Gauteng refugee shelters to close

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Sep 30 2008 07:07

Two of the remaining shelters for foreigners in Gauteng will close on Tuesday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported on Monday.

However, foreigners still living there had told the national broadcaster they had no money and nowhere to go.

The shelters were opened in May when a wave of xenophobic violence swept the province, claiming 62 lives, leaving hundreds injured and tens of thousands of foreign nationals displaced.

The Gauteng government wants those foreigners in the country legally reintegrated into communities, and those in South Africa illegally, deported.

It would assess the situation on Tuesday and unveil a plan on how to deal with the problem.

Some of the residents of the shelters at Rand Airport and in Boksburg claim they have no money and nowhere to go. The shelters are to be destroyed on Tuesday.

University of the Witwatersrand Law School Professor Jonathan Klaaren said the provincial government was allowed to consolidate camps, but could not intimidate or harass the residents.

"... So the short answer is no they can't close all the camps," he told the SABC. -- Sapa

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