Anxious times as amnesty deadline nears

But the scorching sun today is hardly on 32-year old Terrence Masikas list of worries as he shifts and shuffles along in the queue with thousands of other Zimbabwean immigrants anxiously waiting to submit his application for a work permit here at the Johannesburg offices of South Africas department of home affairs along Harrison Street.

I have been sleeping here for three days, but I have only been able to get forms to fill in, so I am back for the fingerprints, Masika says, as he sweeps his forehead with the back of his palm, mopping the sweat.

But it is not the seemingly endless queue, nor the sweltering heat that worries Masika or his fellow illegal immigrants waiting here or at various home affairs facilities in all major cities across South Africa.

Christmas visit

What worries the immigrants is that they may not be able to acquire permits by Christmas, meaning they would have to forgo the traditional end of year visit back home to see family and friends for fear they will this time round not be able to skip the border back into South Africa.

While tens of thousands of Zimbabweans regularly entered South Africa illegally, talk within an anxious Zimbabwean immigrant community here is that this time it might not be possible after Pretoria vowed to not only deport all illegal Zimbabwean immigrants once the amnesty on deportation expires but to also seal the borders and ensure no more illegal entry.

If I do not mange to get a permit, then it means no more home visits during this festive season or at any other occasion for a long time to come, said Simon Chimbeu, a barman at a club in Rosebank, one of Johannesburgs top districts.

I do not think it would be wiser to go anywhere near the border once home affairs (South African) start this campaign we hear they will launch once the permit deadline expires, said Chimbeu, echoing the fears of most Zimbabweans staying here illegally.

Anxious times

These are anxious times for illegal Zimbabweans immigrants. The official position is that once the clock strikes 12 midnight on December 31, any Zimbabwean immigrant caught without a permit to stay in South Africa will be immediately arrested and taken to a holding centre before they are deported back to Zimbabwe.

Although officials in Pretoria have on countless times emphasised that they do not plan to launch a campaign with police and trucks prowling the suburbs, rounding up illegal Zimbabwean immigrants for deportation such massages have not done much to calm the fears of Masika, Chimbeu or the next illegal Zimbabwean immigrant you meet on the street.

Besides, the mere fact that after December 31 one could be easily deported if they fail to produce a valid permit seems to far outweigh any official assurances that they will not be a manhunt for illegal Zimbabwean immigrants.

The only way out, it seems, is to endure these never ending queues and hope that at the end of the tortuous journey ones application for a permit is successful.

The procedure to apply is on paper a very simply and straightforward process.

To apply for a South African permit one must submit a valid Zimbabwean passport and proof of employment in the form of an official letter from a registered company or an affidavit from an employer.

Hostile, incompetent

Once one provides proof that they are a citizen of Zimbabwe working, studying or engaged in business in South Africa they are then issued withy an application form and advised of the date on which to return the forms to the application centre and upon which they will also have their fingerprints taken for home affairs records.

After one submits the application form and have had their fingerprints taken all they now need to do is to wait for an SMS confirming that their application is being processed and the date when they should come and collect their permit. An SMS is also sent to applicants once the permit is out.

But that is how the system works on paper. In reality it is a journey to hell and back, to use the old and tired clich.

For starters many of the immigrants do not have birth certificates, national identity documents or passports to show that they are Zimbabweans and will therefore have to spend days queuing at Zimbabwean consulate offices to obtain these before they can apply for South African permits.

Thousands of the immigrants were by last week still trying to obtain passports amid growing fears that many will not make the deadline to submit applications for permits.

Then there is the problem of an understaffed and traditionally incompetent South African home affairs bureaucracy that in addition is also well known for its hostile attitude towards foreigners especially from Zimbabwe.

A quick look at the statistics coming from the South African home affairs department is a good indicator of the kind of logjam the whole process seems headed for.

According to the latest figures from the departments, out of the 73 400 applications received so far, 46 000 are yet to be processed — and this less than four weeks before deadline day, while multitudes continue to gather at home affairs centres to submit their applications.

At least 5 000 applications have been rejected since the process started in September and this raises another problem what to do with those wishing to appeal against rejection of their initial applications.

Rejected applications

The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (Cormsa) believes the December deadline must be pushed back to at least June next year to avoid the whole scheme collapsing in chaos.

We havent any indication (from government) whether (extension of deadline) this is possible, Cormsa director Caroline Wanjau told the media last week.

What is of concern to us is there are still issues such as people waiting for their passports. The first batch of those passports was only delivered by the end of October, said Wanjau, whose group fights for the rights immigrants and refuges in South Africa.

According to Wanjau, Cormsa was pushing for a meeting with government officials to discuss the appeals process on rejected applications among other issues, which means that, perhaps, not all hope is lots for those whose applications have been turned down.

However it is not all doom and gloom for every immigrant. For the about 20 000 who have had their applications for permits approved, it is the proverbial dawning of a new era.

Barbara Nkowani is a teacher who has lived in South Africa for the past nine years using fake documents. And this, according to her, is how her situation has dramatically changed since she got her permit.

I used to be scared of being caught by the police but now I am free; I can now move around freely and I can even go home and come back easily, she told The Zimbabwean on Sunday. She can count herself luck.

As for Masika and his fellow immigrants waiting with him in that long queue along Harrison Street, its still going to be many more days of anxious waiting.