colleagues that it was safe for him to return to Zimbabwe. It was after this return that the torture in his affidavit took place. Another exiled activist who has led anti-Zimbabwe demonstrations in South Africa in the last few years, returned recently to Zimbabwe of his own accord. In spite of keeping a very low profile, in October of 2004, he was picked up, tortured, and has now been formally charged with “subversive activities” for his protests while in South Africa. He is currently on bail. This case is an indication that activities of known activists are monitored in Johannesburg by the CIO, and this information is relayed back to Zimbabwe.173 In conclusion, it is not safe for a political asylum seeker to be deported or to return to Zimbabwe; to deport an activist, is to place that person at a high risk of persecution. 8. The dead: a problem for the future? In the course of researching this report, the authors on several occasions came across the phenomenon of Zimbabweans who have died either in South Africa, or in Beitbridge on deportation, and who have ended up in a paupers’ grave, without documentation of who they are and without death certificates in their names. The Chief Executive Officer at Musina Hospital has also raised the issue that their morgue is over full because of unclaimed corpses of Zimbabweans.174 In Zimbabwe itself, HIV related deaths number approximately 4,800 per week.175 Probably the vast majority of migrants and exiles in South Africa are in the high risk age group for HIV and Aids. Considering the very congested living conditions of Zimbabweans in South Africa, and what we were told about women who end up as sex workers to survive, the prevalence of HIV infection could be imagined to be very high in this group. In the longer run, the death rate could be assumed to be correspondingly high. Possibly hundreds or even thousands of Zimbabweans may be dying every month in South Africa. While some of the dead are being repatriated, others are ending up in paupers’ graves. Many exiles and border jumpers have no formal identity documents on them; many arrive and fall outside of supportive social networks, or find themselves forming groups of equally impoverished youths. These groups are very fluid, with individuals coming and going. People may use false names at work and where they live, and some have false documents. People in the support systems of somebody who may die are themselves illegal and trying to avoid official attention. How do they claim a corpse without getting deported themselves? Who looks out for those who become very ill? Who notices when they die? Who knows how to reach family members back in Zimbabwe to inform them of what has happened? How many families in Zimbabwe can afford to repatriate a corpse – very often of the very breadwinner they hoped to bring money home to them? 173 This case resonates against the UNHCR’s reported cynicism linked to Zimbabweans who protest in South Africa - they suggested the fact that such protests occur, implies there is no risk to exiles. See section on UNHCR in this report. 174 Musina Health Summit, 20 October 2004. 175 This was the figure mentioned by doctors in the Ministry of Health in 2003: personal interview. 78