Little welcome for refugees in SA

By Said Penda
BBC News, Cape Town

Some refugees, like Serge, are able to study in South Africa

Muizenberg, a little seaside suburb south of Cape Town, has earned the nickname "Matongue", after a neighbourhood in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Cape Town is home to 35,000 refugees, and Muizenberg has become home to the city's largest concentration of Congolese: several thousand, it is believed.

Listening to their stories of xenophobia and administrative bungling, it becomes clear that South Africa - a country that sees itself as Africa's leader in the human rights field - does very little for refugees.

In Don Pepe, one of the old buildings where refugees live, people sleep on mattresses, 10 in a room measuring only two by three metres.

"This is suffering," says one of the young men there. Aged 26, he has been in South Africa for five years, and has still not obtained the card he needs to be recognised officially as a refugee.

This week, Cape Town hosted a conference bringing to promote dialogue between refugees and South Africans.

"In some cases we are considered lower than animals," said Roland, who after four years in South Africa has only a temporary permit that has to be renewed every two months and which does not give the right to employment.

Documents

Okei Leandre from Ivory Coast is one of those who has obtained a refugee card, but is still frustrated.

"All these documents make no sense," he told the conference, which was attended by officials from the Home Affairs department, the representatives of UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille, and charities.

There is a need for strong pressure on these dictatorial and corrupt regimes that create the conditions that make refugees - and that is just as much the responsibility of the South African government Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille

"I have my refugee status, and yet I can't open a bank account with this card."

Francois Nganga, from the Pool region of Congo, pleaded for understanding.

"Do something to make South Africans understand that they are our brothers," said Mr Nganga, whose home region has been the scene of fierce conflict between government forces and the "Ninja" rebels.

Mayor Zille acknowledged the need to combat "intolerable" levels of xenophobia that exist in South Africa.

"Many refugees bring valuable skills and vibrant cultural diversity to our city," she told the BBC.

"Some also start businesses and create jobs."

Art

In the foyer of the Cape Town Civic Centre, there was an exhibition of art by refugees.

Two of the artists, Roch Armed Mikala, 25, from Congo and Steve Bandoma, 26, from DR Congo, said they hoped the exhibition would help them "to get out of the ghetto we are living in and to find a market for our work".

Roch is hoping that the exhibition will help him find a market for his art

Back in the conference room, two young refugees told their stories.

Naomi Kayembe fled from DR Congo with her parents to escape armed conflict, while Florence Joanez left Angola during the long civil war there.

Both speak excellent English, and not the French and Portuguese that are the official languages of their respective home countries.

Yet they say "we are not accepted by our South African schoolmates, who call us foreigners."

South Africa has chosen not to build camps to isolate refugees and asylum seekers from wider society.

But this does not mean that refugees are treated fairly, says Loren Landau of the University of Johannesburg, who conducted a study on the situation of refugees in South Africa that was released this week.

'System failure'

In an article published in the South African press, Mr Landau describes the dysfunctionality of the system and argues that with just under 150,000 refugees, South Africa is doing worse than other countries with the same level of wealth.

Refugees in Muizenberg endure squalid living conditions

He cites "people sleeping outside offices just to file an application; security guards and translators demanding money simply to walk through the door; long delays and lost files; police abuse; and denial of key social services, including life-saving medical care".

Yet according to South Africa's 1998 Refugees Act, refugees have the same rights as citizens apart from the right to vote.

They are entitled to employment, education, and basic services like housing and health.

Mayor Zille - a member of the opposition Democratic Alliance - believes that just as foreign countries put pressure on South Africa to end apartheid, there should be firmer action against oppressive regimes elsewhere in Africa that are driving refugees southwards.

"There is a need for strong pressure on these dictatorial and corrupt regimes that create the conditions that make refugees - and that is just as much the responsibility of the South African government."

South African President Thabo Mbeki has spoken of a need for democracy and good governance in Africa.

Yet on a recent tour of central Africa he appeared on platforms with several leaders responsible for situations that are driving refugees towards South Africa.

Likewise, he has resisted calls from civil society and from western governments to take a firmer stand against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, whose regime's violations of human rights have been repeatedly denounced.