Thousands of Malawians return from SA empty-handed

Siphat Simali imagined that when she finally got back to Malawi she would return with pride and enough earnings from SA to support her two children and start a small business.

Instead, the 28-year-old former domestic worker was bussed home empty-handed and shamefaced, one of a thousand to return last month after mass job losses in SA’s lockdown.

Nearly 10,000 Malawians have made the long journey home from SA since May, according to Malawi’s department of Disaster Management Affairs, with more due in coming months as the coronavirus eats deeper into the world economy.

“I have nothing now,” said Simali after she was spewed out of a packed bus and joined the rush for a nearby tap, parched by her three-day journey. Some of her fellow passengers had spent their final rands on a bus ticket back, deciding it was better to be jobless at home, despite the indignity of returning empty-handed.

The coronavirus pandemic has decimated livelihoods across the globe, and with 85% of jobs in Africa classed as “informal employment”, the 55-nation AU estimates some 20-million jobs will be threatened by the pandemic.

In a pre-coronavirus world where people followed the money, SA was a jobs magnet for nearby economies that could not support their own populations.

The most recent SA census data found there were about 2.2-million immigrants in the country, 75% of them from the African continent and about 4% from Malawi, which the World Bank calls one of the world’s least developed economies.

Poor agricultural productivity, fast population growth and unpredictable weather are among obstacles to overcoming poverty, according to the World Bank, with Covid-19 affecting growth.

Malawi, a landlocked country with a rural economy and a population of about 17.7-million, faces food shortages and high unemployment, according to the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee, a government-funded research group.

The committee estimates that 15% of the population is in desperate need of food.

Hence the migrants’ flight some 2,735km south. “I went to SA because I couldn’t secure a job here to support my family,” said Major Chitenje, a former barber in SA, as any returnees showing Covid-19 symptoms lined up at the border stop for mandatory testing. “Let me see how can I survive here.” 

In a sign of the desperate times, the returning migrants brandished mobile phones and coveted food items bought in SA to try to sell on their arrival home. Customers jostled for deals, knowing the migrants had spent up on the way so might sell any leftovers at a knockdown price.

There are nearly 87,000 Malawians in SA. Most find work in shops, factories and as domestic workers or gardeners. Those interviewed were earning about R2,000 a month, and had stayed in SA for two to five years, trying to save money to bring back home.

According to the International Labour Organisation, 75% of young workers in Malawi have only “irregular employment”, meaning it might be badly paid, temporary or seasonal.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation interviewed half a dozen returnees who all expressed anxiety about using the last of their savings to survive in SA or get home, and were feeling nervous now about disappointing family.

Add to that a widespread fear of outsiders carrying deadly germs, and the outlook for many returnees looks bleak, said Nuha Ceesay, Malawi country director for UNAids, the joint UN programme on HIV/Aids. Returning Malawians are often assumed to be Covid-19 carriers by their communities, he said.

“Returnees reported a lot of stigma, everyone assumes they are positive for Covid-19,” Ceesay said.

Rejoice Shumba, a spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs, said the government cannot support the thousands of Malawians returning apart from helping them clear borders.

“To those who were in prison, the government facilitated their deportation by providing buses. But generally, strict Covid-19 measures in other countries have prompted Malawians in those countries to come back home,” Shumba said.

James Jenala, a returnee who worked in construction in SA, said even informal work had dried up during lockdown. “With Covid-19, no-one was coming to pick us up. I guess they suspected that we have the disease which made it difficult for us to survive,” Jenala said.

Now, Jenala, is thinking about farming in Malawi so he can at least feed his four children — for now at least. “I have not ruled out the possibility of returning to SA in the future.” 

Thomson Reuters Foundation