SA families’ refugee bids fail

Applications rejected in Australia amid reports of surge in number of South Africans seeking humanitarian visas

A NUMBER South African families’ attempts to be granted refugee status in Australia have failed.

The families, according to Australian media, after applying for protection and humanitarian visas, received rejection letters stating: “The risk of murder and serious physical/sexual assaults is one faced by the population of the country in general and not by the applicants personally.”

Reports said there had recently, been a surge in the number of South Africans seeking such visas. This comes two years after Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton suggested white farmers in South Africa were being persecuted, and should be given special attention under the country’s humanitarian programme.

He had instructed his department to consider claims from “persecuted” South African farmers, who had not only been murdered, “but tortured and raped”.

According to the Australian Home

Affairs Ministry’s website, refugees are considered to be persons who have a well-founded fear of being seriously harmed because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a social group.

In Australia, politician and South African expatriate Savanna Labuschagne told media there that she was frustrated that South Africans were prevented from receiving assistance by the government.

The Home Affairs Ministry there said there were many other visa options for South Africans including skilled, temporary and family visas. Nearly 80 000 visas had been granted to South Africans since July 2018.

Lobby group AfriForum, which has highlighted the incidence of farm attacks in South Africa, said applications for refugee status in Australia would not “solve the problem”.

“We are looking to deal with it (farm attacks) here, in South Africa,” said AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel. “If you are going to ask for that kind of visa, you would have to prove that some kind of genocide is happening.

“That is why from the outset we have never used the term ‘genocide’; what we are saying is that disproportionate numbers of farmers are being killed. Just like there are a disproportionate number of people being killed in gang violence in the Western Cape.”

AfriForum had called on the SAPS to set up a special task force to deal with farm murders, as had been done in the fight against rhino poaching and copper theft.