Zimbabwe October 2006 |
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| Voluntary returns a hard sell to Zimbabweans, (Zimbabwe Journalists.com, 2006-10-02):-Mrs V runs a successful restaurant which she opened in Chegutu upon her return from the United Kingdom. She returned to Zimbabwe in 2004 after her children failed to get used to life in the UK. Life was equally tough when she arrived back home because “things were no longer the way they were when we first left the country”. She was given assistance by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to set up a pay phone business. The venture paid off resulting in her family managing to invest in the restaurant that now employs at least six people. In another case, Mrs R spent eight years in the UK before going back to Kenya with her young daughter. She decided to go into farming and with the IOM’s assistance she managed to buy some cows and bulls to help her set up a small dairy project on her grandfather’s farm. She had no experience looking after animals but with IOM and her grandfather on hand to assist, the project has become a big success story. These are two examples that form part of a brochure the IOM has put together to tell the successful story of its scheme that assists people who voluntarily want to return to their countries of origin. “Stories of Return: Africa”, an account of the success that the IOM’s Reintegration Fund has achieved since 2002, formed part of the literature that was available to various community leaders and journalists from Zimbabwe who were last week invited by the IOM to talk about voluntary returns to Zimbabwe. An official from the IOM set the ball rolling by talking about his organisation and its programmes around the world. He talked about many things, including the Assisted Voluntary Returns for Irregular Migrants, the IOM reintegration programmes and related issues. The reintegration fund was created in June 2002 to provide financial assistance for returnees who return under its voluntary returns scheme. Reintegration consists of vocational training courses, help in setting up small businesses and education. The reintegration does not give cash to returnees and all assistance in done with the returnee is already in their country. Jan De Wilde the IOM UK boss explained to the room full of Zimbabweans from different pressure groups and organisations representing Zimbabweans in the UK how the IOM can help those wanting to go back home. Since receiving letters promising them up to £3 000 if they returned to Zimbabwe voluntarily, some failed asylum seekers had taken up the offer with at least 15 having so far been helped to go back home. The scheme is coming to an end this month and the IOM would be happy to assist more people to return to Zimbabwe voluntarily. It is not yet clear what would happen when this scheme is finished but there have been suggestions of a new scheme with better incentives to lure people into going back home or the British government would be stepping up its efforts to enforce forced removals. Question time showed there was so much suspicion between the IOM and the Zimbabweans in the room, most of whom felt the IOM was being used by the Home Office to do its “dirty” work to remove failed asylum seekers and irregular migrants by dangling money in front of them. So vocal were representatives from the women’s movement, the youth, the United Network for Detained Zimbabweans in the UK and others. Most people thought there now was an image problem for the IOM as it was being forced to help people return to Zimbabwe after the Home Office created difficult conditions for their continued stay. Failed asylum seekers are not allowed to work here and others do not receive support from the government to survive resulting in some of them living under very harsh conditions. First there were problems about the £3 000 which others thought was not enough given the inflationary conditions in Zimbabwe. Wilde explained the returnee was given £500 at the airport and the remaining £ 2 500 of which $ 1 500 can be given to the returnee in additional cash payments quarterly with the rest given in kind assistance. While others from Zimbabwe wanted to know what the IOM would do in the event of a new dispensation in the country so people would go back to help rebuild their country, most representatives were worried about the safety of returnees. They were also concerned about the plight of returnees who could have been assisted by the IOM and were affected by Operation Murambatsvina and those who are on HIV/Aids drugs here in the UK. Wilde said the IOM had made representations to the Zimbabwe government after one returnee, a woman in Bulawayo, had officers from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) knocking on her door to ask some questions. He said the government of Zimbabwe has since apologised saying it was a mistake and promised it would never happen again. Wilde said the IOM was working on setting up a radio station or to work with radio stations to allow more stories from Africa to be told and for those still in the UK to communicate with those who have received IOM assistance to help them make up their minds. The reintegration programme does not have long-term medical support for people living with HIV/Aids or those who have terminal illnesses. Some participants in the heated meeting wanted to know the reasons that were pushing some Zimbabweans to take up the offer and go back to Zimbabwe. Wilde said it was clear from talking to a number of people that there was a greater chance for someone to win the lottery here than being deported back to their country of origin. The suspicions about the IOM and its programmes spilled over with some even accusing it of working in cahoots with both the British and the Zimbabwe governments in trying to lure Zimbabweans to go back home. The biggest problem came with the revelations that the IOM had signed an agreement with the Home Office on the reintegration of involuntary returnees from the UK to Zimbabwe. People like Godfrey Nyandoro the Organising Secretary for the Zimbabwe Action Group (UK) and Arthur Molife thought the IOM was being untruthful and was being used in a “good cop – bad cop” kind of situation by the Home Office. Wilde had not talked about the scheme until asked about it. It was clear the two groups did not agree on what needs to be done for now. Most of the Zimbabweans believed now was not the time to sell such programmes to people whose country is in the midst of a political and economic crisis. The suspicions were not entirely cleared and it remains to be seen whether more Zimbabweans will take up the offer to return voluntarily so their stories can form part of the successful return stories. The Home Office was not represented at the meeting and the IOM took all the frustrations that Zimbabweans here have with the John Reid's office. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |