Johannesburg – Attacks on foreign nationals, the struggle to get jobs despite having skills and the slow pace of processing permits for asylum seekers are some of the concerns raised by refugees in South Africa.
Refugees got an opportunity to voice their challenges to Home Affairs Deputy Minister Fatima Chohan during the commemoration of World Refugee Day on Monday.
The day, which is observed internationally on 20 June, honours the courage and determination of those who are forced to flee their homeland due to persecution or the breakdown of public order.
This year’s World Refugee Day coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which will in 2011 hold all its commemorative events throughout the world under the theme “One refugee without hope is too many.”
Addressing refugees at Yeoville Recreation Centre, Chohan stressed that the country does not regard refugees as people who take away people’s jobs, but views them as people who come with skills to enrich the country.
She, however, noted that the department is facing huge backlogs in processing asylum seekers’ permits as most people don’t come to the country as refugees but economic migrants.
“About 60 to 65 percent of applicants received at the refugee centres on a daily basis are not genuine refugees but people seeking to make better lives. But we can’t turn our backs on them, hence the backlog and they continue to stay in the country without the right papers.
“We would be looking at a policy review on asylum seekers and try to look at refugees who bring skills and prioritise their applications to attract those skills. However, at this stage, we don’t have provision for low skills,” said Chohan.
Responding to a request for accommodation and grants to be made available for refugees in order to avoid conflict with local communities, Chohan told refugees that at this point, the country’s economy does not allow for the provision of grants for refugees.
However, she noted that once in possession of asylum status, one can apply for permanent residence, which will qualify them to apply for a RDP house and a child support grant.
City of Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Parks Tau said the city has established a multi-stakeholder forum in the form of the Johannesburg Migration Advisory Committee, which is composed of him as chairperson, members of the mayoral committee and representatives of institutions with specific expertise in the field of migration.
“The city launched a Migrant Helpdesk in 2007 with the main office based at Region F office as well as in all the city’s offices, to assist individuals and communities with advice on how to access government services, provide information, look after the needs of asylum seekers and coordinate the city’s support programmes,” said Tau.
He also condemned the attacks on foreign nationals, warning that appropriate action will be taken against the perpetrators. – Gabi Khumalo, BuaNews
