REAL LIFE IN SOUTH AFRICA

In South Africa, there was a complete crisis with migrant workers and illegal migrants as a result of visa-free “open door policy” with neighbors. At Cape town airport I was met by a taxi driver from Malawi. Street vendors, who laid fruit right on the sidewalk near the shopping center, were Nigerians. “Currency” at the pier, whispering to offer to change dollars for local money (Rand), came 2 years ago from Zimbabwe. The waiter who came up to me at the cafe was an illegal immigrant who had made his way across the border from Mozambique, and the security guard at the hotel was a visitor from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I’m really surprised: after all, 40% (!) the black population of South Africa is unemployed, and many families still live on $ 5 (330 rubles) a day. It turned out that over the past 20 years, guests from other countries have taken away from the citizens of the South African Republic well-paid positions, agreeing to work hard for a penny. The visa-free regime with neighboring countries played an important role in this.

– No one even knows how many guest workers there are, – says the 62-year-old retired police captain Jeremy van Derain, who was engaged in the problems of illegal migration in 1999-2005. – The figures are only approximate – 3 million Zimbabweans, 3 million Congolese, one million Mozambicans and half a million Somalis. The police estimate the total number of illegal immigrants at 10-15 million (!) a person together with the refugees who have flooded our country, most of whom are members of organized gangs. This happened after the fall of the white minority (apartheid) regime in 1994: at the suggestion of the new democratic government, entry visas were abolished — out of “solidarity with the black brothers who helped us in the fight.” As a result, such a flow of migrants flooded South Africa that it became impossible to stop it — they worked for a Cup of rice or a piece of bread. Aliens immediately pressed all the empty seats of taxi drivers,waiters, guards: and they used to earn decent. When the economic crisis came in South Africa and the national currency fell twice before the dollar, it turned out that our people have nowhere to settle.

In the “township” near the area of Gugulet near Cape town there are such nooks and crannies, where even during the day it is strongly recommended not to appear white — and foreigners, and residents of the Republic of South Africa. And black people are not too comfortable. Teenage groups of children between 12 and 14 years of age, armed with shivs and, in some places, firearms, are dominated by refugees from Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Hundreds of thousands of guest workers live in wild slums, in self-built houses built of slate, rags, cardboard. The smell around is unbearable — because there is no sewage, waste is dumped into ditches in homes, and during the division of water periodically breaks out stabbing. Creepy dirt, under the feet roll recessie leftovers.

Killing is not uncommon

Tell about cases when killed tourists from Sweden and the USA, naively wandered here with cameras to photograph “the African exotic”. “I recently had to leave Guguletu — sigh trucker Nicholas Kasumbu. — Just did not work, and every day turned into a amusement of survival. Even Kombi (share taxi. — Ed.) now lead the drivers of the immigrants. They are terribly reckless, drink beer right behind the wheel, but the employer is not confused, because they can pay a mere trifle. On the main street of Cape town (long street) refugees from the Congo become attached to me and demand money. The dollar does not satisfy them, they want ten. Having been refused, threaten. On the sidewalks of the city in the open air digging in garbage cans about 10 thousand homeless and homeless — are immigrants who came to South Africa from various disadvantaged countries in Africa and lost their jobs. To return home they, of course, do not want — that live alms, aggressively pestering passers-by.

– Ten years ago, in may 2008, we had the biggest riots against guest workers in the history of South Africa, — explains journalist Elton Gang Mgame. – Migrants stabbed a teenager in a drunken brawl, local residents in response massively attacked their slums, set fire to the areas of residence of immigrants — in a mutual massacre killed 40 illegal immigrants and 20 citizens of the Republic. The President for the first time after the apartheid era was forced to bring the army to the street, the people with difficulty calmed down with the help of armored vehicles with machine guns. 100 of thousands of migrant workers have fled to their States, but the next year it came back… 200 thousand. It’s not just about visa-free travel. In many places, the border is simply not protected, it is easily crossed by entire tribes and the population of small towns, such as Mozambique. To us go from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Burundi, Rwanda. According to opinion polls, South Africa ranks first in the world in terms of negative attitude to immigration, international organizations accuse us of “unprecedented xenophobia” and “lack of pity for the poor”. But how can you feel sorry for them when they take your family’s job?! People would be happy, take Britain and the United States to his all the refugees, but they somehow do not want. Newspapers shout about the crisis with immigrants in Europe, and about South Africa forgotten, although we are drowning in migrants.

From Edmund Kagame, a native of the indigenous peoples spit, has owned a tiny cramped shop near the “township” Guguletu: inside hard to miss a pair of buyers. Nothing special — chips, soda, chewing gum. Last year the stall was robbed four times, and the owner does not hold in cash cash: is that a piece of paper in 100 Rand (about 500 rubles), so the raiders did not kill him with annoyance. “It is useless to pay for the” roof ” surrounding gangs — shrugs Edmund. – Then come teenagers-Nigerians or Rwandans who do not care about our local mafia, and just kill me if I do not give money. Immediately after the collapse of apartheid, the government encouraged immigration: we would have more blacks and fewer whites, good working hands that could strengthen the economy after the departure of the white population, we would civilize them and live as one happy family. But nothing happened. Those who were poor in South Africa became even poorer because of migrants. Refugees keep coming and coming. Our people pay the sorcerers-they spray the boundaries of the area with the blood of a black cock and promise: there will not settle illegals. But that doesn’t help.”

Another (already tenth) homeless man for half an hour, to whom I refuse alms, shouts to me in the back of the curse: “I’m from Nigeria, damn white, at home I would have taught you respect!»