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Desperate tale of a Zimbabwe hunger striker recovering in a UK hospital
Violet Gonda, SW Radio Africa
December 09, 2005

Two Zimbabwean asylum seekers who have been on hunger strike for 33 days were moved from Yarls Wood Detention Centre to Bedford hospital in the U.K. They are being gradually reintroduced to food after becoming dangerously ill.

Amanda Sibiya and another woman who prefers to be called Thando have been on hunger strike to protest against their forced deportations from the United Kingdom.

A human rights worker for the Zimbabwe Central London Forum, Anna Meryt, said as a result of political pressure, the two were moved from Yarls Wood to a hospital when their condition deteriorated. Both were abused by men while living in exile in South Africa.

Meryt told SW RADIO AFRICA her group is hoping to have them out on bail soon, but appealed for accommodation for Amanda when she comes out of hospital. She is aged 19 and suffered severe abuse from age 15. She also needs to be in a supportive and all female environment for a while.

It’s been a very hard few years for Amanda Sibiya. Her story is a sad one, and it is feared a number of Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa face similar situations. Amanda’s father was allegedly murdered by war veterans in Zimbabwe sometime after the 2002 presidential elections. She was 15 at the time.

Her mother, in fear for her life, took her and her sister aged 22 across the border and into South Africa.

They had no money and no papers but managed to make contact with a man in South Africa who promised to help. In a detailed report by Meryt, this man used the children as prostitutes in order to feed the family. Meryt’s report claims he came 2-3 times a week and used the daughters for sex, often bringing 2 or 3 friends with him. This man supported the mother and daughters financially and allowed them to stay in his flat.

In Dec 2003, a desperate Amanda tried to escape from the flat, but unfortunately, the man caught her at a railway station. She was injured but returned to the flat with on crutches, and the cycle of abuse resumed. Then in September 2005, Amanda discovered she was pregnant. Her mother paid for an abortion several months later. Three days later her mother, she obtained a South African passport and came to the UK where she stayed with well-wishers.

Meanwhile her sister was diagnosed with HIV and taken to a hospital in South Africa. Her mother was reported to the police by the man and sent back to Zimbabwe. She has not been heard from since and Amanda fears that she may be dead. Many people 'disappear' en route back to Zimbabwe on these trucks. Her sister developed mental health problems. Amanda last spoke to her in June 2005 and she did not recognise her.

In April 2005, immigration officials found Amanda and took her to Oakington DC where another Zimbabwe woman advised her to claim asylum. Several months ago the Home Office attempted to remove her, but she made such a fuss on the plane that the captain ordered her removal because the crying and fuss was upsetting the passengers. She was put back in detention.

Anna Meryt said the story is a shocking tale of child abuse by predatory abusers in South Africa. It is unfortunately not uncommon that refugee young girls and women who are vulnerable can become the prey for such men. Amanda suffers from depression and other mental problems as a result of what happened to her. She is frightened of men and the staff at Yarl’s Wood are largely male. She tells Meryt that many of them will walk into her room without knocking and don't care if they find her naked.

In November a UK immigration tribunal disallowed Zimbabwe deportations but it is very difficult to reverse this decision on Zimbabweans who come into the country with other passports, like Malawain or South African.

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