Zimbabwe Times
May 23, 2009
By Mxolisi Ncube
JOHANNESBURG – The first bus-load of South African-based Zimbabwean professionals will be repatriated Wednesday, a humanitarian organization has revealed.
The Southern African Women for Immigration Affairs (SAWIMA), which is co-coordinating the repatriation of the professional, told The Zimbabwe Times Saturday morning that the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) had finally pulled together enough resources and finished vetting the professionals, most of them teachers who have been living at Johannesburg’s Central Methodist Church.
“The IOM has informed us that the first bus carrying the professionals will leave Johannesburg on Wednesday morning,†said Pastor Tobias Chatindo, the humanitarian officer for SAWIMA.
“The teachers should have left last week but some of them wanted to wind up their businesses here in South Africa, where they had been doing some casual jobs.â€
The IOM’s Project Development Officer for Johannesburg – Yukiko Kamashiro, also confirmed that the professionals would leave next week.
“We are done with the first group and they will definitely leave on Wednesday, while we wait for SAWIMA to come up with another group for vetting,†she said.
About 300 desperate Zimbabwean professionals, some of whom have lived in Johannesburg, but failed to find employment for the past three years, approached SAWIMA two months ago seeking repatriation assistance.
Education Minister, David Coltart has already pledged that the teachers will be employed in their old jobs on arrival.
Kamashiro said that after repatriating the professionals, IOM would begin to assist any ordinary refugees who would come forward asking for repatriation assistance.
“Our main thrust is to assist in repatriating vulnerable people who come to us asking for help and we will do that for those Zimbabweans who are eager but do not have the resources to go back home.â€