the possibilities for moving away from dependence on humanitarian assistance and towards self-reliance are limited.

"Ongoing conflict in the region, especially in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, will likely continue to generate asylum-seekers, which may strain the capacity of the Zimbabwe government and UNHCR to fully address their needs," the organisation said.

Sending refugees back from South Africa puts a strain on Zimbabwe's capacity, especially at a time of political uncertainty .

The spokesperson for South Africa's Home Affairs, Ronnie Mamoepa, said this week his country has to uphold international law when dealing with refugees. "International law stipulates that for us to take in these refugees, they should have to be registered by the first country that receives them when they flee their homeland.

"It means they should have handed themselves to authorities in the first country they got to after fleeing Somalia. From there they can work on applying for asylum, and we would address the situation. At the moment these people do not even have identification particulars so there is no reason why we should take them in," he said.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has come to the assistance of the refugees. "IOM has come in to assist the refugee situation," said Simon Muleya, of the Civil Protection Unit at Beitbridge.

IOM sources say the organisation had donated blankets to the refugees when they were stranded at the border.

Earlier this week IOM took food to the refugees at the Beitbridge prison. IOM had also offered to transport the refugees to the Tongogara refugee camp but they denied the assistance.

"They refused to be taken to Tongogara because of a communication breakdown.

"They were insufficiently informed, they thought we would take them back where they came from," the source said.

"However, communication has not been that bad. There was a man who could speak English in the first group, and also one who could speak Swahili, I think they got the Swahili guy in Kenya.

"And at Beitbridge there is a police officer who can speak Swahili and that made it easier," the IOM source said.

Somalia remains one of the countries which generates the highest number of refugees and internally displaced people in the world. An estimated 1.4 million Somalis are displaced within Africa, while 680000 more live overseas as refugees.

Source: The Times (SA)