• In such an instance, the person… “shall be issued with an appropriate permit valid for 14 days within which they must approach an RRO to complete an asylum application”.157 In other words, any non-South African picked up on the streets has the right to tell the police that they wish to apply for asylum, and thereafter this person may not be deported, but should rather have a temporary permit immediately issued by the police to facilitate them getting a formal ASP. However, neither the police nor Home Affairs officers abide by this Regulation; Zimbabweans picked up on the streets of Johannesburg are sent to Lindela deportation centre and are deported in their thousands every month, without being given the opportunity to explain that they may want asylum in South Africa. This is of particular significance bearing in mind the fact discussed previously, that it is extremely difficult to access ASPs, and hundreds of people have queued for them without success. The ASP is a simple sheet of A4, and is not durable. A further problem for asylum seekers is that having to fold the ASP and carry it in a pocket at all times means that it quickly develops folds and tears and important parts of it can become illegible. The ASP may be needed for years on end considering the slow pace of claims being processed. But it is not possible to have a worn ASP replaced. Police on occasion detain for deportation those with old and illegible ASPs. Even worse, there are reported incidents of the police tearing up ASPs and then sending the person for deportation.158 Barry Gilder, Director General of Home Affairs, told the authors in October 2004 that Lindela will soon be a fully fledged RRO, so that in the future deportees will be able to apply for asylum seeker permits here, in order not to be deported – a promise that cannot put right illegal acts committed by Home Affairs authorities against Lindela inmates, in the past and present. Bribes Bribing of police officers in order not to get detained and deported is a regular occurrence. We had the experience of Zimbabweans whom we had arranged to interview, arriving late because they had been pulled off a taxi and found to be without papers. They had to negotiate a “fee” in order to continue with their journey. RI refer to a Zimbabwean they interviewed having to pay a R200 bribe to a policeman who stopped him on a pavement and told him to pay up, or be deported.159 Such reports are commonplace, and occasionally are reported in the media.160 Home Affairs itself acknowledges this situation which it sees as very serious. They are attempting to crack down, but in the face of understaffing and an overload of work, corruption thrives.161 There are semi-formal tariffs linked to bribes: R200 to the police on the street to avoid being taken to Lindela, R800 to be released from Lindela, and a sliding scale downwards from this to be allowed to leap from the deportation train en route for Zimbabwe. Conditions in Lindela 157 Ibid, schedule 2 (2). LHR and Wits Law Clinic both cited such cases, as did people we interviewed – although so few of our interviewees had ASPs, they were not referring to themselves, but to others they had heard of. 159 RI, 14 July, op cit. 160 The Daily Sun (RSA), Freedom for R800, October 6, 2003. 161 The Cape Times, 14 October 2003, op cit. 158 68