SA-Born Siblings Lorraine, 18, and Brother, 16, Plead Not To Be Sent To Zimbabwe

Two undocumented Zimbabwean siblings who were born and raised in South Africa say they do not want to be repatriated to Zimbabwe.

Eighteen-year-old Lorraine Ncube and her 16-year-old brother, Lawrence, say they fear an uncertain future if they are deported. They were born to Zimbabwean parents and have lived their entire lives in South Africa.

They were recently chased from their home outside Polokwane by community members during marches against undocumented immigrants across the country.

They are now among thousands of undocumented immigrants being processed at the Musina Repatriation Centre in Limpopo.

Lorraine and Lawrence say they have no home or support system in Zimbabwe. They have expressed sadness at the prospect of leaving.

Children born in South Africa to undocumented migrant parents face an uncertain future. For the Ncube siblings, being sent to Zimbabwe means leaving behind the only home they have ever known.

South African law requires every child born in the country to be registered within 30 days, regardless of their parents’ nationality. But children born to foreign parents do not automatically acquire South African citizenship.

The Ncube siblings were born and raised in South Africa to undocumented Zimbabwean parents. Neither has South African citizenship.

Their father fled after a mob chased the family from their home in Seshego village, outside Polokwane, last week.

The siblings and their mother are now among those being repatriated to Zimbabwe.

Lorraine is leaving with her four-month-old daughter, whose father is South African.

“He wanted me to leave the child behind, but I couldn’t because it’s very hard to leave my child behind,” she said.

The Ncubes have begrudgingly made peace with their repatriation to Zimbabwe.

“It’s very sad to leave this country because it’s the only country that I know. I’ve never been to any other country but here,” said Lorraine in an interview with SABC News.

“So it’s going to be something new for me. It feels like I lost my future because I studied here, I matriculated last year, and then I got a bachelor’s degree pass.

“So I feel like I lost everything because when I go there, when I leave this country, the country which I will be going to… I don’t know if they have the subjects that I was doing here.

“I was doing technical subjects, so I don’t know if they are going to take me to one of the universities.

“Yeah, I really wanted to go to one of these—one of the universities in South Africa, but it’s very sad because I will be leaving. So I feel like I lost hope.”

Her brother, Lawrence, said being forced to leave South Africa left him feeling sad and humiliated.

“I feel sad and humiliated because my friends… Yesterday I texted my friend, I said, ‘How is life over there without me? He said, ‘Life is bad’ because, like, in my class, in extra lessons in my class, I always raise my hands to do sort of things,” said Lawrence.

“I become a volunteer of my class, I represent my class. So leaving what I love behind is very painful.

“I feel frustrated and sad due to the corruption of this situation. This situation is affecting me. Yesterday I thought I could die, I don’t know.”

Lorraine and Lawrence say they have no home or support system in Zimbabwe. Beyond the uncertainty awaiting them there, they fear that South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs may declare them undesirable persons.

Lawrence also fears they will be rejected in Zimbabwe because of the language they speak.

“I feel frustrated and humiliated because it doesn’t seem like life is good there. I don’t know their language,” he said.

“People (Zimbabweans who’re here) say when we get to the border, they’ll kick us off the bus and make us come back here on foot because they regard us Bapedi.”