Thousands of Malawians still waiting for repatriation from Durban

Women and children wait in line to get on buses going back to Malawi. Photo: Tsoanelo Sefoloko

“Everywhere I go, people call me names,” said Yasin Hussain, who is one of thousands of Malawians waiting at Sherwood in Durban for a bus to take him back to Malawi.

Hussain, who arrived in South Africa about five years ago, said he had been working as a street vendor. He has now decided to return to Malawi following the announcement of the 30 June deadline set by anti-immigrant groups.

“I am running away because it is not easy here in South Africa,” Hussain told GroundUp.

When we visited the camp on Thursday, thousands of people were still waiting for a bus home. Officials from the Malawian government and the South African Department of Home Affairs were trying to register the names of the Malawians before they before they wenthome.

Mufti Sulaiman from the Malawi High Commission put the number of people waiting at 4,500. But Cassim Malani, founder of Muslim Relief South Africa, told GroundUp that his organisation is now serving three meals a day to 10,000 people at the Sherwood site.

The number keeps fluctuating, Sulaiman said. The first people arrived on Sunday.

On Thursday, five buses, three from South Africa and two from Malawi, had left for Malawi, said Sulaiman. Seven more Malawian buses were expected during the day.

Thousands of people have gathered with their belongings. Photo: Joseph Bracken

A new site in Durban North Beach to handle overflow from Sherwood would probably be ready by the end of Thursday, said Cyril Mncwabe, KwaZulu-Natal provincial manager for the Department of Home Affairs.

According to Mncwabe, the repatriation process has been lengthy, and buses will probably still be leaving for Malawi next week.

Many Malawians at the site echoed Hussain’s concerns.

One man, who asked to remain anonymous, said the situation had left many with no choice but to leave. “We came here to work and support our families, but now we are forced to go back with nothing. It is painful, but we have no option,” he said.

Adam Jaffali, who is also seeking repatriation to Malawi, told GroundUp that he had been at the site since the first people arrived. The situation on the site had deteriorated, he said. “We have to line up for hours to eat, we can’t even bath properly,” said Jaffali.

Rubbish piles up outside the toilets at Sherwood. Photo: Joseph Bracken

When GroundUp visited, water was being rationed through water tanks, and electricity was not readily available. According to Malani, organisations providing services to the Malawians have to get electricity from the nearby Mosque.

In an interview with News24 on Wednesday, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli said that the Sherwood site could “end up being a disaster if not well managed, because the number of people in a confined space was too high.” He also put the number at 10,000.

In the interview, Ntuli said that the marquees on site would not be able to accommodate even 20% of the people there. If it rained, he said, there would be no shelter for the others.

Razor wire has been installed around the site. Photo: Joseph Bracken

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