WE’RE IN DANGER, ZAMBIANS CRY
By George Zulu
OVER 250 Zambians resident in South Africa are cowering in constant terror after violent anti-foreigner attacks spread across the country.
Yesterday, the Zambians flooded The Mast with phone calls and WhatsApp audio messages asking the media house to alert Zambian authorities about their dire plight.
In an unsolicited interview with The Mast, Michael Musonda from Durban said about 50 Zambian families were stranded in KwaZulu-Natal region.
Many of them have been forced into hiding for fear of attacks targeting foreigners, including Zambians.
“They are not attacking Nigerians only. Even us Zambians. We no longer send our kids to school since June this year. We are not working and well-wishers are the ones keeping us. But the situation has degenerated after home owners were also threatened and given an ultimatum to evict us,” Musonda said.
Veronica Bwalya of Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal told The Mast life was extremely difficult as they were made to remain indoors all the time because it was too dangerous to venture out.
“If you go into town, you need to keep quiet without saying anything. Here in Pietermaritzburg, you cannot even pick up a phone call in a taxi. The moment you do that, you regret answering a phone call,” Bwalya said.
Joseph Katoba of Durban said the situation had degenerated and the only way out was to get back to Zambia with the help of the government.
Katoba said soon some Zambians might be killed unless they were repatriated home.
“We cannot independently say no Zambian has been killed because not all deaths are recorded here. These people are burning our homes. They are grabbing our properties and the authority here is doing nothing. Some of us have visited the embassy, but nothing has happened. It is like we are not welcome at the embassy anymore,” he said.
Gift Mubita Nawa described the situation in Johannesburg, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga as tense for foreigners.
“We are not conducting any business here. We are not working for anyone. We were fired in June and even people who were offering refuge to us are now tired. We thought the situation would improve, but it is getting worse every day. All we are asking for is for the government to help us get back home and start a new life,” Nawa said.
He said any delay in repatriating the trapped Zambians could be disastrous.
“Please help us reach out to the government that our lives are in danger. Any further delay in helping us move out of South Africa will leave us dead. As I’m talking to you, my neighbour had his hand amputated just last night by this group of South Africans. They don’t want us here. They are saying they want to rebuild their country. This is not political but an anti-South African agenda,” he said.
Charity Malata, a mother of two, said it was no longer safe to live in South Africa.
“I can’t go out to buy food. I don’t have money. I was evicted, and these people are coming for me and others here. Please, help us come back home,” she said.
The violent anti-immigrant protests have spun out of control with government’s law enforcement agencies agencies are overstretched.
