FENLEY: On Monday Zimbabwe celebrated 25 years of independence. In his speech President Robert Mugabe said his people were “happy and content”. But what is life really like for ordinary Zimbabweans? We talk to some of them to find out how they’ve been affected by food shortages and an economy in crisis. You can have your say on Zimbabwe later in the programme.
VOICER: - It’s the eve of the Zimbabwe elections. Special Assignment has met up with three young Zimbabweans who plan to return to the country of their birth. They’re hoping that once they get there they’ll be able to take part in the elections and vote. Our journey to Zimbabwe starts in the suburb of Yeoville Johannesburg. Casper Ngwenya has been living in this flat for the past four years. During this time he’s never gone back home.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA; MDC ACTIVIST - If they are saying things are good in Zimbabwe they changed even anytime is still time I can go back because even when I go back at home I know there are many things that I can do.
UPS: - VOICER - It is estimated that almost three and a half million Zimbabweans live outside its borders. More than a million live in Johannesburg alone.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO; FORMER TEACHER - Zimbabwe is on the verge of rebirth – yes – maybe something is going to come up, so I see Zimbabwe as a pregnant woman she is going to deliver I think.
UPS: - VOICER - As these young men prepare to leave home is very much on their minds.
UPS: - TAKWANA MAKAYA - WITS STUDENT - The 1980’s Zimbabwe I used to know was lovely – was lovely awesome. Used to flow honey and milk. We used to afford everything we want.
PRE-TITLE: ZIMBABWE MY HOME
UPS: - VOICER - A day after leaving Johannesburg we arrive in Bulawayo - one of Zimbabwe’s major cities. Zimbabwe is a country of more than 12 million three quarters of them living in rural areas. It’s land-locked, surrounded by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. We’d heard alarming reports of food shortages, a lack of infrastructure and economic crisis. Despite these reports the city of Bulawayo was humming just a week before the country’s parliamentary elections. We left the buzz of Bulawayo and drove nearly 200 km to the small town of Lupane then another 70 km to Casper Ngwenya’s village in Mzola. There were few signs of life along the way. Casper is a 27 year old activist for the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party in Zimbabwe. Four years ago he fled his home for Johannesburg. He says as an activist, his life was under threat.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA; MDC ACTIVIST - I was running away from ZANU-PF. We jumped the fences about four fences including the razor wire.
UPS: - VOICER - Casper knows there’s widespread poverty at home. So he’s saved money from his part-time job in Johannesburg to buy food for his family.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA; MDC ACTIVIST - They found five donkeys crossing the border running away from Zimbabwe going to Botswana it shows that our country now poor there is nothing you cannot survive. People are dying because of hunger, you can get money but you can find that there is no mealie-meal there is no bread there is no sugar how are you going to survive, here you got money.
UPS: - VOICER - Casper left in a hurry when he ran away to South Africa. He says he didn’t even have time to say good bye to his family He believes this has brought him bad luck – he’s still struggling to find a proper job in Johannesburg. Today a goat will be slaughtered for his traditional cleansing ceremony. He hopes this’ll bring him luck and be at peace with his ancestors. And hopefully his family will forgive him for disappearing without a word.
UPS: - CASPER – What is your name?
UPS: - VOICER – It’s been four years since Casper last saw his sisters and brothers and his mother. He’s brought some basics home he knows they need them desperately.
UPS: - CASPER - I was very scared because I knew my mother to be so thin. When I saw how thin she was I realized things are difficult.
UPS: - SIBONGILE NGWENYA; CASPER’S MOM - Our lives are difficult. We don’t have food or clothes. We don’t have anything. Our clothes are hands-outs. We go for a week without food. Even if I ask my neighbours, they also have nothing.
UPS: - VOICER - For the Ngwenya family days like these are rare having their brother with them and enough food to last a few days.
UPS: - CASPER - It’s sad for me because I’m not working. My brothers who are with me in South Africa things are also tough for them. She is now left with small children who cry for her when they are hungry. This saddens me a lot.
