South African authorities have begun the transfer of hundreds of Zimbabwean citizens and several dozen Malawians from the Epping Repatriation Centre in Cape Town, following recent xenophobic protests against the presence of immigrants from other countries on the continent.
Buses carrying these people have departed for Musina, in Limpopo province, where thousands more migrants are already waiting to be repatriated. Authorities have also indicated that the rest of the foreigners will have to travel to Musina by their own means.
Humanitarian organizations have been supplying food, accommodation, and sanitation services at the center, although, despite this aid, some of the residents have developed health problems, according to South African public television SABC, citing the Ministry of Interior.
"Yesterday, out of the 1,200 people who were at the center, several had mild diarrhea. 14 of the patients had to receive oral rehydration therapy," explained a Cape Town health official, Saadiq Kariem.
In the last few hours, another 400 people have arrived at the Epping center and are waiting in the vicinity, as the facilities are being prepared for their definitive closure.
Last week, around 3,000 people were transferred to this center after having spent two weeks camped in front of the Zimbabwean consulate in Cape Town, fearing violence from anti-immigration groups who have set June 30 as a deadline for irregular foreigners to leave the country.