One thousand five hundred people now live in canvas tents on a football field-sized patch of dirt. On another field a few hours away, 200 people sleep each night with no blankets and no roof.
These are the situations at two refugee camps outside of Cape Town, South Africa. The first camp is De Doorns. The second is Blue Waters. They tell the story of refugees in South Africa.
In May 2008 violence erupted against foreigners in townships in South Africa. Thousands fled their homes for refugee camps throughout the nation. The Western Cape then established the “Blue Waters Internally Displaced Persons Camp” to house the displaced.
In a separate incident in November 2009, at the small farming community if De Doorns, two hours outside of Cape Town, more xenophobic violence in the townships forced resident Zimbabweans out of their tin-roofed homes.
Most of the refugees originally fled Zimbabwe, where once vibrant cities are now ghost towns. I visited the tourist mecca of Victoria Falls, where the shops are closed, the windows shuttered and the building interiors gutted. It is not an abandoned ghost town. People do still live there.
Zimbabwe is a country with great potential. It is actually quite safe to travel to and walk around in. Its people are friendly, peaceful and innovative, its cities have decent infrastructure for both business and tourism and some of its public utilities still generally work.
Bulawayo, for example, is a beautiful city full of wide avenues, originally designed for horse and buggy. ATMs, though they are inoperable for foreigners, are everywhere.
You can even take some trains, cockroaches and all.
The poor conditions for many in Zimbabwe are perhaps the best explanation for why many Zimbabwean people have left their country. Even working in a refugee camp or as farm laborers, they have the opportunity to earn more than in Zimbabwe.
These are the situations at two refugee camps outside of Cape Town, South Africa. The first camp is De Doorns. The second is Blue Waters. They tell the story of refugees in South Africa.
In May 2008 violence erupted against foreigners in townships in South Africa. Thousands fled their homes for refugee camps throughout the nation. The Western Cape then established the “Blue Waters Internally Displaced Persons Camp” to house the displaced.
In a separate incident in November 2009, at the small farming community if De Doorns, two hours outside of Cape Town, more xenophobic violence in the townships forced resident Zimbabweans out of their tin-roofed homes.
Most of the refugees originally fled Zimbabwe, where once vibrant cities are now ghost towns. I visited the tourist mecca of Victoria Falls, where the shops are closed, the windows shuttered and the building interiors gutted. It is not an abandoned ghost town. People do still live there.
Zimbabwe is a country with great potential. It is actually quite safe to travel to and walk around in. Its people are friendly, peaceful and innovative, its cities have decent infrastructure for both business and tourism and some of its public utilities still generally work.
Bulawayo, for example, is a beautiful city full of wide avenues, originally designed for horse and buggy. ATMs, though they are inoperable for foreigners, are everywhere.
You can even take some trains, cockroaches and all.
The poor conditions for many in Zimbabwe are perhaps the best explanation for why many Zimbabwean people have left their country. Even working in a refugee camp or as farm laborers, they have the opportunity to earn more than in Zimbabwe.