In the 1970s, the city was involved in the conflicts of the Rhodesian Bush War and South Africa under apartheid. Thousands of South Africans and Rhodesians crossed the border and into the country where they either stayed in Gaborone or Francistown, or flew to Zambia or Tanzania to participate in anti-apartheid movements or freedom-fighting activities with Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union. The runaways put economic stress on the city, caused the standard of living to decrease, and created tensions not only between the governments of Botswana, South Africa, and Rhodesia but also between the citizens within Botswana and the refugees. A quote from a government official summarizes the conundrum: