Refugees and asylum seekers camping outside the Lindela detention centre have refused to move to any shelters after a lengthy discussion with the South African Human Rights Commission and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Friday.
The group of 415 displaced people shouted down officials from both organisations as they tried to reason with them and urged them to accept shelter for the sake of the women and children.
SAHCR chairperson Jody Kollapen told the group that the conditions on the street were not conducive for them and could lead to serious illnesses or possible death.
”This situation can not continue, and the children especially are in need of care,” Kollapen said.
Kollapen told the group that this was not the time for
finger-pointing but time to find a solution to the problem.
The group then became agitated and began to advance towards the two speakers, shouting that they were ”fed up” with their stories.
Police at the scene advised SAHRC and the UNHCR to leave.
Meanwhile, the Mogale city municipality was on Friday trying to arrange accommodation for the refugees.
”We have all agreed, this is about human beings sleeping on the side of the road, a national road, and it is wrong,” said Bongani Gaeje, a spokesperson for the municipality.
”We are trying to agree to get them to move to a place of shelter,” he said.
A number of sites had been identified and representatives of the group had gone with officials to inspect them.
The centres were near Randfontein, a mining and industrial town about an hour’s drive from Johannesburg. – Sapa