4 hours to go

Windhoek, Namibia - August 2017

In Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, I met some refugees coming from Osire, the only settlement for asylum seekers of the country. It’s always been considered one of the best managed centers in the world since the 90s when it hosted up to 20000 people from Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia and the DRC. It has schools, a clinic, a police station and a business center. In recent years there have been no more mass arrivals in Namibia, and Osire population has dropped to less than 3 000 people, also because of voluntary repatriation and resettlement of some of the refugees. After their arriving in the 90s or early 2000s, all of the refugees I met, have been living in the settlement for 10-15 years. When they need to go out of the the camp they still have to return on the same day, even when they go to the capital. Osire is 200 km north of Windhoek, so it takes at least 3 hours to arrive, more or less 6 hours for way and back. That would leave 6 hours.

“We never leave exactly 3 hours before, because if we are late we risk a lot, deportation, high fees or prohibition of leaving the center. Drivers often pick other occasional passengers up on the way in order to pay cheaper price for the transport, so at the end we can stay 4 hours in the city, when the time is good with us”

We meet at their point of arrival, near a market where they buy at lowest price. They travelled to Windhoek, after receiving the permission from camp management, as they usually have to do on Friday and Tuesday, when there are minivans affordable for them to take.

“The van brings us here and brings back home, but it can’t go everywhere. We neet to do some little jobs to get some money, some of us want to visit some friends, go to the cemetery to visit relatives or friends that passed away in 15 years here in Namibia, some have to go to the police or to visit friends in prison. Sometimes we have friends accompanying us around with a motorcycle but there is no time to go everywhere. We have to go back. We have been living at the camp for more than 15 years and we still have not been given any papers to enable to work legally. We can’t work more than some hours here when we manage to come, and we have to spend money so many times to go to Windhoek without working properly, that saving money is impossible. Sun sets around 19. We have to go.“

They leave around 15. Then me and my taxi driver friend decide to drive as well to a lot of places. Very fast. Everywhere they could have worked a little, at some markets they go to save money, at the cemetery, visiting friends around, at the prison, at the police station. We go to all the places that these people would like to go every time they come to the capital, but they don’t have time to go to.