Zimbabwe: Neighbors in Need

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A young man enters South Africa on the Zimbabwe-South Africa border. Since 2005 an estimated 1 to 1.5 million Zimbabweans have fled persecution and economic destitution in Zimbabwe, most entering South Africa undocumented and undetected by the South African authorities. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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Women queue for water at a natural water spring in the overpopulated area of Tafara Mabvuku outside Harare. Zimbabwe’s water and sanitation infrastructure has collapsed as a result of the economic crisis. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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In the South African border town Musina, a group that describes itself as an ’underground pro-democracy movement’ has put up a roadside billboard with a message for arriving immigrants. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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A grave in the extension of the Warrenpark Hills cemetery in Harare; the old cemetery is full. Zimbabwe’s economic collapse, AIDS crisis and the lack of access to health care has pushed life expectancy below 37 years. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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Young Zimbabwean men enter South Africa near the Limpopo river, on the Zimbabwe-South Africa border. They join hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans who have entered South Africa in a similar way. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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The Methodist Church in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, run by Bishop Paul Verryn, offers shelter every night to approximately 1300 asylum seekers and undocumented foreign nationals, most of whom are from Zimbabwe. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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A boy shops at a supermarket in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city. Because of Zimbabwe’s economic collapse, shops are empty. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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The Methodist Church in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, run by Bishop Paul Verryn, offers shelter every night to approximately 1300 asylum seekers and undocumented foreign nationals, most of whom are from Zimbabwe. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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A note on the front door of the Refugee Ministries Centre, an NGO in Johannesburg, South Africa, assisting asylum seekers with problems on their legal status. Between April 2006 and March 2007 almost 20,000 Zimbabweans claimed asylum in South Africa, making up about one-third of all asylum applications in the country. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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Over 1000 refugees from Zimbabwe queue every Thursday and Friday in South Africa at Pretoria’s Marabastad Refugee Reception Office to apply for asylum. Due to the dysfunctional nature of South Africa’s asylum system, many find it impossible to gain access to the office and those who do face repeated problems in securing documentation proving their status as asylum seekers. Documentation is essential to protect asylum seekers from arrest and deportation and gives them the right to work and study in South Africa. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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Homeless and jobless, hundreds of Zimbabweans live and sleep near Pretoria’s Refugee Reception Office,in South Africa, on disused land without any facilities. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
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A street child sells bread in the evening on the black market in the densely populated area of Warrenpark in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. © 2007 Dirk-Jan Visser 126472
Political repression and economic deprivation have forced Zimbabweans to flee their country to South Africa. Human Rights Watch called on the South African government to grant Zimbabweans temporary status and work rights.
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