Zimbabwe Women Risk Safety, Arrest to Buy Cheaper Groceries in South Africa
Zimbabwe Women Risk Safety, Arrest to Buy Cheaper Groceries in South Africa
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BEITBRIDGE, Zimbabwe Faced with a deepening economic crisis where runaway inflation and weekly price hikes have long been ordinary, many Zimbabwean women risk their safety and arrest to cross into South Africa by “unofficial” routes just for necessities like food and clothing.
Beitbridge is the only border crossing post between the two countries on land, and it’s busy even under normal circumstances. But passage has been restricted to essential services, mostly cargo trucks, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Melody Chengetai braces the murky waters of the crocodile-infested Limpopo River instead. The widowed single mother of four crosses this way into South Africa’s border town of Musina for basics, and then returns.