Hundreds of Zimbabweans living in Botswana are heading to
the Plumtree border, saying the Covid-19 crisis has left them on the edge of
starvation.
The immigrants usually survive by doing odd jobs, but with
Botswana in a lockdown due to the coronavirus, they cannot find work to support
themselves.
Additionally, the immigrants were initially excluded from
the Botswana government’s food parcels.
“We are in a bad state,” said Josephine Mutsaka (54), one
of many Zimbabwean illegal immigrants in Gaborone who approached the embassy
for voluntary repatriation back home.
“We have no food at the moment, and the only option is to
go back home. When we are in Botswana, we survive through ‘piece jobs’, but
that has stopped because of the lockdown.
“We can’t blame the Botswana government for giving priority
to its citizens.”
Botswana’s Foreign Affairs minister Unity Dow told local
media that officials were discussing how to address the plight of immigrants.
Some Zimbabweans had crossed into Botswana for shopping,
but were kept in due to the lockdown.
Some immigrants, like Tendai Ndlovu, are eager to return
home, although returning Zimbabwean residents face a mandatory 14-day
quarantine.
Ndlovu is wary of being locked in the Zimbabwe government’s
holding centres.
“We do not know how long the coronavirus will be around,”
Ndlovu said.
“In the meantime, I want to return home to be with my
family, although I have heard people complain of poor conditions during the
quarantine in Plumtree.”
Plumtree is the only crossing point between the southern
African neighbours that is currently open.
A Zimbabwean embassy official confirmed the office had
begun the process to repatriate both legal and illegal Zimbabwean immigrants.
It’s not known how many Zimbabweans live in Botswana, but
in an average year, Botswana’s government deports about 15 000 illegal
immigrants to Zimbabwe.
The Botswana government says it will assist the immigrants
with transport up to the two countries’ border post, with the first returnees
numbering about 300 expected at the Plumtree entry point last Thursday.
Authorities said 500 had signed up for the voluntary
repatriation last week.
Another group of 400 Zimbabweans deported by Botswana after
the neighbouring country closed its borders to control the spread of the
coronavirus are being held under quarantine at government institutions in
Bulawayo. —VOA
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