In commemoration of World Refugee Day on Wednesday, the Johannesburg City Hall hosted numerous NGOs and civil society groups that came together to highlight the troubles faced by refugees, particularly children, living in South Africa.
Hosted by the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CRMSA) — in partnership with others such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Department of Home Affairs and the Jesuit Refugee Service — the event included input from the government, civil society and the refugees themselves, with children in particular telling their stories to the crowd.
”I had parents who were able to take care of me. Today, I don’t have even my mother beside me,” said Leiven Manisha, a grade-11 student who moved to Johannesburg from Burundi a few years ago.
”A refugee needs special care. We have been given a special opportunity to be in South Africa, but still we need more help,” he said, explaining that many children do not have the correct documents to enable them to take their exams. ”We are here to contribute to this country; please assist us to get what we need,” he added.
Fanny Nonda, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, told the crowd she faced many challenges before getting her life on track in a new country. She moved to South Africa in 2000, but had to wait until February 2001 before she received her first official refugee permit.
She recalled her first week in the country, saying she slept on the street for a few days because the language barrier prevented her from getting the help she needed. Only when she met a fellow Congolese did she become aware of the processes involved in becoming a refugee and how to get assistance from the local government.
”Now I have refugee status and I am applying for official citizenship,” Nonda said. ”Where I was and where I am now standing, I just have to say thank you to God.”
Confusion
The keynote speaker at the event was Mpumi Majola, the deputy director of refugee affairs at the Department of Home Affairs. She said that unlike other countries, South Africa does not have refugee camps. ”Asylum seekers and refugees are allowed to be integrated into South African society; they are allowed to work and study in South Africa.”
But she added that this is not widely known by all government departments, and there is sometimes confusion regarding the documents refugees need to attain basic services. ”As a department it’s up to us to market these documents … and the job is not finished,” she said.
Making information more accessible to the refugee community is also on the City of Johannesburg’s agenda. In April this year it launched a migrants’ help desk that aims to assist and direct people towards the resources they require. ”The city wants to be serious about migrants,” emphasised Allan Grobler, the city’s human-development coordinator.
In time for World Refugee Day, the CRMSA also launched its annual report documenting how well refugees and asylum seekers are protected in South Africa. Loren Landau, executive chairperson of the CRMSA, spoke at Wednesday’s event.
”For those concerned with the rights of the poor and dispossessed, the news isn’t good,” he said about the findings of the 2007 report. ”While we applaud South Africa’s public commitments to upholding the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, the report finds these principles are undermined by prevailing xenophobia, administrative incapacity and weak political will.”
He added: ”Perhaps more disconcerting than all the administrative incompetence, xenophobia and violence is the complacency with which these are treated … By protecting the rights already promised them by South African and international national law, most refugees can work and contribute to South Africa, generating business and jobs we desperately need.
”But protecting these rights means moving beyond blanket condemnations, baseless accusations and fear. Instead, we must address refugees as we should other unfortunate groups … not by locking our doors, but by understanding their needs and rights; by working to ensure mechanisms are there to promote their interests; and by loudly protesting abuses against them.”