UPS: - SIBONGILE NGWENYA - I have planted maize. But it’s dry not because it’s ripe but because there’s no rain. Even when I harvest the maize, how do I grind it? I don’t have money. When I do grind it, I don’t get a lot of meal. It’s just dry leaves. I tell my children that we need to grind this maize so that we can eat. But I don’t know how long this maize will last us. Maybe 2 to 3 months. Then there will be nothing left.
UPS: - VOICER - In April last year the World Food programme provided food aid to nearly half of Zimbabwe’s population. 38% of the country is said to be malnourished. In this area, so many men have left that the women and children now plough the fields and tend the cows. They draw water from bore holes drought has made life difficult for those who’ve stayed behind.
AD BREAK 1
UPS: - VOICER - Our journey through Zimbabwe led us to a village called Nyathi about 140 km from Bulawayo. Mbuso Moyo is a graduate of Zimbabwe University. He was once a secondary school teacher here with a salary of 1.8 million Zimbabwe dollars the equivalent of R1 400 rand a month Mbuso left his teaching post last year and went to Johannesburg looking for greener pastures. Six years ago half a million skilled Zimbabweans had already left their country.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO; FORMER TEACHER - The world is no longer looking at Zimbabwe and saying be proud and educated lot. When you finish university you are kind like having some dreams of becoming somebody in the job market. And so I quickly find a job in this school that was manna from heaven. A major problem was the salary. My first salary I was looking forward to buying a lot of things with my first salary, fancy things for example very good pair of takkies, sneakers, a very good suit, jeans and t-shirt. But then when came the month end I couldn’t buy any of those even a single one because the salary could not buy anything so that was the major frustration in my life.
UPS: - VOICER - Mbuso knows that once you live elsewhere, you’re expected to come home with food. Mbuso’s family lives in Inkosikazi, 40 km from the nearest shops. He buys food, he says, because he knows how desperate his family is.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO; FORMER TEACHER - When I approached home really I felt very bad within myself as it is now I feel very bad because the situation at home is bad. And as you see they have nothing and perhaps what I brought is going to push them to some distance. My father perhaps when he saw me he thought maybe I am a Jesus, I am a saviour I brought something to eat because they have nothing. Maybe it is my challenge to something.
UPS: - VOICER - To qualify as a voter one should have come home to register months ago. And be sure to be in the country on the day of voting. Mbuso did all that but when he got to the polling station, he was disappointed.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO; FORMER TEACHER - I come to vote and when I try to vote I found that on the voters roll there were two names Mbuso Moyo and those names actually did not bear any of my identity numbers so I was told these are not your names because they did not correspond with your ID number. I’m denied of the chance of the opportunity to express my political will and perhaps to choose. Those people are going to create some kind of inheritance for me.
UPS: - VOICER - Next we travelled east through the mountains to Bikita a village in Masvingo. It’s here that the mighty Zimbabwe ruins lie. Masvingo is in the province of Mashonaland a stronghold of the ruling party, ZANU-PF. This is Takwana Makaya home.
UPS: - TAKWANA MAKAYA; WITS STUDENT - When I left Johannesburg I was planning to see a failed state of things but when I got here I’m seeing fields with little maize I understand at least people are able to feed themselves.
UPS: - VOICER - It’s been six months since Takwana was last home. He went to South Africa to study but plans to come back to his wife and kid as soon as he graduates. Takwana’s family seems to be better off than the other families we visited. They survive off a small business his mother Regina runs.
UPS: - TAKWANA MAKAYA; WITS STUDENT - the crisis is about we not exporting as we used to do so we don’t have a lot of foreign currency in the country.
UPS: - VOICER - In recent years there’s been a decline in commercial farming. But there are thousands of subsistence farmers like Regina Makaya. Regina says she feeds her family and sells what’s left to the community.
UPS: - REGINA MAKAYA; TAKWANA’S MOM - We sell vegetables wrapped thousand a bundle, some onion, we just sell one thousand one, maize we just sell one thousand that what I used to sell. They don’t have money but there is trouble they just go somewhere and do something then they are given money so they come and buy vegetables to go and cook for their children so that they can survive.
