1. Crossing the border The South African border with Zimbabwe runs through a virtual desert region; it is epitomised by thorn scrub and baked earth, and a series of high barbed wire fences and row upon row of razor wire. The border itself is demarcated by the Limpopo River, which for much of the year is not much more than sand and puddles, but which can become a fierce torrent during the rains. The river is home to hundreds of crocodiles, and also traverses game reserves in the border area, where lions and elephants live. Apart from the river itself, there are few sources of water and few settlements in the greater area. Crossing the border into South Africa is not an obviously easy thing to do, yet with at least a million Zimbabweans illegally in South Africa and tens of thousands crossing to and fro several times a year, this formidable barrier is proving to leak people like a sieve. Numbers Some Zimbabweans cross the border legally: cross border traders in particular have passports and apply for visas. The South African Embassy receives around 20,000 visa applications a month, and traders enter the country for 21 days at a time, before leaving and applying for another visa. These tens of thousands of Zimbabweans are not part of the illegal immigrant statistics: while many may be violating visa conditions by trading, there is official record and sanction of their entry.133 If around 100,000 people enter on visas per year, and many of these are the same individuals being issued multiple visas in a year, and if estimates of more than a million Zimbabweans in South Africa are correct, this indicates the vast majority of Zimbabweans are entering or are resident in the country illegally. The numbers of people crossing the border at “undesignated entry points” are impossible to establish, although some indication is given by the numbers intercepted. During 2002, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) intercepted 50,852 immigrants on South Africa’s national borders, although this includes illegal border crossers from Mozambique, Swaziland and Botswana.134 It does not include those intercepted by police in South Africa’s heartland. Altogether, South Africa deports around 150,000 immigrants a year. The number of illegal immigrants deported to Zimbabwe each year is now around 45,000 or not far below a 1,000 per week. In spite of this seemingly endless process of deportations, possibly hundreds of Zimbabweans cross illegally every night. Indications of this come from border crossers themselves; it is common for Zimbabweans to report being part of groups of around 70 or more people crossing simultaneously on one night. Whether there are several such groups per night, or several per week, is not clear. Many other Zimbabweans cross in smaller groups or even alone.135 The river – crocodiles and floods For much of the year, the Limpopo is a benign river that can be walked through with little problem. However, in the rainy season, which coincides with Christmas and year-end holidays for migrant workers and an accompanying upsurge in border crossings, the river can become a torrent at short notice. The river can flow strongly until May, depending on the rains. Every year, Zimbabweans drown attempting to swim the river when it is in flood. In April this year, 133 It is not easy to get a visa: South African visa requirements include submitting R 1,000 with your application, and even with this, applications are frequently rejected. 134 The Mail and Guardian, The unstoppable tide, 3 October 2003. 135 See Appendix One, Cases One, Four and Seven for river crossings. 57