Musina
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| Musina Messina |
|
  Musina
|
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| Coordinates: 22°13′S 30°00′E / 22.217°S 30°E | |
| Country |  South Africa |
|---|---|
| Province | Limpopo |
| Established | 1968 |
| Population (2001) | |
| - Total | 40,826 |
| Time zone | +2 (UTC) |
| Post Code | 0900 |
| Area code(s) | 015 |
| Website | http://www.musina.gov.za |
Musina (previously, but still often called Messina) is the northernmost town in the Limpopo province of South Africa near the Limpopo River border to Zimbabwe. It has a population of about 20,000. Iron ore, coal, magnetite, graphite, asbestos, diamonds, semi-precious stones and copper are mined in the region.
The Musina tribe discovered copper and settled here. In the 20th century European prospectors rediscovered the large copper desposits and established the town of Messina. The spelling of the name was changed to Musina in 2003 to correct the colonial-era misspelling of the name of the Musina people. The Limpopo River is a dry river bank which flows with water on average once every seven years in rains when lichen and other plant species of the desert region come alive. Sometimes, it floods. The low-shrub and thorny tree lands that surround Musina and thrive in rains are alive with animals in sanctuaries that offer experienced-only camping safari accessible by sand and rock road tracks.
The link with Zimbabwe has become one of the busiest roads in the world and the busiest in Africa, due to black market importers from Zimbabwe and people looking for employment. This is mainly due to thousands crossing (and fleeing) the border into South Africa every day. According the the New York Times, in January 2009 Musina had a shifting population of about 15,000 foreigners, overwhelmingly Zimbabweans, many of whom lived in a refugee camp at the showground or in the streets. [1]
[edit] Name
The city and surroundings have been called Messina since the very day Europeans arrived in the area. The town founded and settled by white people was also named Messina. However, in 2003, the Limpopo government (while changing the names of cities in Limpopo) changed the name to Musina. Unlike other towns in South Africa, it was one of the very few which underwent very little riots or oppositions, such as Pretoria and Louis Trichart.
Currently the name is Musina, but the city is alsmost exclussivly called Messina by many whites and it's often only the black community in the neighboring townships (black people don't make up a majority in the actual city) that call it Musina.
Coordinates: 22°20′17″S 30°02′30″E / 22.33806°S 30.04167°E
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