5.4 Zimbabwe Refugee Learners’ Migration Experiences
5.4.2 TRANSMIGRATION EXPERIENCES
5.4.2.2 Traveling Long Distances from the Border
146 us to stop, that is how we were not shot” (Interview, 13 March 2012). Children were too young to be exposed to such experiences. Some reported that they saw real guns and spoke to soldiers for the first time in their lives. A boy reported that he was trembling when he was speaking to soldiers. He was not beaten by soldiers, but he was scared of them since it was his first contact with people holding real guns.
Some learners explained that they saw some mysterious things happening in the forest. One boy in FGD1 narrated an inexplicable event which took place in the forest:
There is one thing I can recall. There was another guy. He knew the way and he said he had enough money to travel to Johannesburg and to Cape Town. He just disappeared in the evening. The next day we saw his clothes. We are not sure about what happened, whether he was killed or he ran away. We don’t know what happened to him. His money and clothes were there, but the body disappeared. No one took his money (FGD, 14 March 2012).
Border jumpers risked attacks from wild animals (Rutherford, 2010). The forest between Zimbabwe and South Africa has stray wild animals which made children’s journeys more risky.
The hectic transmigration experiences that learners went through did not end at the border or in the forest. All learners who did not have passports reported that they walked long distances.
147 enforcers because they did not have money to bribe them. Jacob, who was caught by policemen at a roadblock few kilometers away from the border, said:
The police found that I did not have documents and they asked me to get out of the truck. I slept outside at that roadblock. Police refused to let me inside their tents. It was cold and I did not have a blanket. The next morning, policemen asked me to walk to Musina camp (Interview, 10 March 2012).
Learners faced some ill treatment on their transmigration journey. The ill treatment could be perpetrated by police officers or citizens of the host country. A learner from FGD1 reported: “I was detained by police at a roadblock. They took me to the police camp and made me wash police cars before they sent me away” (FGD, 14 March 2012). Similarly, Natasha and her mother reported that they were detained by the police at a roadblock for not having travel documents.
They were verbally abused by policemen. Natasha said: “Policemen verbally abused my mother accusing her of increasing the rate of crime in South Africa. They released us the next day. We had to walk long distances to the nearest town” (Interview, 10 March 2012). Among learners who walked long distances, Natasha and her mother had the longest walk from Pretoria to Johannesburg (a distance of about 60 kilometers). Natasha said:
We rode in a truck which was going to Polokwane. We spent the whole day and night in Polokwane near the sports complex. My mother asked a white man who had a truck that had horses for a ride to Johannesburg and told him that we did not mind traveling in a horses’ compartment. We got a ride until Pretoria. From Pretoria, we walked on foot to Johannesburg. It took us two days to reach Johannesburg from Pretoria (Interview, 10 March 2012).
Kaplan (2009) postulates in the Australian context that refugees face perilous journeys which were very rough and miserable. Refugee learners from Zimbabwe experienced rough journeys which were full of misery. Walking long distances and traveling in a truck full of animals was too harsh and an unimaginable experience. A parent who was interviewed also confirmed that the journey that she had with her children was very disturbing. She reported that she had to have sex with a truck driver in order to get a ride to Johannesburg since she did not have any more money. The parent said: “A truck driver asked to sleep with me as payment for a ride with my children from the border. I was desperate and I did not have a choice but to do it so my children could have a safe journey” (Interview, 13 March 2012). Children’s exposure to such incidents may affect them so much that they may develop mental problems (Kirchner & Patiño, 2011).
148 A critical shortage of money was reported by learners as the greatest problem which made their journey to Johannesburg very difficult. Alexio reported that he experienced the worst when he used a metered taxi and failed to pay the bill that the driver was demanding. The learner had told the taxi driver that he did not have enough money prior to boarding the car. He was accepted by the driver, but was later asked to pay the full amount. Alexio said:
After having walked for a long distance, I negotiated with a taxi driver to drive me to the Park Station in Johannesburg. He agreed to take me for the little money that I told him that I had. Upon arrival, he asked me to pay more money which I did not have. He locked me in his cab for three days. He (cab driver) told his friends (in their mother language) who were also drivers that I used his cab and I was refusing to pay the bill. The cab driver lied to his friends that we were three passengers, that two ran away and he managed to catch me.
Other cab drivers got the impression that three people used the cab and they tried to run away from paying but only one was caught and that was me. They beat me with iron rods, threatened me and said they would take me back to Musina so that I would be deported back to Zimbabwe. I did not have any money and the suffering that I experienced was worse than what I encountered in Zimbabwe (Interview, 9 March 2012).
Transmigration experiences are sometimes stressful and traumatising to refugee children. In the context of the United Kingdom, Kirkbride and Jones (2011) assert that transmigration is a relatively major life event that is characterised by stressful events. To some refugees, transmigration experiences can be more hectic than pre-migration because they go through rigorous and traumatising moments on the journey (Williams, 2010). What children may experience on the way to the host country may leave a permanent mark in their lives so that they may become pessimistic about a new life in the host country. In most cases, refugees’ journeys take longer than the regular time.
All learners in both focus group discussions confirmed that their journeys from the border to Johannesburg took longer than it usually takes. The journey is about 600 kilometers and it is usually travelled in six to seven hours, but learners spent days and months to complete it. A guardian said “it took us long to reach Johannesburg because we were once caught by police and deported back to the border and then started the journey again” (Interview, 13 March 2012).
CoRMSA (2008) contends that illegal immigrants in South Africa are always deported when they are caught. Due to a shortage of money, learners reported that they got jobs and stayed in temporary shelters such as the Musina refugee camp.
