Efforts by police to remove xenophobia refugees from the Glenanda shelter in Johannesburg ran into resistance by lunchtime on Tuesday.
”We are trying to move them into police vans but they do not want to leave,” said police spokesperson Inspector Lorraine van Emmerik.
”The people that haven’t registered [for temporary identification cards] are being taken out of the camp.”
A South African Press Association photographer on the scene said the refugees were moved into police vans, but they complained that it was too hot inside.
Police then moved them out of the vans again. By lunchtime, refugees were waiting outside with their baggage, unsure what would happen next.
The Gauteng provincial department earlier said hundreds of xenophobia refugees would be removed after refusing to apply for temporary identification cards.
”They will be kicked out of the shelter and then they will see for themselves. It is clear that they don’t want any assistance from the government,” said Gauteng government spokesperson Thabo Masebe.
Last week, police clashed with refugees after some residents held security guards hostage at the Glenanda shelter, the biggest refugee camp in Gauteng.
The Department of Home Affairs offered refugees the opportunity to register for temporary identification cards. This would give them legal protection for six months if they were found to be in the country illegally.
However, only about 900 out of the 1 850 refugees at the shelter had registered by Monday at 5pm when the deadline expired, said Masebe.
”We are determined that all the people who refused to register will be removed from the shelter,” he said.
”Furthermore, home affairs may also examine their documents, and if they are found not to have proper legal documentation to be in South Africa, they will be deported.”
Masebe said he did not know why some refugees did not want to register for the temporary identification cards, but speculated that they might want to return to their home countries.
”A few of them claim they have refugee status, but nobody is able to verify that,” he added.
He said representatives from the United Nations refugee agency explained to refugees on Monday that it was better to register for the identification cards.
A wave of xenophobic attacks that started in Alexandra township on May 12 and then spread around the country left more than 60 people dead and 17 000 displaced, according to police. About 1 400 people were arrested. — Sapa