In My Shoes
IN HER introduction to this heart-rending volume Kate Brody writes, “My greatest hope for you the reader is that once you have read these stories, not to feel pity for refugees but to rather see them in a new light. I hope in some form this is a call to action not to be complacent about the ill-treatment and exploitation of foreigners”.
not only evokes a deep sense of sadness and frustration on behalf of the millions of migrants seeking refuge in this country, but verges on anger on their behalf because of the bad deal most get in their host country.
The short, but intensely personal, accounts they give are just a small sampling of those who have fled conflict, war, terror, genocide, poverty and harsh economic hardship in their home countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Cameroon, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Comoros and other SADC states.
At the launch of the book last week at the Book Lounge, some of the refugees read out their accounts and spoke frankly and emotionally of their experiences. Their message was simple and hardhitting: escaping hardship in their own countries, many have faced xenophobia; [they] deal with a costly and complicated tangle of red tape; and are forced to live in areas where fear is a daily reality.
Andre, from Rwanda: My decision to leave my country was because of war. I was not safe… My journey was very tough. I took a bus from Rwanda to Malawi. From Malawi to Johannesburg by truck. After my arrival in Cape Town, I had problems with the Home Affairs papers. They were not issuing such papers in Cape Town. They were only issued in Durban, Musina or Johannesburg. As I did not have money to go there, it made my stay more difficult.”
Abdullah from Somalia: “My aunt and her son were killed by warlords ... who were fighting against my clan... In July 2011, the government was not strong enough to protect its citizens from the cruel Al-Shabab who were killing and bombing innocent victims. I was then forced to flee for peace and safety before being persecuted. (Abdullah writes that it took him 26 days to get to South Africa. While he was initially granted an asylum seeker permit, his renewal application