International Migration In Botswana

Africa Horn migrants heading south face arrest and deportation

Increasing numbers of Ethiopians and Somalis fleeing war, drought and poverty in their home countries face arrest, deportation and detention as they try to make their way to the south of the continent.

For most the goal is South Africa – the only country in the region where refugees and asylum seekers have freedom of movement and the right to work rather than being confined to camps. But as the number of migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking asylum in South Africa has reached unprecedented levels, border authorities have started refusing them entry.

"There's a new unofficial policy since the beginning of May where Somali and Ethiopian nationals are being informed they'll not be given asylum by the South African government," said Abdul Hakim, chairperson of the Somali Community Board, a local organisation representing the interests of Somalis.

Hakim said that before the crackdown about 1,500 Somalis were entering South Africa every month. With official borders closed to them, many were now entering the country illegally and then making their way to refugee reception centres to apply for asylum.

The deputy director general of South Africa's department of home affairs, Jackie McKay, denied there had been any change of policy but Kaajal Ramjathan-Koogh, who heads the refugee and migrant rights programme at Lawyers for Human Rights, said her organisation had also observed "a definite shift away from accepting large numbers of refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia ".

"From a Home Affairs point of view … they've been seeing very large numbers arriving in the last two months and they're not willing to accept the entire continent's refugee burden," she told IRIN.

An issue brief by Roni Amit of the African Centre for Migration and Society at the University of Witwatersrand published in June suggests that the home affairs department has been denying entry to asylum seekers based on the principle that they should have sought asylum in the first safe country they reached. Amit points out that no such principle exists in international or domestic law.

"By denying entry to asylum seekers based on the mere fact of their transit through another country, South Africa is contravening its obligations under international law," Amit writes. "This practice increases the risk that individuals will be returned to the life-threatening situations from which they fled.

Botswana Safari – Client feedback by Liselle Raath

The food was extrordinary but it was interesting that a common dessert was some kind of baked fruit with a custard sauce.  I liked trying kudo at Sango and kudo and impala at Chobe.  All was imported from game farms in S. Africa.  S. Africa also provided most of the fruits and vegetables. I loved looking down at the Boteti, crossing the Okavango River by makuro, dining while gazing at the Chobe River, and being in a tent on stilts over the Zambezi.

Meno - loved the ambiance of the decor and lay out.  Max made sure we were eating lunch by the Boteti River as the zebra migration came to drink all around us. Good conversation around the campfire with before dinner drinks and after dinner. Chundukwa -  Loved being on the Zambezi.  Went with the guide Livey to his village and to the Tongobezi Trust School. (Cost $45 and donated to the school).  One of the nearby lodges sponsors the school which is in its fifteenth year and hopes to add grades 9-12 over the next couple years.  All private donations.

I did spend extra money to do the helicopter tour of Victoria Falls ($295) and to have breakfast and sit on the lip of the falls on Livingstone Island ($65).  I also did the Walk with Lions ($150).  The lodge cost included  transport to Livingstone for one day so I did all the above in one day.  On the way to the airport, I went to the museum.  So you can see I supported the Zambian economy quite nicely!!!  I learned they have a walking safari to see the 2 white rhino in the game park by Livingstone.  There is a charge.  Did you know they had three but one was poached so now each rhino has a 24/7 bodyguard!!

Thanks for making the safaris so worth it and fun and exciting and so interesting in so many ways!!

I am thinking about returning to Africa on another safari in 4 years.

Views on migration in sub-saharan Africa, proceedings of an African Migration Alliance workshop

Migration in Botswana, patterns, causes and consequences

International migration and national development in sub-Saharan Africa, viewpoints and policy initiatives in the countries of origin

International migration statistics, guidelines for improving data collection systems

International migration review