PUBLIC HEARING ON XENOPHOBIA BY SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, TOGETHER WITH PORTFOLIO COMMITTEES OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND HOME AFFAIRS

2ND TO 4TH NOVEMBER ZOO4


INTRODUCTION:

Troughout the ages the Church world-wide has been in solidarity with the oppressed. In this country Church; stood by those who were discriminated against under the apartheid regime. Today the Church faces a new challenge, which is the presence here of many people from beyond South Africa's borders This paper; however, will deal only with one category of foreigners, and these are "Refugees and Asylum Seekers" and their experiences in the country.

The Refugee Ministries Centre, an ecumenical ministry to refugees and asylum seekers was founded by St Mary's Anglican an Cathedral., Central Methodist Mission and the Lutheran Friedenskirche, to respond to the ever growing need for refugees and asylum seekers in Johannesburg. Apart from: sensitizing the public on the plight of refugees and asylum seekers in this country and educating refugees and asylum seekers about their rights, we have also found it necessary to intervene on behalf of the refugees and asylum seekers in the following areas...

1. Access to the Department of home Affairs, in particular the Rosettenville Office.
2. Access to health Care in general.
3. Access to shelter or housing.

The need to intervene in these areas was prompted by the outcry from refugees and asylum seekers, particularly the unbelievable experiences they go through to access the said services.

1. ACCESS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS ROSETTENVILLE:

In both the U.N. and Q.A.U conventions, it is clearly stated that the grant of asylum to refugees is a peaceful and humanitarian act, and shall not be regarded as an unfriendly act by any member state. This seems to be not the case currently at the Rosettenville Office Lee. From the testimonies of refugees and asylum seekers, the access to asylum process at the D.H.A. Rosettenville Office has been purely commerialized, making it impossible for any deserving asylum seekers to access the service. It is no longer a secret that a new asylum seeker has to pay R500 for any. appointment letter which leads to an asylum permit. An asylum seeker wanting refugee status has to pay R1 500. Lt is said and witnessed by our office that the chances of those without money accessing the Rosettenville Office are next to impossible.

We have in the past intimated this information to some officials, hoping that the situation will change, but instead it worsens day by day.

At our office we are confronted daily by helpless and deserving asylum seekers who have spent several days and nights there but could not access the service. Many of them are often arrested by the police and charged for being illegally in the country.

This concern has been expressed or communicated to various refugee agencies and human rights groups and recommendations have been made, but to this day there is nothing tangible to show.

2. ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE:

It is commonly believed by many South Africans that all foreigners are illegal immigrants This assumption is often demonstrated by health care workers, the majority of whom are unfamiliar with refugees and refugee laws. In our experience of dealing with health care givers, nine out of ten nurses and doctors you meet are ignorant of refugee rights to access the health care services.

Refugees are sometimes categorized as private patients, thus charging them at a high rate. The major problem though in refugees accessing the health care is that clerks and nurses, due to xenophobic tendencies make it impossible for a refugee to go through the process of screening.

3. ACCESS TO SHELTER:

There are various shelters, especially in the inner city of Johannesburg, where people pay from R3 - R5 per night. There are other shelters,, especially for women (abused), where they do not have to pay. Experience, has shown that due to harassment from locals living in the shelter, many refugees and asylum seekers find it difficult to stay. Due to threats and harassment, many flee and go back to the streets

We have been informed by some of the shelter owners that the Government do not allow them to keep refugees and. asylum seekers in their shelters. This fact has not been verified with the Government.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

This paper highlights some of the difficulties that refugees and asylum seekers face on a day to day basis. Some of these difficulties are similar in many other African countries that host refugees. But the degree of difficulty experienced in South Africa reflects the xenophobic attitudes and systems.

Unless a xenophobia campaign is fully and vigorously launched in almost every public sector, it will be impossible to talk about local integration as one of the durable solutions to the refugees in South Africa.