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- Children without passports are illegally transported into SA to visit their parents for the December holidays.
- Passports are relatively expensive in Zimbabwe, with a new proposed price of R4 000.
- The African Diaspora Forum said there was no excuse for children not having passports.
By definition, the 443 children intercepted in 42 buses by the South African Border Management Authority were victims of human trafficking – but, for many in Zimbabwe, it's just a regular way of sending children to visit their parents who live and work in South Africa.
SA checks for children travelling without their parents or guardians and, in some cases, without proper documentation.
South African authorities turned all the buses around after finding the children, all under the age of eight, at the weekend.
Unprotected children would not be allowed through the border, vowed SA's Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
For their parents, though, it is a simple calculation.
For many parents, like Sibuyile Nyoni, employed as a maid in South Africa, the uncertainty of her stay, after the then-expected expiry of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP), presented a headache.
She would rather stay in South Africa and have her children brought over for the holidays.
"My husband and I work this side [South Africa]. Going home didn't make sense because returning next year would have been a nightmare, in trying to cross the Limpopo River as illegal emigrants since the December expiry of the ZEP.
She said:
The ZEPs have since been extended by a further two years.
Many of the children smuggled into South Africa do not have passports at all.
A regular passport in Zimbabwe, which can be issued in 14 days, costs about R2 250 (US$120).
In presenting his budget for 2024, Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said that, as of January, the passport fees would be as much as R4 000.
It makes it even more difficult for parents living and working in jobs that pay less than R10 000 to afford passports for their children.
As such, paying between R1 500 and R2 000 for a cross-border trafficker to bring one's child into South Africa can look like a good deal.
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"The economy back in Zimbabwe is harsh, even with a rand salary. If I were to go there for this festive season, that would mean having money for the extended family's needs too.
"That is why bringing children over is a cost-cutting trick because they will get to experience things that are not back home, and be with their parents," said another Zimbabwean working in South Africa.
By other means
Bus companies in Zimbabwe announced that they would no longer carry anyone under 18 unaccompanied.
However, that would not actually stop unaccompanied children from making the trip.
Instead, they travel in less comfortable ways - using Omalayisha - which are cross-border transporters of goods between South Africa and Zimbabwe, mostly in trucks and Toyota Quantum vehicles.
A comfortable bus seat will be replaced by the back of a truck, where the children could be cramped.
The proper way around
According to Zimbabwe's laws, a child with a passport travelling outside the country should be accompanied by a parent or guardian, an affidavit form signed by both parents, and a copy of the birth certificate should be on hand.
Other documents include certified copies of both parents' identity particulars, such as a passport or an identity card.
A court order is applicable, or a death certificate for a deceased parent, depending on the circumstances.
Nicholas Mabhena, of the African Diaspora Forum, said there were no valid excuses for people to smuggle their children into South Africa.
He said:
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