The government says diasporans, including failed asylum seekers are free to return home and rebuild the country. This was said by Informat...
The government says diasporans, including failed asylum seekers are free to return home and
rebuild the country. This was said by Information Secretary, Nick Mangwana in a
statement yesterday.
He was responding to an article in The Independent which said that British and Zimbabwean
governments wanted to forcibly repatriate failed asylum seekers in that
country.
Over 2 500 failed asylum seekers who faced persecution back
home, had been handed over to the Zimbabwean consulate in London for
questioning.
“Zimbabweans from all over the world are voluntarily
returning to their country. There is no single returnee that has been
persecuted regardless of the circumstances of their departure. Those who have
failed to meet immigration requirements in their countries of sojourn are
welcome home and their safety is guaranteed.
“The Government does not encourage any Zimbabwean to be
undocumented. Therefore, when required it facilitates appropriate documents for
its citizens using its consular staff in different countries. This is in order
to fulfil its constitutional responsibility that no Zimbabwean should be deemed
stateless.
“It is common consular procedure and practice that those
immigrants without proper identification or documentation and alleged to be
Zimbabweans by the host country be interviewed by consular officers from the
embassy to establish whether indeed they are who they are purported to be, in
this case whether indeed they are bona fide Zimbabweans. This is a standard consular
procedure to avoid countries admitting foreign nationals into their
jurisdictions in error.”
“There are no political persecutions in Zimbabwe, neither
are there any political prisoners and Zimbabweans who have lived abroad for
many years are returning every day and living happily and contributing to the country’s development
towards Vision 2030,” he said.
The Home Office confirmed that a “redocumentation
interview” took place in Sheffield on 4 December, and did not deny allegations
that it was part of an agreement between the UK government and Zimbabwe to
deport 2,500 people.
One Zimbabwean national who was asked to attend one of
these meetings, a woman who fled political persecution in her country in 2002
after campaigning against president Robert Mugabe’s government, said she was
frightened when she saw a Zimbabwean official in the room.
Marian Machekanyanga, 54, who has been in the UK for 16
years, said: “The man had my file on the table. He started speaking to me in my
native language. I asked him if I could call my solicitor and he said ‘no’. He
said the Home Office had asked him to interview us.
“I was really frightened. Why is the Home Office giving my
details to the government I ran away from? I know they will still be after me.
Anyone who has claimed asylum in England is an enemy to the government.
“I know I will be in
danger if I go back. Just because Mugabe is not in power doesn’t mean the
government has changed. The same government is still in control. I don’t think
I would see my family. I would get to the airport and they would take me to
torture me, kill me, who knows.”
Machekanyanga fled Zimbabwe when the authorities began to
‘victimise’ those involved in protests. Ms Machekanyanga was forced to leave
her children in the care of her sister when she fled to the UK.
She did not claim asylum on arrival because she hoped the
situation would change in Zimbabwe and she would be able to return. As a result
of her delayed application, when she did apply for asylum seven years later, it
was immediately refused.
“What is going to
happen to my children and other relatives in Zimbabwe now? I’m very scared
about what they will do,” Ms Machekanyanga said.
Another Zimbabwean asylum seeker who was interviewed, a man
in his 50s who did not want to be named, has been in Britain for 15 years. He
said he was “highly suspicious” when he saw the Zimbabwean official.
The man, who initially came to the UK on a student visa in
2003 and then sought asylum after a warrant was issued for his arrest in
Zimbabwe due to blog posts he wrote against the government, said the person
interviewing him was “representing Zimbabwe in conjunction with the Home
Office”.
“He was asking for more information about myself to confirm
my identity. He wanted to know about my parents and relatives in Zimbabwe,” the
man added.
“I refused to give him information about myself. I was
afraid – if they confirmed it was me, what would they do with that information?
He wasn’t even concerned about whether I was an asylum seeker.”
The man, whose asylum claim was rejected by the Home
Office, said he would “surely be a target” if he were removed to his home
country.
“I know why they
want to help the UK remove asylum seekers. They want to legitimise the current
government and be readmitted to the commonwealth and get foreign investment.
They’ve been approached by the British government and have promised to help
them,” he said.
“I’m afraid of being returned. I would be really exposed
and at risk. I can’t even imagine it. I’ve written blogs in opposition to the
recently conducted elections. I’ve opposed the way the elections were
conducted. This is published information and I would surely be a target.”
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