Swaziland May 2006 |
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| Bread, tea, rice, beans in SA jail, (Swazi Observer, 2006-05-09):-The 17 released border jumpers have decried deplorable conditions in a South African jail where they were arrested for contravening South Africa’s Immigration Act. When they left Swaziland they were only prepared to eat delicacies which are the norm in weddings. However, they were forced to settle for bread and tea for the whole week. Eddie Nxumalo said the diet was not balanced and exposed them to sickness. “In the mornings and evenings we ate bread and tea. During the day we ate rice and beans. We were starving all the time because we did not have enough food to sustain us until another meal was served,” he added. Nxumalo said the blankets they slept with were also dirty and dusty, which affected his health condition. He said he developed chest pains and blamed such on the dirty blankets. I inhaled the dust all night because I had no option, given the cold nights,” he said. Nxumalo stated that there were 13 males and four females in the arrested group. “The males slept in a separate police cell while the females were accommodated in another. Where we were, we found that there were four Mozambicans who had prior been arrested for illegal immigration. They said they were picked from the villages where they were staying,” he stated. Some who were arrested at Phongola early this year complained that they were lampooned by South African suspects in the cells and forced to dance all night, accusing them of stealing their jobs. Those were arrested after having illegally crossed the fence to work in a South African’s farm where they harvested potatoes. Nxumalo said the arrested Swazis appeared at the Piet Retief Magistrates’ Court where they were found guilty and sentenced to a month imprisonment with the option of a fine. They fined E500 each and were released. “However, some of us stand to lose jobs because we were not on duty for a whole week,” stated Nxumalo. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |