A large number of Zimbabwean women who enter South Africa illegally through the Limpopo River are raped and mugged.

This is according to Mr Jacob Matakanye, a board member for the United Refugee Centre for Girls and Boys in Musina. He said they attended to more than 300 women who were raped at the border every month.

Matakanye says most of the victims are teenage girls and minors who are gang-raped while they try to cross the border. "When our counselors interview the victims, you find that some of them were gang-raped by armed people who also rob them of their belongings, including clothes. These incidents are very traumatizing because some of the victims are elderly women who are raped in front of their children and partners. Some men are also forced to rape people they are traveling with," said Matakanye.

Matakanye said his limited staff of two qualified nurses, who were also doubling as counselors, struggled to cope with the high number of people they attended. More than 50 Zimbabwean nationals visit the centre every day. "Of these people who visit the centre every day, the majority are women and you will find that at least 10 of them have been raped and mugged." This translates to 300 women, including children, who are raped every month at the border. He expressed the fear that these women might have contracted the HIV virus and that they end up mixing with the communities without getting medical treatment and related advice.

Ms Christie Mwongera, who is the project co-ordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Musina, confirmed that they treated more than 20 women who had been raped at the border every month. Mwongera said some of the raped women were as young as 13. "We also treat men who have been raped at the border. Many of the rape victims, including men, sustain serious wound and cuts, especially at the back," she said.

Mwongera said it was difficult to avoid the attacks happening at the border because most of them were made by people who pretended to be helping the victims to cross from Zimbabwe to South Africa. "When the victims arrive at the border, they come across people who pretend to be good Samaritans who will help the victims to have an easy passage to South Africa. From there, the suspects will rob and rape the victims," said Mwongera.

Mwongera said their concern was that the majority of their patients were migrants who did not report back to the office for follow-ups on the progress of their treatment. "Our other challenge is that most of the victims come to us very late. For us to help rape victims against STI, HIV/Aids and pregnancy, the victims must report to us early," said Mwongera.

In their attempt to bring awareness to the victims, Mwongera said they visited refugee centers and farming communities where they educated the people about the importance of reporting cases early. Victims are also advised to report cases to the police. However, the majority of them choose not to report the crimes and Mwongera said they could not force them to do so.

Meanwhile, Mr Richard Montsho, programme manager for Save the Children UK in Musina, said they supported local organizations that looked after children in this area, such as the Christian Women Place of Safety that accommodated both women and boys. "Here we provide technical support for them like training and resources in the form of food. We also help children with psycho-social support and we also train them on quality care and support standard."

Police spokesperson in Limpopo Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said they were very concerned about the incidents happening at the border. Mulaudzi said they had deployed the crime prevention unit to patrol the border. He said the South African National Defense Force had also been deployed to man the border.

"From the South African side, we are doing our best to prevent these crimes. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about things that are happening on the Zimbabwean side of the border," said Mulaudzi, adding that he did not understand why people were still risking their lives by jumping the border.

Many of the Zimbabwean nationals whom we interviewed said, however, that they could not afford to pay the money needed when applying for a passport. According to the information we have, it costs R3 000 to get a passport that will come within a day and it also costs about R2 500 to get a passport that will be ready within a week, while it cost about R500 to get a passport that will be available in six months´ time.