Thuso Khumalo
As the world marks World Refugee Day today, a group of refugees in South Africa says the United Nations High Commission for Refugees is letting them down.
The group was evicted from camping in front of the UNHCR offices in Pretoria where they demanded to be resettled in another country after they were displaced by xenophobic violence in 2019.
From a distance, the abandoned three-room building looks well-built. However, one refugee says conditions inside the refugee center at a farm in Bronkhorstspruit, 50 kilometers east of Pretoria, are heartbreaking.
Mothers, fathers and children are crammed inside the three rooms. Their luggage is piled along the walls, with some around them to demarcate each family’s living space. These are the spaces they use for bathing, dining and sleeping with zero privacy.
About 100 refugees, many from the Democratic Republic of Congo, were taken to the farm in April after South African police evicted them from a camp in front of the UN refugee agency’s offices in Pretoria. They had been demanding that UNHCR resettle them in other countries to escape xenophobic violence in South Africa.
Refugee Lukombo Kiese told VOA they have been treated like animals at the farm.
“The condition is very bad because this is a bush. There is no one living here and there is no water here. The toilet is not working. We are just making the toilet in the bush here the way you see.”
One student who did not want to be named told VOA that there is no school for them.
“l feel unsafe, traumatized and l just feel so bad.”
The area is about 15 kilometers from the nearest communities. Johnny Ruso, who has three children at the camp, blames UNHCR for refusing to move them to another country. He is still traumatized by xenophobic violence he says he has experienced since 2019.
“Those people, when they are coming, they will attack you. Some of them are coming not to steal; no! to sabotage. They burnt my car. They're gonna burn everything they find. If you make a mistake, they're gonna kill you.”
Over the past several years, South Africa has seen waves of anti-foreigner protests and attacks, driven in part by the country’s weakening economy and unemployment rate, which tops 30 percent.
When the refugee camp was broken up in April, Laura Padoan, a UNHCR spokesperson, disputed allegations the agency wasn’t helping the protesters.
“We will be working with authorities closely following up and carefully monitoring the situation to ensure that the refugees are given proper advice, counseling, and protection that they need.”
The government has also urged the refugees to reintegrate into local communities, but the group insists on going to another country.