BOTSWANA: With xenephobia rising, electrified border fence hailed

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CHANGATE, 23 Feb 2005 (IRIN) - The word "Zimbabwean" gets
Motswana traditional leader Jackson Ofentse hot under the
collar.

"Please don't ever mention to me the criminals from across
the border," he told IRIN. His village of Changate in
northern Botswana is only 5 km from the frontier, and he has
nothing good to say about his neighbours.

"Our women can no longer gather firewood in the bush for fear
of being raped; our houses are not safe any more, and even
our livestock find their way across the border," he
complained.

Ofentse is looking forward to the day when the Botswana
government flicks the switch on a four-metre high electrified
border fence that snakes across the scrubland, ostensibly to
control the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) from
Zimbabwe.

Two outbreaks of FMD in two years, which hit Botswana's
lucrative beef exports to the European Union, were sourced to
Zimbabwe. Jobs were lost and thousands of cattle slaughtered.

While the 500-km long fence officially aims to block the
mixing of herds on common pasture, Ofentse and many other
Batswana hope it will also keep out the thousands of
Zimbabweans escaping poverty at home, who sneak cross the
border looking for work in more prosperous Botswana.

An estimated 36,000 illegal migrants were deported last year
alone and, with xenophobia now firmly on the rise,
Zimbabweans have become the target of a growing vigilante
movement.

The solar-powered fence, which will deliver a nasty but not
fatal 220-volt shock, is due to become operational in June,
and will be patrolled 24 hours a day by the security forces.

A survey by the Southern African Migration Project found that
a majority of Batswana supported its construction.

The villagers of Changate, 140 km northeast of Botswana's
second city Francistown, may feel more secure behind the new
barrier, but they have lost the perks of proximity to
Zimbabwe. Gone are the cheap shopping trips across the
border, and easy access to relatives on the Zimbabwean side.

"We had relied on labour from Zimbabwe for a long time. It
was also nearer to travel to Plumtree in Zimbabwe to do your
shopping than travel to Francistown," explained local
journalist Khumbulani Kholi.

Residents in the border villages used to buy cheap Zimbabwean
livestock, and enjoyed an easy supply of fruit and
vegetables. "When I was growing up, my brothers even went
across the border to have a drink in the Nswazi village [in
Zimbabwe]," said Kholi.

Now, getting to Zimbabwe entails a two-hour walk to the
nearest border post at Maitengwe, and for those who don't
have passports, a 140-km journey to the immigration office in
Tutume.

"We don't hate Zimbabweans here," said Kholi. "We are only
tired of elements that come to steal from us."