Heated debate at IOM conference

an Africa Consultation Day to discuss ways of developing their Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP). The programme is funded by the UK Home Office and the European Refugee Fund. It offers asylum seekers, whose claims have failed or who are still in the process of claiming asylum, help in returning to their countries and financial assistance to be used for further education, training or in setting up a small business. The reintegration package has been increased from £1000 to £3000 per family member until June this year.
The offer of increased reintegration assistance comes at a worrying time for many Zimbabwean asylum seekers. Having won their appeal against the AA ruling, the Home Office is searching for further evidence to present to a tribunal later this year, that it is safe to return Zimbabwean asylum seekers. In light of this sensitive issue, Zimbabweans at the conference were frustrated with the way the IOM was marketing VARRP.
Emmanual Nyoni from Zimbabwean Action Group said: “The case IOM is giving to the Home Office is logically flawed. They are going to use this workshop and these figures to say it is safe to send Zimbabweans back. All this is against a background of tagging and deportation – we are being coerced into returning.”
IOM’s Chief of Mission, Jan Wilder insisted that they were “not in the business” of “forcing” people to return. “People come to us, we don’t go to them,” he said, adding that IOM does not play a part in the “political process” in the UK. “The question of the right to stay in the UK is a sovereign prerogative and we cannot interfere in that,” he said.
The IOM refused to discuss security issues at the conference despite several questions about the safety of returnees, many of whom fled Zimbabwe because they had been threatened or even tortured by government officials. Wilder did assure Zimbabweans that “returns we have assisted to Zimbabwe have been successful” adding that he only knew of one case where someone had been questioned “for a while by the CIO” on return. “It was a woman from Bulawayo in March 2004. We brought this incident to the attention of the government. The government was satisfactorily responsive,” he said.
Dyane Epstein, an IOM representative from Harare said that people were misinformed about the situation in Zimbabwe. “People are scared to go back, once they get back we are finding that it wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be,” she said. IOM has helped 105 Zimbabwean returnees set up small businesses since the scheme was set up in 2002 while other returnees opted for further education or training. Epstein said most of these people were now running successful businesses in diverse areas. One returned asylum seeker had set up a hardware store, whilst another was running a thriving peanut butter business. Once they have helped someone start a business, the IOM monitors them every three months for a year to try and ensure the success of the enterprise.
However, given the state of the Zimbabwean economy and hyperinflation, starting a business and purchasing the necessary goods has become especially difficult. In addition to this Derek Bvochora (IOM Harare) admitted that some of the people he had helped saw their businesses destroyed during Operation Murambatsvina. “We had a few people affected by Operation Murambatsvina especially those opening small shops. Some people had to sell their items quickly and then ventured into other legal businesses,” he said.
Wilder expressed his hope that those attending the conference would inform their communities about the reintegration package and also come up with suggestions on how to improve it. He reiterated that IOM is “an operational organisation, we are trying to help individuals we can’t right the wrongs of the world.” He added: “We hope that we can work with you on the basis that we leave the political advocacy to groups who exist for that purpose.”