UPS: - TAKWANA MAKAYA - Lot of youth are now unemployed they are in rural areas some of them they resort to drinking probably wanting to cope with the pressure of unemployment some of them are graduates, can you imagine a graduate student being in a rural area just sitting down. What do you do?
UPS: - VOICER - Takwana introduced us to his cousin Onwell Basikiti, an unemployed BSc Honours graduate from the University of Zimbabwe. Onwell has three weeks left in the National Youth Strategic Services. It’s compulsory if you want to get a job after studying. Onwell says once he completes the National Service programme he’ll get a certificate that will guarantee him employment.
UPS: - ONWELL BASIKITI - The National Service says youth, should be disciplined, should be patriotic should be volunteers - whatever - should be entrepreneurs. It is one of our government policy that everybody should get employment after going through this programme.
UPS: - VOICER - Many claim the National Youth Strategic Services has one aim to brainwash the youth. Graduates are known as ‘green bombers’ or the youth militia.
UPS: - ONWELL BASIKITI – ‘green bombers’ that is the name derived from the green uniform we dressed is green. There is other type of our house fly that is green and big that is a ‘green bomber’. People thought we are the youth militia but we are not. We are very born good born and bred Zimbabwean youth but I am from national youth service they come and say they beaten us but I never beaten anybody I don’t .
UPS: -VOICER - Onwell is married with a 3-month-old baby. He’s been unemployed for the past three years one of Zimbabwe’s many graduates without a job. Statistics reveal that unemployment is running at 70%. But Onwell is not fazed by being unemployed and he doesn’t blame the government.
UPS: - ONWELL BASIKITI - I don’t blame the government, the government has gotten hunger. Is the government God, no God is there he can rain, he cannot make rain. This year he did not give us rain there is no rain we are in a starvation we are in a hunger we don’t blame the government. But some psycho are blaming the government. There is hunger the government is causing the hunger can government make rainfall is it possible. The government gives me land to eat from so that is why I love my government. Should I get food from OK supermarket that is very impossible I don’t have money I use my land that is the part of entrepreneurship that we talking about. Being an entrepreneur - growing what I want eating what I want.
AD BREAK 2
UPS: - VOICER - Back in Johannesburg, we again met up with Mbuso Moyo. He says many young Zimbabweans come to South Africa looking for a better life.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO - Right now some people will say Zimbabweans are coming Johannesburg they want to congest the city because they want better life they like eGoli. It is not the situation. The situation at home is quite pathetic that is what drawing people to Johannesburg.
UPS: - VOICER - Gracious Chikadaya is also from Zimbabwe. She came to Johannesburg, hoping her diploma would help her get a job. Instead she says she ended up a packer at a supermarket.
UPS: - GRACIOUS CHIKADAYA - Actually I did beauty therapy at home so that maybe when I come here the chances will be a bit fine but then I couldn’t get a beauty therapy job just because I’m from Zimbabwe. When I produce my certificate and they just see that is stamped Zimbabwe they would not accept. Actually I just do it I really don’t like it I really wish I can get my actual job.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO - I’ve got a number of guys who are roaming around the streets in Johannesburg. They got degrees some of them we were together at the University of Zimbabwe they got nothing to do. Some of them are doing menial jobs they are packers at Checkers Hyper some are even security officers and those jobs do not befit their qualifications.
UPS: - VOICER - Takwana Makaya has put his time at Wits University to good use. He says not all Zimbabweans come to South Africa to take jobs from locals. Many come to study intending to go back home to help their country.
UPS: MAKAYA TAKWANA – South Africa is moving economically. South Africa is doing a lot in the investment in the education system so once I’m here and I’m studying in SA I become marketable internationally. Quiet diplomacy is working for me at any cost it is working for South Africa, because South Africa is benefiting economically. Everyday buses from Zimbabwe they go across the Limpopo. And people are coming here to buy many things because industries in Zimbabwe are closed down. South Africans are too xenophobic they think Zimbabweans is here to grab jobs are here to cause crime are here to do everything that is very very bad. It’s not like that some people are here legally like me. I’m here to pursue my academic career so I feel South Africans must not go Zimbabweans are like this and like that of course some people they move up to here because they are hungry they are pursuit of greener pastures.
