More Zimbabweans seek asylum

Encouraged by recent successes in asylum applications, more Zimbabweans are seeking political refuge in South Africa, according to human rights NGOs. The number of Zimbabweans applying for asylum in South Africa rose sharply in the first three months of this year to 7,211. Zimbabweans account for 38 percent of the total 18,800 requests, according to government figures, said Jack Redden, the spokesman for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. A faith-based rights NGO, Solidarity Peace Trust, which works with Zimbabwean refugees, said intense lobbying had made South African home affairs officials more sensitive to the plight of asylum seekers. "We are receiving more positive feedback, which has encouraged more people to apply," noted Selvan Chetty, a spokesman for the trust. He said while a significant number of asylum seekers were pro-democracy activists, "there are many more who are ordinary Zimbabweans, who have either been beaten up or affected by state-sponsored campaigns such as Operation Murambatsvina (Drive out Filth)". The campaign to demolish informal settlements in urban areas affected more than 700,000 people. According to the trust, their affiliate organisations process at least 50 new Zimbabwean arrivals every day. But that number is dwarfed by the scale of illegal migrants looking for work across the border. A total of 2,000 Zimbabweans are deported every week from South Africa, the Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration has calculated. "The increase in the number [of asylum seekers] reflects the worsening political situation, the level of harassment and persecution people face at the hands of the ZANU-PF government," alleged Jacob van Garderen, the national coordinator of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Project at Lawyers for Human Rights, a South African NGO. South Africa is struggling to clear a backlog of 100,000 to 110,000 asylum seekers. According to Van Garderen, the majority of the applicants are Zimbabweans, but by November last year, just 86 Zimbabweans had been approved for refuge status. Van Garderen recently handled the high-profile asylum case of Roy Bennett, a Zimbabwean opposition MP who was imprisoned for eight months in 2004/2005 for shoving a minister in parliament. He fled the country earlier this year after authorities said he had conspired to assassinate President Robert Mugabe. Bennett's application was turned down and he has lodged an appeal against the decision. "We have a number of cases where the appeal board has turned down department's decision," noted Garderen. Zimbabwe, once a middle-income country, is believed to have the world's fastest shrinking economy outside of a war zone. An inflation rate of 1,200 percent has pushed the price of even a basic shopping basket beyond the reach of many Zimbabweans. An estimated three million Zimbabweans are living in South Africa - one-quarter of Zimbabwe's domestic population.