Many can identify with this... I was given a priviledge to address parliament on matters concerning some of the lest fortunate of society. Please go through this article and tell us your honest opinions about what you think of our ideas. These ideas are not to be seen as gospel truth but they are genuine facts.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Madame Speaker,
Honorable Members of the House,
Honorable Ministers and Premiers,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Fellow refugees,
May I be allowed, in this august House, to take this time to express the concerns threatening the refugee in order to bring close to the highest present sensibilities represented here, a message to bring a new order of peace, hope and change to all the refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa. I will start by an apology as I may take time going through the pages I have prepared for his cause. I am also aware of the fact that some Members of this House will struggle to understand the meaning and the pronunciation of some words that I will utter because of my broken English. I am also aware of the fact that some refugees may have a say, but speaking openly one’s mind in this House is to invite death for some of us.
To speak so that South Africa can listen, think, plan and act can only be achieved through this House. I am very delighted to see that, despite my three different letters left with no reply, requesting this House for an avenue to address, in my own capacity, the concern of refugees in this country has been received differently.
Honorable Speaker, the political record of African leaderships and governments over the last two decades until our days still speaks better in terms of refugee credentials. I am sure you may have found, as I have, that most of our leaders were once in their lifetime refugees. This reality could not only bring hope that the future is bright but also prosperity to refugees wherever they are found in Africa because the leadership has experienced the hardships surrounding the unfortunate fate of refuge. Contrary to this, Africa has turned the back against her own people, and Africans have proven unable to think back even about their most recent history. This reality goes far as saying that some African heroes were once refugees for one cause or another. The reality to become a hero for the cause of humanity rests on virtues such as the theological virtues (love, charity, and peace), the moral or cardinal virtues and the civil virtues (that oblige us to honor and love our nations and the laws therein). All these values are well enshrined in the persona of the refugee. This also goes far as saying that South Africa can also produce heroes among the many refugees she hosts. In addition, whether we have to accept this reality or not, it comes to all of us to answer the question "who is a hero and what sacrifice are we going to pay for this?" In short, a hero is not the person who performs extraordinary things but any person who performs ordinary things in an extraordinary way. Refugees are not out of the definition.
False are the ideas that refugees come to South Africa to find a better life. They rather come here to find a place of safety.
Madame Speaker, in order to answer the many dilemmas facing the refugee in South Africa, we need to go back to the very first value enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa:
"We the People of South Africa,
Recognize the injustices of our past,
Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it
United in our diversity."
Madame Speaker, during his State of the Nation address on 6 February 2004, President Thabo Mbeki, quoting from President Nelson Mandela said:
"The government I have the honor to lead and I dare say the masses that elected us to serve in this role, are inspired by the single vision of creating a people-centered society. Accordingly, the purpose that will drive this government shall be the expansion of the frontiers of human fulfilment, the continuous extension of the frontiers of freedom. The acid test of the legitimacy of the programmes we elaborate, the government institutions we create, the legislation we adopt, must be whether they serve these objectives."
Madame Speaker, this question again comes: "How does South Africa belong to refugees who live here, how do they reach their human fulfilment in South Africa and what is it needed to help them build their home away from home?" To answer this question, we need to look at the following issues and provide realistic answers:
- Xenophobia
Madame Speaker,
Honorable Members,
The word "foreigner" in the South African context only extends to "black Africans" from outside South Africa. On top of the word, another descriptive is added: "Makwere kwere", which if it were a virus, could have taken many. We have had incidents where police officers or immigration officers call us makwere kwere. In these instances, it has involved a refugee who displays his temporary permit (refugee status). The officer takes it, tears it off and incriminates the refugee concerned under the pretext that he is an illegal immigrant. On 24 January 2004, the Cape Times reported on an incident in which eight elements of the SAPS viciously kicked three Congolese refugees in Nyanga and called them makwere kwere. In other incidents, police failed to respond to calls made by refugees and said refugees should sort out their problems themselves.
Refugees are being killed in cold blood or at gunpoint, beaten in their residences, specifically in townships and other areas such as Salt River and Woodstock in the Western Cape, Berea, Soweto, Hillbrow, Yeoville in Gauteng and other areas around the country for merely being makwere kwere.
Madame Speaker, I know of an incident in which a South African citizen was being victim of xenophobic assaults because he was so dark and tall, and was suspected to be a foreigner while I, a kwere kwere, walked passed.
