Durban refugees face uncertain future amid move from pavement to park, Lindela - TimesLIVE

Four months after it was turned into an encampment for stranded refugees, the pavement outside the home affairs office on Che Guevara Road in Durban is clean and quiet.

Home affairs officials have removed about 400 people, mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi and Rwanda, who had made the pavement their home after repeated attacks by March and March.

On Tuesday five buses carried 274 men, women and children and their belongings to the Lindela repatriation centre in Krugersdorp, Gauteng.

Another group of about 200 people who chose not to be taken to Gauteng were moved to Stella Park in Glenwood, southwest of the Durban city centre.

eThekwini municipal workers clean up the street after refugees who had lived outside the Home Affairs office in Che Guevara Road for four months were either transported to Lindela in Gauteng or moved to Stella Park in Glenwood. 📹: @sandysndlovu pic.twitter.com/mgOJIVKah3

Moments after the refugees were moved municipal workers cleared the debris, bedding and other abandoned belongings.

Spokesperson Ndileka Cola said the interministerial committee (IMC) on migration gave the green light on the relocation after some of refugees agreed to move to Lindela.

Cola said it was not known how long the group would stay there but the government would continue discussions with the UN high commissioner for refugees regarding possible options to resettle the group in another country.

In the run-up to the June 30 anti-foreigners protests, scores of foreign nationals left their homes and businesses.

While thousands were repatriated to their countries of origin, the documented refugees and asylum seekers have lived on the busy road outside the department of home affairs refugee office since May 22.

A protest on September 3 descended into chaos, with police using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters during a tense confrontation with the migrants. At least three people were injured and one person was arrested.

Last Thursday about 300 March and March members gathered in Durban, led by founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, who carried a traditional mat, saying they were prepared to sleep on the road to make their point.

March and March described the camp as an eyesore and health hazard and alleged some refugees robbed businesses, homes and pedestrians in the area.

Businesses in the area also said the refugees negatively affected their trade and called for the government to rehome them to safe, secure and hygienic living conditions.

Raphael Bahebwa, a representative of the group who chose not to go to Lindela, said they refused to accede to government pressure.

“Today around half of the refugees who had been living on Che Guevara Road boarded buses to travel to Lindela, the notorious prison used to hold undocumented migrants prior to deportation. They have been given no clarity at all on what their future holds, or on what, if any, plans the government has for them.

“We have been repeatedly attacked by March and March, acting with the support of ActionSA and the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), and have received repeated threats, some of which we have shared with the media. These threats include a threat to have men from the nearby Dalton Hostel attack us during the night.

“Along with threats from March and March and anonymous people, we have also been threatened by the government.”

He said they were told by home affairs KZN provincial manager Cyril Mncwabe they would be evicted from the street if they didn’t leave.

“Those of us who have refused the pressure to accept being taken to Lindela have now moved to Stella Park. Dangerous weather is forecast and we also do not know what our future holds. Many of us have children, and many of our children are in local schools, which is one of the reasons why we refused the pressure to be taken to Lindela.”

Bahebwa said the government refused to make arrangements to reintegrate the refugees safely into their communities and now faced an uncertain future particularly amid a second wave of threats to expel foreigners by September 30.

He said they were “deeply grateful to all the principled South African comrades who have stood with us in solidarity through this terrible ordeal”.

On Tuesday Mncwabe said when the group took occupation outside their offices in May and after verification, they were found to be documented asylum seekers and refugees.

“It has been an ongoing issue for us and with the intervention of the IMC, we tried to address the situation and we gave them two options to consider, reintegration or Lindela. None of the options were agreed to until now, when some opted to go [to Lindela or Stella Park].”

He said the initial figure was 282 people, but it decreased to 274 because a child was not declared fit to travel and her mother would stay behind with her. Two other refugees were arrested following last week’s clash with March and March. A further two opted out at the last minute.

Mncwabe said the department was still willing to consider assisting those who had verified documents and who had now been moved to Stella Park.

He said a representative from a NGO had confirmed they would be willing to provide shelter for the group who didn’t want to go to Lindela, so he was uncertain why they had been moved to the park.

He said this was now a matter for law enforcement and the department was happy they had been moved away from their office in Durban.

Mncwabe said with regard to the refugees in Lindela, they would advocate for reintegration into communities rather than negotiate with the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) to resettle the group, which could be a drawn-out process.

He said the refugees had an option to go back into any community they found peaceful and safe.

Xolani Zuma from March and March said last week the organisation gave the municipality seven days to take the necessary steps to remove the refugees living on the street because it was a breach of the municipal by-laws, or face court action.

“No one can sleep on the road or pavement or bath and strip naked in public places, and it was incumbent on the municipality to enforce the bylaw. The fact that these people have been here for more than three months means the state failed to do what they were supposed to do.

“We were supposed to file the papers to take the municipality to court this afternoon [Tuesday] to enforce the by-laws.

“The only reason we are not happy is why must it take a court threat to government to implement the laws and by-laws? We must be very emphatic that we have no problem if they are here legally as refugees, but they are not here to sleep on the streets. They must go back to where they were staying before June 30.

“Our issue is the government failed to implement the by-laws and if these people moved to the park, we will go to court if they are not removed from there.”