Zimbabwean migrants destabilise the north of South Africa

The large number of Zimbabwean refugees who have flooded into the north of South Africa since 2001 place a heavy burden on the region. There is growing frustration and bitterness among existing residents. Serious disturbances in Johannesburg mean that many refugees prefer to remain in rural areas.

For the white farmers there, they represent cheap labour; for the large number of unemployed South African agricultural labourers, Zimbabwean immigrants represent a threat. The result is growing conflict, and calls from the people of South Africa for detention camps to house these cross-border migrants.

Thomas Scheen
Correspondent
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Johannesburg, South Africa

t.scheen@faz.de

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