The government has returned home the first batch of 26 Tanzanians hitherto living in South Africa following xenophobic attacks targeting essentially African migrants, operating shops.
A statement issued yesterday by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said that the first batch arrived yesterday aboard a Fast Jet plane at the Julius Nyerere International Airport.
The repatriated Tanzanians were grouped in emergency camps of Isipingo and Phoenix in Durban, one of the most affected cities in the rioting.
An official of the Tanzanian High Commission in Pretoria, Ms. Elibahati Lowassa accompanied the repartees. The High Commission has received information that 20 other displaced Tanzanians are found at Hillbrough camp, in Johannesburg.
On Wednesday this week, the government said it was furnishing Tanzanians living in South Africa with emergency travel documents and finalising clearance procedures before bringing them back home.
For over three weeks now South African cities are replete with xenophobic attacks claiming the lives of eight immigrants. “This process can take a number of days. It is not that simple. Even repatriating Tanzanians from Yemen took us a bit long,” the ministry’s Head of Communications, Ms Mindi Kasiga underlined.
She said officials from the High Commission were keen on ensuring that the procedures are timely completed, before the ministry can say for sure when the next batch will arrive.
Authorities were also working to establish the level of destruction and loss of property by Tanzanians to see if compensation can be processed.
“As you know properties were looted or destroyed, and some also ran away without taking passports. All these things must be worked upon to permit repatriation,” she said.
Early this week, Foreign Minister Bernard Membe said that the government would bring back 21 Tanzanians from South Africa, insisting that Tanzanians in South Africa were safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment