IOM Assessment in South Africa Finds Migrants, Particularly Minors, in Need of Greater Protection
An IOM survey of migrants in South Africa's northern province of
Limpopo has found them, and in particular, unaccompanied minors in
dire need of humanitarian assistance and greater protection from
the risks they face as largely undocumented migrants.
The survey, part of a wider IOM programme aimed at providing
protection assistance to Zimbabwean migrants in Limpopo province,
and carried out in the town of Musina and surrounding areas, found
a crushing need for adequate shelter, food and sanitation in an
area that is already affected by cholera.
In the last 12 months, Musina, which is 20kms from the Zimbabwean
border, has been put under immense pressure from the convergence of
migrants and asylum-seekers. Second only to Johannesburg as the
place cited by the migrants as the intended final destination, this
small town is experiencing immigration patterns similar to that of
a major metropolis.
Questioning 1,115 migrants, 97 per cent of them Zimbabweans and
169 of them unaccompanied minors, IOM researchers found that
already physically weakened by the worsening situation in Zimbabwe,
the migrants' health was further deteriorating after their arrival
in South Africa. This was due to the lack of food, adequate shelter
and sanitation and in some cases, access to health care for fear of
being deported.
Most respondents were living, bathing, cooking and sleeping
outdoors with most reporting having very little to eat and
dependent on food distributions from local churches as the source
of their only meal of the day, if at all.
The humanitarian situation, the survey found, was exacerbated by
many of the migrants unable to find stable and gainful employment
that would help them fend for themselves and allow them to send
money back home. This was largely due to problems securing their
legal status in the country, constant threat of deportation,
violence, and the theft of their belongings and resulting
destitution trapping many into a cycle where employment and
stability becomes impossible.
This was particularly worrying as almost everyone surveyed by
IOM cited the search for work to support the many dependents left
behind in Zimbabwe as their reason for going to South Africa. Only
37 per cent of the migrants were able to earn money, though most of
them earned less than USD 100 a month, far below the national
average of over USD 600 a month.
The assessment also found that the journey from Zimbabwe to
South Africa for many was fraught with considerable dangers and
risks including physical and gender-based violence such as rape,
robbery and detention. Nearly 30 per cent of respondents had
experienced some form of violence and/or robbery during their
journey, largely carried out by thieves operating on both sides of
the border, human smugglers and strangers.
The survey also highlighted the urgent need to provide greater
protection to unaccompanied minors. The youngest to be interviewed
by IOM was a six-year-old girl who, having been separated from her
mother, had been forced to beg to survive before falling victim to
robbery.
Nearly a third of the unaccompanied minors interviewed said they
had experienced violence along their journey, including sexual
assault or robbery, with the majority of all the minors having
travelled either alone or with friends or strangers encountered
along the route.
A key recommendation of the study funded by the US State
Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) was
to prioritise the reunification of the children with parents or
guardians, a programme IOM is already carrying out in close
coordination with authorities on both sides of the border but which
needs to be strengthened. Where reunification with family is not
possible, the study recommends integrating the children into host
communities, including enrolling them in school in order to lessen
their vulnerability to violence, crime, poor health and to improve
their future prospects.
Other IOM recommendations include improving access to
regularized migration options and until that happens, community
services that provide food, sanitary facilities and shelter should
be bolstered. The provision of semi-permanent shelter which would
connect migrants with services and where they would feel safe was
also important, particularly as there were no shelters at the
moment for young girls and men while existing church shelters for
boys and women couldn't meet the growing demand.
To enhance the understanding of challenges faced by migrants in
Limpopo province, IOM will soon commence a comparative assessment
in the town of Makhado, which is deeper inside South Africa, but
which also hosts a considerable number of immigrants.
The full report is available online at:
For further information, please contact:
Nde Ndifonka
IOM Pretoria
Tel: +27 71 689 9966
E-mail:
"mailto:nndifonka@iom.int">nndifonka@iom.int