illegal immigrants subject to deportation. It is only those who entered South Africa after the Home Affairs ruling in June 2002 that are even considered for asylum seeker status.72 In spite of the Court ruling, and in spite of “strict instructions” from the Director General of Home Affairs to grant asylum to Zimbabweans,73 the authors were given numerous accounts of these papers being refused, and of would-be Zimbabwean asylum seekers being told by Home Affairs officials that they had no right to asylum, as “there is no civil war in Zimbabwe”. Police who pick Zimbabweans up from the streets reportedly say the same thing - “there is no war in Zimbabwe.” Victimisation: a repeated experience in Zimbabwe The experience of the authors and of others documenting the pattern of human rights violations over the last four years, shows that there is a high likelihood of the same individuals or families being victimised repeatedly, with assaults, torture, property loss and threats, every time an election looms. It is the same individuals who are likely, on political grounds, to be denied access to food and other resources, including at times health care, schooling for their children and borehole water.74 A report produced for the Zimbabwe Institute in June 2004 summarises the human rights violations suffered by sitting opposition Members of Parliament since 2000. It provides a shocking listing of multiple incidences of violations against persons who in most countries would be offered the full protection of the law, by virtue of their position in parliament.75 If even MPs are treated in the manner documented, surviving multiple assassination attempts, destruction of property, even torture in police cells, with no police action being taken against perpetrators, then it should come as no surprise that ordinary members of civil society or the MDC are also abused multiple times with impunity. Cases in the current report confirm that threats and assaults against people and families are repeated.76 Photograph 8 is of a victim who had his house burnt down in 2000 – and then had his barely reconstructed house burnt down again in 2002, as well as being tortured himself on both occasions. In January 2002, he and his wife were pulled out of bed in the middle of the night, stripped naked and tortured in front of their minor children, who then had to watch their house burning, while their parents lay unconscious. This victim lay outside his local clinic without treatment for 24 hours, because he was an MDC supporter.77 He eventually accessed private treatment provided by a human rights organisation. 72 See Appendix One, Case Two, for example of person denied asylum seeker permit on grounds of entering South Africa prior to June 2002. 73 Barry Gilder, Director of Home Affairs, told the authors that there was no policy of excluding Zimbabweans from asylum seeking, in an interview in October 2004. 74 PHR-DK; Vote ZANU PF or starve – Zimbabwe: August to October 2002, November 2002, has detailed case histories of political abuse of food, and also of denial of access to health care and other community based resources, in addition to documenting cases of political torture. PHR-DK; Zimbabwe: Post Presidential election March to May 2002, May 2002 details political abuse of both government administered and donor food. PHR-DK, The Presidential election: 44 days to go, January 2002 reports torture victims being denied treatment at rural clinics on political grounds. www.solidaritypeacetrust.org.za for all these reports. 75 Zimbabwe Institute, Playing with Fire, June 2004. see website www.solidaritypeacetrust.org.za for full report. 76 Appendix One, cases One to Four are all of political victims where either the individual or the family of the individual has been involved in multiple incidents of threats and abuse. 77 PHR-DK Jan 2002, for complete case history. The current authors have ascertained that this man has not returned to his rural home; whether he is internally or externally displaced is not known. 38