Resettlement of refugees
11 November 2019
From 8 October 2019, foreign nationals who have been living in South Africa as refugees and asylum-seekers camped outside the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) offices in both Cape Town and Pretoria. They were (and are still) seeking to be resettled in other countries, following the most recent spate of violent xenophobic attacks in the country. The September attacks sparked international outrage and saw 12 people dead (most of whom were South African), hundreds arrested and property damage worth thousands of Rands in the streets of Johannesburg.
On 30 October 2019, three weeks after the peaceful sit-in began in Cape Town, the South African Police Service (SAPS) arrived at the Waldorf Arcade in downtown Cape Town - which houses the UNHCR offices - and gave the refugees time to pack up their belongings and clear out. This followed the granting of a court order sought by the building’s owners to remove the refugees. After issuing repeated warnings to evacuate the building and non-cooperation on the part of the refugees, the SAPS began to forcibly remove the people. They made use of stun grenades and water cannons, and fired into a crowd comprised of both adults and small children. The police also arrested approximately 100 people at the scene. Footage of the chaos which ensued shocked many, particularly images and video showing young children being pulled from the arms of their mothers by police officials attempting to execute arrests. The events resulted in up to seven children being reported missing, with no information as to where police officials took them.
With the violent history of xenophobia in the country, the refugees and asylum-seekers, arguably rightfully so, fear for their lives and livelihoods in South Africa. Since 1995, the country has shown great and consistent intolerance for non-South Africans living within these borders. With over 10 recorded xenophobic events in recent history, this intolerance has manifested in the death and destruction of the property and livelihoods of those who fall into this undeniably vulnerable group. Their request to be resettled is founded in a bona fide fear of further harm to them and their families.
While the resettlement process is not new and is built into the framework of the UNHCR, which recognises that vulnerable groups may not always find the safety they seek in the first country from which they seek asylum, it is not easily executed. Resettlement is understood as the transfer of refugees/asylum-seekers who have fled their countries of origin and are in “first refuge countries”, to another State that has agreed to admit them as refugees and grant them permanent settlement and, eventually, an opportunity for citizenship. An example are Somali nationals who fled conflict and insecurity and sought asylum in countries like South Africa and Kenya, who for various reasons, are relocated to countries like Australia and Canada.