Zimbabwe's woes spill across border

Around southern Africa, many countries are working hard to stop “border jumpers” — Zimbabweans who illegally sneak into surrounding nations to seek jobs or escape political persecution as their nation slips further into chaos. This border town has crafted some imaginative agreements with its Zimbabwean counterpart, Beitbridge, across the bridge over the Limpopo River, to cope with the impact of the worsening miseries in Zimbabwe since the government began seizing land from white farmers in 2000. Still, Zimbabwe’s problems are literally spilling into South Africa. Beitbridge’s waste treatment plant’s main pump is broken and the facility is spewing sewage into the Limpopo, the source of water for both towns. During the last six months, patient visits have doubled at Musina Hospital, and half of those patients are from Zimbabwe. Its maternity ward is swamped with Zimbabwean women, who deliver nearly 70 percent of the babies born at the hospital. Full Story