UPS: - VOICER - For MDC activist Casper Ngwenya, being in Johannesburg has its own problems. He seeking refugee status. He says Zimbabwe is not safe for those who are politically active.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA – South Africans they are not supporting because most of the times there is this situation they are saying there is no war in Zimbabwe even if you try to explain and express the problem of this politics they are not understanding because what we are saying here we as Zimbabweans everything in South Africa is money.
PS: - VOICER - This is the Refugee Reception office in Rosettenville on an ordinary weekday. 4000 immigrants are said to come here daily desperate to be legal. For this they need an asylum-seeking permit.
UPS: - GIRLS 1 - Some people get papers I don’t know I really don’t know I cannot explain it I wish they could help everyone we are all Africans.
UPS: - VOICER - Immigrants know that with the asylum permit they’ll have access to education and be able to get work here.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA - There are many people there and they are pushing each other you can go there first person and but they ended up pushing you until you be last person.
UPS: - VOICER - Despite their country’s many problems, the young Zimbabweans we’d travelled with, were still hopeful for themselves and for their beloved country.
UPS: - MAKHAYA TAKWANA - We love Zimbabwe people still want to go back and work even me after this if things are fine I go back and work but the point is how can I go if I don’t get the remuneration that I want.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA - Your country is your country we want o go back there only that situation. If everything may change I think you will never see millions and millions of Zimbabwean here.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO - I’m proud of Zimbabwe but I’m really concerned about the present situation. I wish to come back home if there is a Zimbabwean renaissance I wish to take part to that.
End Credits:
sms the word “truth” plus your comments to 343 83. A selection of comments will appear on the special assignment website
Now an appeal to our viewers:
A miracle healing crusade is to be hosted in Lagos by American evangelist Benny Hinn at the end of April.
If you know anyone going there, please contact us by phone, fax or email.
VOICER: - It’s the eve of the Zimbabwe elections. Special Assignment has met up with three young Zimbabweans who plan to return to the country of their birth. They’re hoping that once they get there they’ll be able to take part in the elections and vote. Our journey to Zimbabwe starts in the suburb of Yeoville Johannesburg. Casper Ngwenya has been living in this flat for the past four years. During this time he’s never gone back home.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA; MDC ACTIVIST - If they are saying things are good in Zimbabwe they changed even anytime is still time I can go back because even when I go back at home I know there are many things that I can do.
UPS: - VOICER - It is estimated that almost three and a half million Zimbabweans live outside its borders. More than a million live in Johannesburg alone.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO; FORMER TEACHER - Zimbabwe is on the verge of rebirth – yes – maybe something is going to come up, so I see Zimbabwe as a pregnant woman she is going to deliver I think.
UPS: - VOICER - As these young men prepare to leave home is very much on their minds.
UPS: - TAKWANA MAKAYA - WITS STUDENT - The 1980’s Zimbabwe I used to know was lovely – was lovely awesome. Used to flow honey and milk. We used to afford everything we want.
PRE-TITLE: ZIMBABWE MY HOME
UPS: - VOICER - A day after leaving Johannesburg we arrive in Bulawayo - one of Zimbabwe’s major cities. Zimbabwe is a country of more than 12 million three quarters of them living in rural areas. It’s land-locked, surrounded by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. We’d heard alarming reports of food shortages, a lack of infrastructure and economic crisis. Despite these reports the city of Bulawayo was humming just a week before the country’s parliamentary elections. We left the buzz of Bulawayo and drove nearly 200 km to the small town of Lupane then another 70 km to Casper Ngwenya’s village in Mzola. There were few signs of life along the way. Casper is a 27 year old activist for the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party in Zimbabwe. Four years ago he fled his home for Johannesburg. He says as an activist, his life was under threat.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA; MDC ACTIVIST - I was running away from ZANU-PF. We jumped the fences about four fences including the razor wire.