Madame Speaker,
Honorable Members,
I can also take this platform to talk against the institutionalization of xenophobia in South Africa. Those of us who have visited Attridgeville, west of Pretoria very recently will have witnessed a street named "Mokwerekwere Street." If street names were changed because they still reflected the discriminatory nature of the South African past, it is clear and evident that this name creates a new era in the South African discrimination, where discrimination is oriented against black Africans who are acknowledged to have played a pivotal role in the South African liberation.
At work, many employers have a different salary for refugees and for South Africans all doing the same job and working the same hours per shift. We are denied specific services because of our status in the country, such as renting a property, opening a bank account, access to the labour market…
Madame Speaker,
Honorable Members of this august House,
I am not very fit to count all the different situations that have affected refugees based on xenophobia. However, I can ask on this account that xenophobia be considered as crime just as is racial discrimination. In addition, there should be no mercy for those who take away our lives. Measures such as taking away theirs should also be implemented. This will not only protect refugees but also the South African population that also need peace and security. I also ask this House to pass policies that encourage South Africans to travel around Africa, and institutions should consider comparing South Africa to other African countries before they can do so with India, Brazil and other Western countries. This will help the South African citizen to apprehend the social issues around Africa and their responsibilities for the continent as a whole.
Honorable Members, I dare think that the elaboration of policies that protect us on the basis of xenophobia and frustration can help fulfill the prophecy of the President in his State of the Nation address when he said: "Those who had had despair imposed upon them, rejoiced in the triumph of the angel of hope, that brought a new life of a shared neighbourhood to all our people, no longer fractured by high, fortified wall of hatred, fear and mistrust."
- Identification of refugees
Madame Speaker,
Honorable Members,
On arrival, the documents given to asylum seekers are not different from those I saw in the archives of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which the colonial administration used to hand to the "evolved (les évolués)". Only, when in possession of this document could the newly certified individual go to town. Anyway, the documents that we are given also play the same role as the certificate of the evolved I have mentioned above.
Now it is the turn of the maroon identity card, the most discriminated document by most employers, officials and institutions in the country. Some employers have referred to it as the diplomatic passport. It takes ages to be issued and expires days after one has received it. Its renewal takes longer than its first issue and the applicant has to go through the same procedure. This procedure creates an unfortunate delay in delivery because the details of the concerned refugee remain the same. The renewed documents, in most cases will come with mistakes, giving the refugee an identity that does not belong to them. Approached Home Affairs on this issue, the explanation is "Government does not have resources."
I believe this situation can be addressed by allocating us an identity card with possibility of extension just as it is done with travel documents. This kind of identity document will save on resources and time to print and help avoid careless mistakes.
Due to high bureaucracy in the Home Affairs offices that deal with refugees, unending queues of people are unavoidable. Refugees are at offices as early as 04:00 am and some are even compelled to sleep over there with little chance to be served at an office that only opens at 8 o’clock. The reality is that, for instance, the refugee office in Cape Town serves 15 people a day!
During his state to the Nation address that I have referred to earlier, President Thabo Mbeki said: "We must be impatient with those in the public service who see themselves as pen-pushers and guardians of rubber stamps, thieves intent on self-enrichment, bureaucrats who think they have the right to ignore the vision of Batho Pele, who come to work as late as possible, work as little as possible and knock off as early as possible."
- Employment
Madame Speaker,
Honorable Members of this House,
Research proves that the majority of refugees in the country have completed secondary education; some have completed a university degree. Brief, all have had an education of some sort. Yet, it is the same people, with much to offer to this country that you find scrolling at parking bays, begging for cents and remainders from the shopper’s baskets. The country has not yet recognized the potential and the ability of the African refugee.
We ask the government, through this House, to consider cutting the penalty fee that is imposed to an employer who hires foreign personnel. This will allow us to compete on the employment market at the same level as nationals. We also ask this House to pass a legislation that allows government and any organisation that serves refugees to include refugees among their staff.
Refugees have never had a privilege to work in this country and where they have, they are often victims of discrimination. They have never benefited from the Employment Equity Act or any labor related legislation. One example of discrimination in the workplace is in the Security industry, the biggest employer of refugees in the country. The Security Industry Regulations Authority (SIRA) does not grant registration certificate to refugees, although they have trained and fit for the job. As a result, refugees have gone far as to get illegal documents with fake names claiming SIRA issued certificates. This malpractice has produced fat cats in the SIRA business as one SIRA registered certificate pays more than once the fee that is required by the certificate because the certificate is shared by a multitude of individuals, at the mercy of government.
