Migrants bemoan slow paperwork processes
Refugee day marred by complaints about officials demanding bribes and sex
Irene Dede fled the Democratic Republic of Congo after her father was murdered for political reasons.
The 36-year-old mother of two said that the lives of her family were in danger and in 2008 she and her siblings fled to South Africa.
“I came here and I had nothing. I ended up selling things on the street to make money to feed my children,” she said.
Dede was one of the hundreds of refugees who attended the World Refugee Day event at Constitution Hill yesterday hosted by the department of home affairs and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
According to UNHCR, more than 68.5 million people across the world were displaced by the end of 2017 with one person being displaced every two seconds.
Dede said that she has found it difficult to find a job because of her asylum status in South Africa.
“I have found it very hard to pay my rent. Now I stay in a church in Yeoville because I have no money,” she said.
She is currently attending a sewing school and hopes that she will be able to generate income from making dresses.
“I want my children to be big people in the world. They must not suffer like I have,” she said.
In his keynote address, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said there were plans to improve the systems and treatment of refugees at centres like the Desmond Tutu Refugee Reception Centre in Pretoria which has been accused of violating human rights.
“We must aim to build a prosperous Africa that will be a dynamic force,” Gigaba said.
Meanwhile, Somali asylum seekers in Durban complained about officials demanding bribes and sexual favours from women.
These complaints emerged during an oversight visit by DA’s shadow minister of home affairs Hanif Hoosen who interacted with Somali refugees.
“We are hard done by officials at the department of home affairs. If we don’t pay, they threatened to send us back,” said Ismael Aadam, spokesman for Somalia Association of South Africa.
He said the delay in issuing residency permits had increased the number of illegal immigrants, saying they cannot go back to Somalia because of the deadly conflict.
Other grievances, included women being harassed for sexual favours in return for refugee status and having to pay a bribe in order to jump the queue.
Home affairs spokesman, Thabo Mokgola, said: “The department cannot deal with general statements of corruption or any other claims which are faceless.
“We are not refusing that they might be officials accepting bribes.
“We always encourage people to come forward and report to relevant authorities so that the claims can be investigated.
“But the problem also is that people are always prepared to pay bribes even to any random person who claim to be employed by the department,” he said.