In photos: Immigrants stream to repatriation site in Durban

The Old Drive-in site has received thousands of displaced immigrants, mainly from Malawi, who want to be repatriated ahead of the March and March 30 June deadline. Photos: Ihsaan Haffejee

The Old Drive-in site in Durban, which has been a temporary repatriation site for displaced immigrants since last week, is to be relocated to Musina in Limpopo. But a lack of buses has delayed the relocation, with more people arriving at the site.

On Saturday, the eThekwini municipality said it had resolved to relocate the Malawian nationals from the site in Durban to a newly established makeshift repatriation site closer to the border in Musina, Limpopo.

A group of Malawian men arrive at the repatriation camp in the back of a bakkie. The municipality has urged people to stop directing displaced immigrants to the site.

When GroundUp contacted Mandla Nsele, marketing and communications director for eThekwini, to ask about a timeline, he said that they were aiming to have everyone out of the site by Monday. But he acknowledged they were also struggling to organise enough buses.

By midday on Sunday, no buses had left for the Musina site. They were also still collating the numbers for how many people had left the site yesterday, he said.

Friends talk through the camp’s perimeter fence on Saturday night.

On Sunday morning, there were no people getting on buses and no indication that buses were nearing departures. At about 10:30am guards opened the gates to hundreds more people who had been lining up outside.

According to the national government, more than 15,000 Malawian nationals have been deported or voluntarily repatriated since the processing began.

The municipality has urged people to stop directing displaced immigrants to the site.

The new Musina site aims to speed up the process of repatriation and reduce pressure at other repatriation sites, according to the eThekwini statement.

A mother and child arrive at the camp in the evening, hoping to be repatriated to Malawi on Saturday night.

There is limited water supply for washing up at the camp.

A woman sells vetkoek through the fence to immigrants staying in the repatriation site.

Malawian nationals wait in line for food in the early hours of Sunday morning at the makeshift repatriation site at the Old Drive-in.

Friends huddled around fires to keep warm early on Sunday.

A bag carrying the belongings of a Malawian national reads “I love Africa” as he waits in line with hundreds of other people to enter the makeshift camp in Durban.

The municipality has urged people to stop directing displaced immigrants to the site.

An aerial view of the Old Drive-in Site where thousands of Malawian immigrants are being repatriated.

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