A view of the Durban drive-in site, where thousands of undocumented Malawian nationals await repatriation as part of a government initiative.
Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber has underscored the complexity and scale of the ongoing repatriation operation for undocumented Malawian nationals in Durban, calling it a balance between enforcing immigration laws and upholding human dignity.
Speaking at the Durban drive-in site on Monday morning, Schreiber said the drive-in site had better health and ablution facilities, people were being fed, and the numbers were ramping up.
“We were able to do over 2,200 on Saturday night, working into Sunday morning, another 1,600 yesterday (Sunday), and we think with a few more tweaks, we can actually speed that process up further,” Schreiber said.
“What we’d like to see is those numbers to continue to grow, but critically, we are doing this in a humane, lawful manner. This is not a matter of people being chased out. These are people who say ‘we want to be repatriated’.
