Over 100,000 Zimbabweans flee to neighbouring Malawi

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

BLANTYRE – With Zimbabwe facing chronic food shortages and inflation pegged at almost 8,000 percent, over 100 000 Zimbabweans has fled to Malawi in search for food, employment and peace.

Civil society organisations in Malawi have warned the influx of Zimbabweans into Malawi might hurt Malawi’s economy as the foreigners will be scrambling locally available resources such as food and employment.

Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI) executive director Rafik Hajat said research by the civil society organisations have revealed that since the start of problems in Zimbabwe in 2000, over 100,000 people had fled that country to find solace in Malawi.

“The problem is that these people are not treated like refugees from the war-torn Great Lakes region. They are being absorbed into our societies,” said Hajat warning that if nothing was done to stabilise the situation, the number was likely to swell hence putting more pressure on Malawi.

Malawi’s Immigration Department however said it was difficult to quantify the figures of Zimbabweans who entered Malawi.

Meanwhile another civil society organisation, the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) says a recent research shows that 42 percent of Zimbabweans flooding into the country are escaping economic hardships.

A research: ‘The displacement of Zimbabweans into Malawi and the Implications for Poverty Eradication Efforts’ conducted in April 2007 by the organisation further says 11.5 percent of Zimbabweans left because of political instability while 8 percent fled in fear of political persecution.

CHRR says its findings reveal that 52.4 percent of Malawians view the migration of the Zimbabweans as beneficial to the country, while 28.6 percent think the situation was negatively affecting the country due to increased prostitution and HIV prevalence rate.

The research reveals that Malawi businesses seem to be main beneficiaries as they are acquiring Zimbabwean goods on the cheap prices on the local market.

CHRR Programme Officer, Veronica Njikho said the migrating Zimbabweans have created immerse problems to Malawi citing the monopoly in getting employment favouring Zimbabweans especially in companies originally from Zimbabwe.

“The coming in of Zimbabwean companies has aggravated the problem as they are only employing their countrymen against the already increasing levels of unemployed in the country,” said Njikho.

He said some Zimbabweans were also obtaining counterfeit Malawian passports thereby denting the country’s image.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition led the research with its regional partners; CHRR in Malawi and Southern Africa Legal Assistance Network of Zambia and the Botswana Centre for Human Rights with an objective of gathering information on the extent of displacement of Zimbabweans and the implications on poverty reduction strategy. SMS Features- Malawi

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