UPS: - VOICER - Casper knows there’s widespread poverty at home. So he’s saved money from his part-time job in Johannesburg to buy food for his family.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA; MDC ACTIVIST - They found five donkeys crossing the border running away from Zimbabwe going to Botswana it shows that our country now poor there is nothing you cannot survive. People are dying because of hunger, you can get money but you can find that there is no mealie-meal there is no bread there is no sugar how are you going to survive, here you got money.
UPS: - VOICER - Casper left in a hurry when he ran away to South Africa. He says he didn’t even have time to say good bye to his family He believes this has brought him bad luck – he’s still struggling to find a proper job in Johannesburg. Today a goat will be slaughtered for his traditional cleansing ceremony. He hopes this’ll bring him luck and be at peace with his ancestors. And hopefully his family will forgive him for disappearing without a word.
UPS: - CASPER – What is your name?
UPS: - VOICER – It’s been four years since Casper last saw his sisters and brothers and his mother. He’s brought some basics home he knows they need them desperately.
UPS: - CASPER - I was very scared because I knew my mother to be so thin. When I saw how thin she was I realized things are difficult.
UPS: - SIBONGILE NGWENYA; CASPER’S MOM - Our lives are difficult. We don’t have food or clothes. We don’t have anything. Our clothes are hands-outs. We go for a week without food. Even if I ask my neighbours, they also have nothing.
UPS: - VOICER - For the Ngwenya family days like these are rare having their brother with them and enough food to last a few days.
UPS: - CASPER - It’s sad for me because I’m not working. My brothers who are with me in South Africa things are also tough for them. She is now left with small children who cry for her when they are hungry. This saddens me a lot.
UPS: - SIBONGILE NGWENYA - I have planted maize. But it’s dry not because it’s ripe but because there’s no rain. Even when I harvest the maize, how do I grind it? I don’t have money. When I do grind it, I don’t get a lot of meal. It’s just dry leaves. I tell my children that we need to grind this maize so that we can eat. But I don’t know how long this maize will last us. Maybe 2 to 3 months. Then there will be nothing left.
UPS: - VOICER - In April last year the World Food programme provided food aid to nearly half of Zimbabwe’s population. 38% of the country is said to be malnourished. In this area, so many men have left that the women and children now plough the fields and tend the cows. They draw water from bore holes drought has made life difficult for those who’ve stayed behind.
AD BREAK 1
UPS: - VOICER - Our journey through Zimbabwe led us to a village called Nyathi about 140 km from Bulawayo. Mbuso Moyo is a graduate of Zimbabwe University. He was once a secondary school teacher here with a salary of 1.8 million Zimbabwe dollars the equivalent of R1 400 rand a month Mbuso left his teaching post last year and went to Johannesburg looking for greener pastures. Six years ago half a million skilled Zimbabweans had already left their country.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO; FORMER TEACHER - The world is no longer looking at Zimbabwe and saying be proud and educated lot. When you finish university you are kind like having some dreams of becoming somebody in the job market. And so I quickly find a job in this school that was manna from heaven. A major problem was the salary. My first salary I was looking forward to buying a lot of things with my first salary, fancy things for example very good pair of takkies, sneakers, a very good suit, jeans and t-shirt. But then when came the month end I couldn’t buy any of those even a single one because the salary could not buy anything so that was the major frustration in my life.
UPS: - VOICER - Mbuso knows that once you live elsewhere, you’re expected to come home with food. Mbuso’s family lives in Inkosikazi, 40 km from the nearest shops. He buys food, he says, because he knows how desperate his family is.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO; FORMER TEACHER - When I approached home really I felt very bad within myself as it is now I feel very bad because the situation at home is bad. And as you see they have nothing and perhaps what I brought is going to push them to some distance. My father perhaps when he saw me he thought maybe I am a Jesus, I am a saviour I brought something to eat because they have nothing. Maybe it is my challenge to something.
