Women refugees demand UNHCR help
A GROUP of women refugees marched from Greenmarket Square to Waldorf Arcade in St George’s Mall to hand over a memorandum at the office of the UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR).
The women carried their children on their backs while singing songs of their struggle.
They want the UNHCR to “follow the right protocols to assist them as refugees”. They had placards saying “Enough is enough with refugee women abuse”.
With more than 200 000 asylum seekers’ applications still pending at the Department of Home Affairs, Aline Bukuru the leader of the march, said this was affecting them as most of them are unemployed and have to depend on their husbands “who can be controlling and sometimes abusive”.
“We run from our countries because of the living conditions and come here hoping for a better life. The human rights groups and other organisations that are suppose to protect our rights ignore us. Our children don’t have certificates so they cannot go to school. They are being robbed of the freedom to (an) education, which is not fair.”
One of the protesters, Afia Lekhutcha from Ghana, said she had three months to leave the country and had been trying to get her documents for five months now but without success.
Due to the backlog, many refugees are undocumented, meaning they will remain unemployed and sometimes reducedto committing crimes.
The UNHCR was unavailable for comment.
“The UNHCR is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and solve refugee problems worldwide.
“Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country,” says its website.