149 5.4.2.3 Temporary Shelters and Jobs
CoRMSA (2009) reported that the Musina refugee camp was established in order to accommodate growing numbers of Zimbabweans who were flocking into South Africa, and other foreigners who were victims of xenophobic attacks. Temporary shelters were pitched by non- governmental organisations which offered to help people who were starving and homeless.
Zimbabwean learners who crossed the border through the Limpopo River and others who were caught at the road block stayed at the Musina refugee camp for some time. Staying at a refugee camp or any temporary shelter is part of transmigration experiences. Anderson et al. (2004) contend that transmigration could involve years spent hiding or in refugee camps.
Children reported that they had bad experiences at the refugee camp in Musina because the place was overcrowded and there was no food. One learner from FGD2 said:
I stayed in Musina for two weeks in a refugee camp. They were not feeding us, but we had to survive. I remember, we survived by eating a fruit that I have never seen in my life, but because we were starving, we began eating it for the first time. That fruit became our daily meal (FGD, 14 March 2012).
Henley and Robinson (2011) argued that refugees’ transmigration experiences in Australia involve lengthy stays in refugee camps and a lot of suffering. A learner from FGD2 said: “We could sleep without eating anything. There was an outbreak of cholera at the Musina refugee camp. I saw someone dying of the disease. It was very scary because cholera is deadly and it spreads very fast” (FGD, 14 March 2012).
Learners argued that they had to stay temporarily at the Musina refugee camp because they did not have anywhere to go and they did not have money. Children had to do several jobs in order to raise transport money to reach their destination, Johannesburg. Some were selling sweets, biscuits, fruit and vegetables while others went to work in nearby shops, farms and restaurants.
Mary said: “we were working (selling bread, polony, sweets) at the Musina camp” (Interview, 6 March 2012). Some learners reported that they experienced oppression in the jobs that they were doing, but they did not have a choice because they wanted to raise money to take them to Johannesburg. Oliver said:
150 I stayed in Musina working for a woman as a cook. I was cooking pap (stiff porridge) so as to raise money to reach Johannesburg. I travelled up to Louis Tritchart. That is where my money could take me. I stayed in Louis Tritchart for one-and-a-half months working as an assistant builder. I raised a little money and then travelled up to Polokwane where I stayed for two months working. I joined other guys who were working in a factory. The payment was very low, but I was just doing the job to raise transport money. I arrived in Pretoria and stayed there for two weeks. It was hard to get money because I could not get a job in Pretoria. A friend gave me money to travel from Pretoria to Johannesburg (Interview, 8 March 2012).
Employers paid low salaries because they knew that children could not complain to the authorities because they were illegal immigrants who did not have documents. Peter, who was working at a poultry farm, had a bad experience:
I was employed to raise chickens for market. I worked there for six months. The greatest problem was that, for all the six months I worked there, I was only paid for two months.
The rest of the months the farm owner would say he would give me a lump sum salary, but he deceived me. In the sixth month I asked for all my money, but he threatened to call policemen to come and arrest me since I did not have a valid passport (Interview, 10 March 2012).
Refugee children and other foreigners are exploited and taken advantage of in work places.
Ethiopian women who migrated to Middle Eastern countries worked under exploitative and inhumane conditions because they did not have legal documents (Anbesse et al., 2009). In some cases refugees could be made to work and failed to get salaries because of their status as illegal immigrants. They could not report to the policemen because they were afraid of getting caught and being deported back to the Zimbabwean border. Learners in FGD2 explained that they were working like slaves, but they did not have a choice but to do it in order to get food and accommodation. One learner from FGD2 said:
I learnt that there were people who were taking advantage of desperate foreigners. They employed me and promised that they would pay me at the end of each day. I worked and got nothing. They told me to continue working and expect a salary at the end of the week, but they did not pay me. I was doing the worst kind of job, but with no pay. The employer was taking advantage of my desperation and the fact that I did not have any legal document. I was forced to stay at his place because I needed money, food and shelter. So, I ended up working not because I wanted money but because I wanted a place to live and food to eat since I could not provide those basics for myself (FGD, 14 March 2012).
151 The trend of refugees working during their transmigration journey is very common. Sadouni (2009) contends that among Somalis who travelled to Johannesburg to seek refuge, some sold their gold and jewellery in order to raise transport money. Others had to work while they were still in Tanzania and Mozambique in order to raise money to get them to Johannesburg.
Some learners reported that they lived on the streets before they eventually reached the Chitate Street School. One learner from FGD1 said: “I was living on the streets selling cigarettes and sniffing glue” (FGD, 14 March 2012). Memory reported that she went through bad experiences when she was living on the streets:
I lived in Johannesburg as a street child for 22 days. I was sleeping on the streets and eating food from dusty bins. I covered myself with plastic and cardboard boxes during the night. I was begging on the streets of Johannesburg every evening and day (Interview, 9 March 2012).
Lloyd said:
When we arrived in Johannesburg, we lived at the Roman Catholic Church as street children. We would only come to the church to sleep, but spent the whole day making money by pick pocketing. That is how my friends and I raised money for food (Interview, 6 March 2012).
The Roman Catholic Church building where many Zimbabweans were living is in Johannesburg.
The building is used mainly by street children and desperate homeless people. Some learners who participated in this study reported that they lived in the Roman Catholic building before the Bishop enrolled them at Chitate Street School. The majority of unaccompanied children who are schooling at Chitate Street School sought accommodation at the Roman Catholic Church before they joined the school. Learners found out about the refugee school in different ways.