UPS: - VOICER - To qualify as a voter one should have come home to register months ago. And be sure to be in the country on the day of voting. Mbuso did all that but when he got to the polling station, he was disappointed.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO; FORMER TEACHER - I come to vote and when I try to vote I found that on the voters roll there were two names Mbuso Moyo and those names actually did not bear any of my identity numbers so I was told these are not your names because they did not correspond with your ID number. I’m denied of the chance of the opportunity to express my political will and perhaps to choose. Those people are going to create some kind of inheritance for me.
UPS: - VOICER - Next we travelled east through the mountains to Bikita a village in Masvingo. It’s here that the mighty Zimbabwe ruins lie. Masvingo is in the province of Mashonaland a stronghold of the ruling party, ZANU-PF. This is Takwana Makaya home.
UPS: - TAKWANA MAKAYA; WITS STUDENT - When I left Johannesburg I was planning to see a failed state of things but when I got here I’m seeing fields with little maize I understand at least people are able to feed themselves.
UPS: - VOICER - It’s been six months since Takwana was last home. He went to South Africa to study but plans to come back to his wife and kid as soon as he graduates. Takwana’s family seems to be better off than the other families we visited. They survive off a small business his mother Regina runs.
UPS: - TAKWANA MAKAYA; WITS STUDENT - the crisis is about we not exporting as we used to do so we don’t have a lot of foreign currency in the country.
UPS: - VOICER - In recent years there’s been a decline in commercial farming. But there are thousands of subsistence farmers like Regina Makaya. Regina says she feeds her family and sells what’s left to the community.
UPS: - REGINA MAKAYA; TAKWANA’S MOM - We sell vegetables wrapped thousand a bundle, some onion, we just sell one thousand one, maize we just sell one thousand that what I used to sell. They don’t have money but there is trouble they just go somewhere and do something then they are given money so they come and buy vegetables to go and cook for their children so that they can survive.
UPS: - TAKWANA MAKAYA - Lot of youth are now unemployed they are in rural areas some of them they resort to drinking probably wanting to cope with the pressure of unemployment some of them are graduates, can you imagine a graduate student being in a rural area just sitting down. What do you do?
UPS: - VOICER - Takwana introduced us to his cousin Onwell Basikiti, an unemployed BSc Honours graduate from the University of Zimbabwe. Onwell has three weeks left in the National Youth Strategic Services. It’s compulsory if you want to get a job after studying. Onwell says once he completes the National Service programme he’ll get a certificate that will guarantee him employment.
UPS: - ONWELL BASIKITI - The National Service says youth, should be disciplined, should be patriotic should be volunteers - whatever - should be entrepreneurs. It is one of our government policy that everybody should get employment after going through this programme.
UPS: - VOICER - Many claim the National Youth Strategic Services has one aim to brainwash the youth. Graduates are known as ‘green bombers’ or the youth militia.
UPS: - ONWELL BASIKITI – ‘green bombers’ that is the name derived from the green uniform we dressed is green. There is other type of our house fly that is green and big that is a ‘green bomber’. People thought we are the youth militia but we are not. We are very born good born and bred Zimbabwean youth but I am from national youth service they come and say they beaten us but I never beaten anybody I don’t .
UPS: -VOICER - Onwell is married with a 3-month-old baby. He’s been unemployed for the past three years one of Zimbabwe’s many graduates without a job. Statistics reveal that unemployment is running at 70%. But Onwell is not fazed by being unemployed and he doesn’t blame the government.
UPS: - ONWELL BASIKITI - I don’t blame the government, the government has gotten hunger. Is the government God, no God is there he can rain, he cannot make rain. This year he did not give us rain there is no rain we are in a starvation we are in a hunger we don’t blame the government. But some psycho are blaming the government. There is hunger the government is causing the hunger can government make rainfall is it possible. The government gives me land to eat from so that is why I love my government. Should I get food from OK supermarket that is very impossible I don’t have money I use my land that is the part of entrepreneurship that we talking about. Being an entrepreneur - growing what I want eating what I want.
