Malawians at SA’s Lindela ‘concentration’ camp send SOS: We’re dying
Malawian citizens detained at the Lindela Repatriation Centre near Krugersdorp, South Africa for illegally staying in the country are pleading with their government to help them come home.
One Malawian awaiting his deportation at Lindela Camp spoke on Zodiak Broadcasting Corporation, saying their living dangerously and urged the Malawi Embassy in South Africa to come to the rescue of their citizens
“We are starving and many Malawians are dying because of lack of medical assistance,” he said. “We have been seeking help from Malawi embassy but to no response.”
Many Malawians held at the repatriation centre have claimed they have failed to get any assistance from the embassy based in Pretoria.
He said there are about 1,800 Malawians at Lindale waiting to be ferried home.
Many deported asylum seekers had been reported missing by their families. It was not easy to prove the allegations.
One man who was deported to Malawi and came through Lindela said the situation is terrible and the “concentration” camp is overcrowded, calling it a “death trap.”
The Lindela Detention Centre has in the past been strongly criticized for abuse of detainees. Pressure groups have raised serious concerns about human rights violations.
Young Malawians trek to South Africa, the continent’s economic giant, in search for greener pastures.
