IOM Press Briefing Notes - 24 July 2009 (alleen beschikbaar in het engels)
SOUTH AFRICA - Survey Highlights Migrants' Needs and Vulnerabilities - A new IOM survey on the needs and vulnerabilities of undocumented migrants in South Africa's northernmost Limpopo province calls for urgent humanitarian assistance for particularly vulnerable groups, such as unaccompanied minors, women and victims of sexual and gender-based violence and other crimes.
This survey, based on field assessments conducted by IOM between February and March 2009 in and around the town of northern town of Musina, finds that economic desperation and lack of options at home are forcing tens of thousands of people to engage into perilous journeys through treacherous border areas, to jump or crawl under border fences or wade across the Limpopo River using unscrupulous intermediaries who regularly abuse them.
It underlines that many migrants, especially unaccompanied minors and women, face brutalities and gender based violence at the hands of their smugglers who act with impunity and with little or no fear of prosecution from the authorities.
As part of the survey, IOM interviewed 214 unaccompanied minors, 75% of whom were boys. The research suggests that one of the major motivating factors for children to migrate is family reunification or family breakdown. Eighteen percent said they experienced violence or robbery along their journey and showed signs of deep psychological trauma from the horrendous experiences they went through during the migration process.
The report details the story of migrants who sustained injuries from crawling under razor wire fences to enter South Africa and of woman who experienced multiple sexual assaults. In most cases, victims said they were not aware of existing health facilities or that they simply wanted to continue their journey to Johannesburg without interruption.
The survey finds that 84 % of the 1,128 respondents cited economic reasons or lack of employment opportunities as reasons for leaving their homes, while 6 % said they had left their homes out of fear of political, religious or ethnic persecution.
Many respondents said they regularly travelled back and forth between Zimbabwe and South Africa, particularly cross-border traders and farm-workers.
According to the survey, migrants continue to have difficulties in finding meaningful and well-paid employment in South Africa. In total, 55% of respondents said they had some form of income and the majority were earning less than R 1,000 ($US 130) per month.
Remittances continue to be a major driving force behind migrants' decision to travel to South Africa, with a majority of respondents saying four or more people depended on the money they sent back home. Overwhelmingly, remittances are used to buy food.
Of all the respondents, farm workers reported the highest earning and remittance levels, with 94 percent in possession of a work permit. However, many continued to travel clandestinely to and from the country; with 45 percent entering South Africa through the same border post.
"There is little social perspective for people entering South Africa as undocumented migrants," says IOM's Yukiko Kumashiro. "Many are literally living from hand to mouth, often depending on help from well-wishers and NGOs to sustain their livelihoods."
Musina, which is located some 11 kilometres from the Zimbabwean border, has experienced an influx of mostly Zimbabwean migrants and asylum-seekers who transit the Limpopo province to travel to cities such as Johannesburg.
The survey recommends setting up counselling and support services for migrants who have experienced violence and trauma during the migration process, especially for women and unaccompanied minors. Such services should be extended beyond the town of Musina to Makhado and to private farms where significant numbers of migrants are employed.
Similarly, family tracing and/or reunification of unaccompanied minors within South Africa and Zimbabwe should be strengthened.
IOM is providing humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwean migrants in the Limpopo Province, with a focus on vulnerable undocumented migrants, informal cross-border traders, unaccompanied minors, victims of human trafficking, of sexual and gender-based violence and migrant workers on commercial farms and mines.
This includes providing food and non-food assistance, legal counselling and family tracing and reunification services. IOM also carries out awareness-raising activities on safe migration and supports migrants' shelters.
This survey was funded by the US State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).
It is available online at: http://iom.org.za/site/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=138&Itemid=50
For further information, please contact, Nde Ndifonka at IOM Pretoria, Tel: +27 71 689 9966, Email nndifonka@iom.int
COLOMBIA -Victims of Illegal Armed Groups Recover Their Lands - More than 100 families that had been forced to abandon their lands because of threats and violence from illegal armed groups, are this week receiving official deeds for their plots as part of a pilot project for land restitution.
The pilot project, led by the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation (NCRR) and implemented by IOM with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), began in Turbo, an area 477 kilometres northwest of the capital, Bogota.
The deeds are being handed over to the first 105 families after studies were carried out to determine the current status of the plots and how the victims lost their property.
As part of the pilot phase for 2009, and working with local chambers of commerce, 100 displaced families from the municipality of Chengue (Department of Sucre) and 280 from Mampuján (Department of Bolívar) will receive deeds in the coming months.
In January 2001, 28 farmers were murdered and 32 houses were burnt down in the municipality of Chengue, in a massacre carried out by a paramilitary group. Chengue was at the time a small village composed of 75 houses.
According to the NCRR, between 1997 and 2005, the paramilitaries carried out more than 20 massacres in the region of Mampuján, with the aim of defeating a Martín Caballero, FARC guerrilla boss and leader of Frente 35, who was operating in the area. Caballero met with residents of Mampuján and gave them 24 hours to evacuate the town.
Lessons learnt from the pilot projects in Turbo, Chengue and Mampuján will be systematized and used by the Technical Committee for the Restitution of Lands and 12 Regional Commissions for the Restitution of Property that will be set up throughout the country. The first Commission was set up in early July in the city of Medellin.
The Commissions, set up to settle ownership claims, are part of the integral reparation system for victims of illegal armed groups established under Law 975, also known as the Law of Justice and Peace.
According to official figures of 30 June 2009, there are 3,115,266 persons declared internally displaced in Colombia. Antioquia with 508,537 and Bolívar with 264,253 are the departments with the largest number of displaced.
For further information, please contact Jorge Andrés Gallo at IOM Bogota. Tel. + 5715946410 Ext. 142, Email: jgallo@iom.int
