Are we ready to host foreigners?

With just a few weeks before the start of the much anticipated Confederations Cup and with a year to go before 2010 Soccer World Cup many foreigners might wonder if it’s safe to visit South Africa. This, after blood-thirsty mobs unleashed a reign of terror on foreigners for about two weeks last year. The image of a country portrayed by the world as a peace-loving post-apartheid rainbow nation was forever tarnished when photographs of the victims of xenophobic violence hit the headlines globally. (Graphic by FIFA)  Read more

Reintegration is key

“One of the greatest challenges facing refugees in South Africa has been promoting their reintegration into host communities and establishing new communities after they were displaced by the xenophobic violence of May 2008,” says Monique Ekoko Senior Regional Protection Officer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Speaking at a community media training workshop conducted by the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism and the UNHCR, Ekoko said that under the circumstances, refugees were unable to exercise their rights fully which further hampered their ability to reintegrate into society. (Photo by AFP) Read more

Refugees, Rights and Recourse

Refugees and many South African citizens seem to be unaware that the South African labour law applies equally to citizens and refugees. This results in misconceptions in which refugees are exploited by their employers. Secondary school teacher, Florence Ndhlovu, (35) a Zimbabwean refugee who has been in the country for two years, could not find work in her profession – she works in a tavern in Soshanguve in Pretoria. “It’s not that I enjoy doing this job but I have to work. My family in Zimbabwe needs my support. (Photo by Mike Hutchings) Read more

Women refugees travel the distance

“I was on the run and fighting for my life since I was eight years’ old.” These are the words of Comfort Ekoko, one of the many women refugees living in the Central Methodist Church, Johannesburg. Ekoko has come a long, long way. She crossed three borders, passed through four countries and escaped civil war to find refuge. She was a child when she started her journey and when she stepped into South Africa she was a woman with a Bachelor of Science degree. She does not know if her journey is over. (Photo by Google Images) Read more

Tenacity in turbulence…

If you had no identity document, no real job and no one to turn to, do you ever wonder how life would be? Would you get up, pull up your sleeves and turn your life around? This is what two childhood friends did when they braved crocodile-infested waters of the mighty Limpopo River and crossed the border into “safe territory.” Nelson Viriri and his childhood friend Ranganai Guchu swam across the Limpopo River to get into South Africa. They came with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a needle in hand. Read more

Lessons learnt a year later

“Being a refugee is extremely difficult in that you have to acknowledge that you’re invading someone else’s space. Yes, we have suffered much. We have lost much and we cannot undo the violence against us that took place a year ago”, said Mike Mugiti, a Zimbabwean refugee residing at Rondebult informal settlement, East of Johannesburg. The sufferings that people like Mugiti have endured would all be in vain if we fail to acknowledge the lessons learned from these brutal attacks. Read more

Mary’s Story

Mary Mafa has been an orphan since she was twelve. She lived in Tsheshebane village, Zimbabwe. When she discovered she was pregnant, she decided to come to South Africa. Mary believed she could make a better future for herself and her child. Having no other way to get here, she decided to walk. “In the company of four friends, we walked the many kilometers from our village to the Beit bridge border,” she says. Read more

UNHCR making the connection …

“This country was supposed to be a refuge for me and my children but the attacks against us left us hurt,” says Alphina Nombe who fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo because of the civil war. When she arrived in South Africa, she found no safe haven. While the May 2008 xenophobic attacks were condemned by most South Africans the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is one of many organizations working on creating awareness about refugees and the protection and assistance they need from host communities in countries of asylum. Read more

Coming together to beat crime

Migrants feeling the brunt of crime have taken steps to safeguard their interests in their newly adopted countries. Thabiso Mosima travels to some of South Africa’s crime-infested townships: Soshanguve, Winterveldt and Stinkwater, all situated North of Tshwane and finds out how migrants deal with crime. Living in South Africa is still dangerous for hundreds of foreigners who are dubbed by locals as “walking ATM machines.” (Photo by Thabiso Mosima)  Read more