Zimbabweans flee to 'the promised land'

Those caught crossing illegally face fines

Every day, Zimbabweans desperate for a future pour illegally across the border into South Africa, as the BBC's Barnaby Phillips reports.

In the sleepy South African border town of Messina, a fenced yard behind the police station bears witness to Zimbabwe's misery.

By the time we catch them they often haven't eaten for three or four days, and all they have are the clothes on their body

Colonel Tol Snyman

Every day, more than 100 Zimbabweans caught crossing the border illegally are brought here.

Mostly they are young men, waiting to be deported back to a country where they see no future.

"I have no alternative but to run away from Zimbabwe, there are no jobs there," says one young man.

"And nothing will change as long as President Mugabe is there," says another.

Throughout recent history, South Africa and Zimbabwe have found themselves caught up in each other's turmoil.

Crossing into South Africa is the only hope for many

Firstly during the Rhodesian war, then during the struggle against apartheid, and now again, as Zimbabwe's economy collapses and more and more Zimbabweans see South Africa as the promised land.

I watched the young men being loaded on to a police truck to be driven back to their country.

When they arrive home, they will be fined and then released. Most of them will try again to slip straight back into South Africa.

This is no more than an elaborate game of cat-and-mouse, with desperate Zimbabweans on one side and the South African army and police on the other.

In theory, South Africa is well fortified. An electrified fence runs through the bush for 150 kilometres, parallel to the Limpopo River that divides the two countries.

If the fence is tampered with, an alarm goes off and soldiers rush to the point where the breakage occurred.

South Africa is well fortified

But Colonel Tol Snyman, the South African soldier with responsibility for guarding the border, has the air of a man with a thankless task.

The army catches three times more Zimbabweans now than it did three years ago. But the number willing to try their luck goes up and up.

Most of those caught have nothing to lose.

"By the time we catch them they often haven't eaten for three or four days, and all they have are the clothes on their body," says Colonel Snyman.

In the apartheid days, the fence carried a lethal electric current - but that was switched off several years ago.

River claims lives

Now the greatest danger is the Limpopo River itself - particularly during the rainy season when the water level rises.

"That is when many people are eaten by crocodiles," says Colonel Snyman.

More and more Zimbabweans see South Africa as the promised land, yet, ironically, Zimbabwe's economic crisis also threatens South Africa.

During the past week the rand has tumbled again, as investors wonder whether the lawlessness in Zimbabwe will spread south.