Hard times for Zimbabwean job-seekers

White City bus stop in Gaborone, across the road from the Ministry of Finance, is the informal job centre for Zimbabweans looking to scrape a living in Botswana. From first thing in the morning until dusk, groups of young men and women wait patiently by the roadside hoping to be picked up as casual labour. It's usually a long and frustrating wait, punctuated by the occasional sarcastic comment from passing Batswana motorists, or attempts by the police to enforce anti-loitering laws and move them on. Among the Zimbabweans IRIN talked to were printers, carpenters, bricklayers and a former salesman. They all spoke of the difficulty of trying to make ends meet in Botswana - pointing to a growing antagonism from Batswana, alleged police harassment, the risks of exploitation by employers, and overcrowded living conditions among similarly disadvantaged friends or relatives. But they were unanimous in stressing that prospects were even worse back home in Zimbabwe. "It's stressful, it's very difficult to survive in this town, but in Zimbabwe jobs are hard to come by," said one man, who asked not to be named. Trained as a printer, he had been in Gaborone for two weeks trying to find "any kind of work". "We are being killed that side, we're coming here to survive. The war there is not political violence, the war is hunger," another young man explained. The lack of employment prospects at home, shortages of basic commodities and the strength of the Pula against Zimbabwe's devalued currency have attracted the more enterprising - or desperate - to Botswana, which alongside South Africa ranks as the region's most prosperous and stable economy. A senior immigration official at the Ministry of Home Affairs, two blocks away from White City, said the influx of Zimbabweans was "alarming". While those looking for work at the bus stop told IRIN they all had passports and entry permits, the official said the bulk of Zimbabweans crossing into the country were illegal "border jumpers". In the run-up to Zimbabwe's controversial presidential election in March 2002, Botswana introduced a contingency plan to cope with a potential influx of refugees fleeing political unrest. The preparations proved unnecessary. Only 25 asylum seekers have so far been received. Far more serious for the authorities has been the numbers of illegal immigrants. According to the authorities, 200 Zimbabweans are arrested each day, and transferred to a detention facility in Francistown, 500 km northeast of Gaborone, before being taken to the border. "It's an economic drain for Botswana to continue to receive and return illegals," an official in the Office of the President told IRIN. "Our asylum landscape does not entertain economic migrants." Zimbabweans are willing to take on the jobs most Batswana shun as too lowly paid, such as farm labourers and maids. But as their numbers increase, so reportedly has public complaints over their presence. The government-produced newspaper Dikgang on Thursday reported that during a series of parliamentary debates last week, the issue of the influx of Zimbabweans was raised repeatedly. While Member of Parliament (MP) Ambrose Masalila reportedly said "such people are an asset that can solve the problem of lack of farm labourers in the country", Gaborone Central MP Margaret Nasha suggested that residents of White City regarded the "presence of such people as a nuisance". "Every other person you see at White City is a Zimbabwean," she claimed. She accused the job-seekers of vagrancy and harassing residents. White City has a growing reputation for crime. But a Zimbabwean, who had recently arrived in Gaborone, told IRIN: "We don't want to harm anyone, we just want to work." One young woman, with two children back in Zimbabwe and looking for a job as a maid, complained that the police have cracked down in Gaborone. "Even if you have a passport the police chase you away, they say they don't want to see us here," she said.