AD BREAK 2
UPS: - VOICER - Back in Johannesburg, we again met up with Mbuso Moyo. He says many young Zimbabweans come to South Africa looking for a better life.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO - Right now some people will say Zimbabweans are coming Johannesburg they want to congest the city because they want better life they like eGoli. It is not the situation. The situation at home is quite pathetic that is what drawing people to Johannesburg.
UPS: - VOICER - Gracious Chikadaya is also from Zimbabwe. She came to Johannesburg, hoping her diploma would help her get a job. Instead she says she ended up a packer at a supermarket.
UPS: - GRACIOUS CHIKADAYA - Actually I did beauty therapy at home so that maybe when I come here the chances will be a bit fine but then I couldn’t get a beauty therapy job just because I’m from Zimbabwe. When I produce my certificate and they just see that is stamped Zimbabwe they would not accept. Actually I just do it I really don’t like it I really wish I can get my actual job.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO - I’ve got a number of guys who are roaming around the streets in Johannesburg. They got degrees some of them we were together at the University of Zimbabwe they got nothing to do. Some of them are doing menial jobs they are packers at Checkers Hyper some are even security officers and those jobs do not befit their qualifications.
UPS: - VOICER - Takwana Makaya has put his time at Wits University to good use. He says not all Zimbabweans come to South Africa to take jobs from locals. Many come to study intending to go back home to help their country.
UPS: MAKAYA TAKWANA – South Africa is moving economically. South Africa is doing a lot in the investment in the education system so once I’m here and I’m studying in SA I become marketable internationally. Quiet diplomacy is working for me at any cost it is working for South Africa, because South Africa is benefiting economically. Everyday buses from Zimbabwe they go across the Limpopo. And people are coming here to buy many things because industries in Zimbabwe are closed down. South Africans are too xenophobic they think Zimbabweans is here to grab jobs are here to cause crime are here to do everything that is very very bad. It’s not like that some people are here legally like me. I’m here to pursue my academic career so I feel South Africans must not go Zimbabweans are like this and like that of course some people they move up to here because they are hungry they are pursuit of greener pastures.
UPS: - VOICER - For MDC activist Casper Ngwenya, being in Johannesburg has its own problems. He seeking refugee status. He says Zimbabwe is not safe for those who are politically active.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA – South Africans they are not supporting because most of the times there is this situation they are saying there is no war in Zimbabwe even if you try to explain and express the problem of this politics they are not understanding because what we are saying here we as Zimbabweans everything in South Africa is money.
PS: - VOICER - This is the Refugee Reception office in Rosettenville on an ordinary weekday. 4000 immigrants are said to come here daily desperate to be legal. For this they need an asylum-seeking permit.
UPS: - GIRLS 1 - Some people get papers I don’t know I really don’t know I cannot explain it I wish they could help everyone we are all Africans.
UPS: - VOICER - Immigrants know that with the asylum permit they’ll have access to education and be able to get work here.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA - There are many people there and they are pushing each other you can go there first person and but they ended up pushing you until you be last person.
UPS: - VOICER - Despite their country’s many problems, the young Zimbabweans we’d travelled with, were still hopeful for themselves and for their beloved country.
UPS: - MAKHAYA TAKWANA - We love Zimbabwe people still want to go back and work even me after this if things are fine I go back and work but the point is how can I go if I don’t get the remuneration that I want.
UPS: - CASPER NGWENYA - Your country is your country we want o go back there only that situation. If everything may change I think you will never see millions and millions of Zimbabwean here.
UPS: - MBUSO MOYO - I’m proud of Zimbabwe but I’m really concerned about the present situation. I wish to come back home if there is a Zimbabwean renaissance I wish to take part to that.
End Credits:
sms the word “truth” plus your comments to 343 83. A selection of comments will appear on the special assignment website
Now an appeal to our viewers:
A miracle healing crusade is to be hosted in Lagos by American evangelist Benny Hinn at the end of April.
If you know anyone going there, please contact us by phone, fax or email.