South African woman stranded after following husband to Zimbabwe
· The South African
A South African woman who travelled to Zimbabwe to reunite with her husband after anti-immigrant unrest in South Africa has been left stranded with her three young children at a Bulawayo transit centre.
The husband’s family allegedly refused to accommodate them.
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Charlotte Masemola, 34, from Mpumalanga, arrived in Zimbabwe last Tuesday hoping to rebuild her life with her husband.
According to CITE, the husband had returned to his home country in May after fleeing growing anti-immigrant violence in South Africa.
Masemola is among scores of people staying at the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) in Bulawayo’s Njube suburb, which has been serving as a temporary reception and transit centre for Zimbabweans returning from South Africa following the 30 June anti-immigrant protests.
The unrest prompted many Zimbabweans to return home, with churches, the government and humanitarian organisations coordinating transport and temporary accommodation for returnees.
South African woman’s journey to reunite with her husband
Speaking to CITE, Masemola said she decided to leave South Africa after her husband assured her it was safe to join him in Zimbabwe.
“My husband returned to Zimbabwe around May after fleeing the unrest. I was left alone with the children in South Africa and they kept asking about their father. We spoke and he told me it was okay for me to come, so I took advantage of the buses that were repatriating people because I had no money for transport,” she said.
Masemola travelled using her South African identity document because she does not have a passport.
She said she informed officials at every border post that she was a South African citizen.
Before leaving South Africa, she had been receiving child support grants to help care for her children.
She said her mother supported her decision to relocate temporarily.
“My mother agreed that I should come because I have children with him. She said I could stay here for two weeks or a month and then return,” she said.
Plans to accommodate South African woman collapse
Masemola said the family’s plans changed shortly after she arrived in Zimbabwe.
According to her, her husband told her that his sisters, who were expected to accommodate them, no longer wanted her to stay with them.
“He told me his sisters are where we were supposed to stay, but it seems the situation is not good. Before I came, I was communicating with one of his sisters and everything appeared to be fine,” she said.
She added that her husband has not visited the transit centre himself.
“He said he has been busy at work and that is why he hasn’t come. I don’t even know where he works. He only sent his brother, whom I knew from South Africa, to visit us here. He is the one who explained what was happening because I no longer have my phone,” she said.
Children’s future on hold
The uncertainty over where the family will settle has also disrupted plans for Masemola’s children.
She said officials from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education visited the transit centre to assist with school placements, but she could not register her school-going child because she has no permanent address.
“When I arrived here there were officials from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, but I could not register my child for school because I don’t know where we are going to stay,” she said.
Masemola had hoped to settle in Zimbabwe with her husband while making occasional visits to South Africa to see her mother and her 15-year-old child, who remained behind.
“I don’t know if talking to the media will make things worse for me, but I don’t know what else to do,” she said.