Mutare, Zimbabwe – Samantha Chimbuya had built a life in South Africa after leaving Zimbabwe in 2019 in search of better opportunities. She found work, could afford food and believed her two children had access to better education. She also had access to healthcare.
As June 30 approached, a deadline set by anti-immigrant activists for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa, the 30-year-old packed her belongings and returned to Zimbabwe. They were raiding our homes, warning us to leave. It was scary,” Chimbuya told Al Jazeera.
Chimbuya was living in KwaZulu-Natal when anti-immigrant protests intensified. March and March, one of the groups behind the June 30 deadline, accused undocumented migrants of taking jobs and putting pressure on public services. The deadline was not imposed by the South African government, which said June 30 would be a normal day and warned against intimidation and violence.
But thousands of migrants left amid fears of unrest. Some governments organised transport for citizens returning home. Chimbuya paid for her own journey to Hurungwe, in northern Zimbabwe.
By July 28, 116,670 Zimbabweans had returned from South Africa, according to Information Minister Zhemu Soda. Of those, 36,940 were assisted by the government, while 79,730 returned independently. A further 38,057 had registered for employment, Soda said.
For Chimbuya, coming home meant confronting many of the economic difficulties that had pushed her to leave in the first place. She has struggled to find work and now relies on family and friends for help. Her husband remains in South Africa, where she says he is also struggling.
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