- Shelter
South Africa does not provide shelter for refugees and asylum seekers. It is a major concern that, once in the country, one finds nowhere to go with no one they know. It also turns out that the organisations that plead to shelter refugees are either considerate for women and children. This condition is likely to damage the family relationship in a situation concerning married people and looks discriminating to males. The lack of shelter for asylum seekers and refugees adds numbers on the homeless in the country.
Madame Speaker, those who like to compare South Africa with Western countries can help us answer this question: Why haven’t they compared their country with the West when it comes to conditions of refugees?
- Education
Madame Speaker,
Honorable Members,
Although research has proven that most refugees have had an education of some sort, many are still willing to further their education within universities or acquire professional skills they will need upon their return home.
There is no educational sponsorship available to refugees and asylum seekers that may allow them to gain the skills. This situation continues to frustrate the refugee or the asylum seeker who is willing to return because soon after their return home, they are likely to find themselves disempowered and useless.
I am asking government to look at meaningful ways to extend the educational opportunities to refugees and asylum seekers as it does for nationals.
- Corruption in Government institutions
Few months ago, the Refugee Reception Office in Cape Town, under the Department of Home Affairs made big news when the Cape Times disclosed evidence of corruption involving officials and refugees. Three days after, we had the Minister of Home Affairs as guest to address the issues when she was shown a letter from a Home Affairs official proving bribery, by a Somali refugee. No instance was done and surprisingly, the same officers were consolidated in their positions. This attitude contradicts the President’s commitment that "corruption at any level of the administration will not be tolerated." The same practice of corruption has led the government to have inaccurate statistics on the number of refugees that are in the country as some refugees are registered with different reception offices.
Last week, I heard of a lady who was denied a refugee status because she could not give to the request of a Home Affairs officer at Cape Town Reception office, who asked for sex so that the unfortunate woman could qualify for a status.
- Organisations of refugee support
Some organisations of refugee support are merely businesses for profit organised around the word with the "refugee" as the product for display. In order to access funding, these organisations are registered as "non-profit organisations, social welfare organisations only to evade from tax. They are merely "for-profits" and are selling their services to not only refugees but also to anyone who needs them. Others are unknown to refugees and do not know refugees on their turn, or simply service the only connected refugee. The word "refugee" has been for them an advantage to drain money and other resources from Government and other funding institutions. Some of these organisations, sheltered with prominent individuals, hungry for wealth, only wait for 20 June, a day we (refugees) do not need, to pass their rhetorics on issues to accomplish about refugees. I am openly asking this House that an investigation be done to reveal the spending of these organisations. I am also confident to say that, these organisations, if probed to disclose the use of the funding they receive, several irregularities, or else, hidden agendas can be found. Those found in financial irregularities should be brought before justice.
I do not know how true is this affirmation from a journalist, who once told me that whenever South Africa is under International pressure concerning refugees, politicians are ready to deliver sweet statements to promise better conditions for refugees. True or false as it may be, receiving an unwanted guest is an insult. Therefore, South Africa, if you do not want refugees on your soil, tell the world and stand clear. South Africa, with her widely praised constitution and the fact that there is no refugee camp has given the world wrong pictures that the conditions are well off for refugees and asylum seekers, whereas they are not.
- Peace and security in our home countries
Madame Speaker,
Honorable Members of this august House,
Those of us, refugees that are coming from counties torn by war will fully acknowledge and thank the Republic of South Africa for the efforts this country has displayed in order to bring peace and security back in these war-torn countries. However, we cannot be shy to insinuate the fact that South Africa has taken these wars as an occasion to market and sell its weaponry in these parts of the world. As an example, Madame Speaker, in 2003 it was proven that one quarter of the weapons used in the war by all the conflicting parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo were made in South Africa. Considering war as the main catalyst for the people’s mass exodus towards a nightmare, thus changing lives into refugees, it is extremely unacceptable to negotiate peace on the right hand and supply weapons to frighten the peace on the left hand. I therefore ask this august House, Madam Speaker, to seek a Bill that prohibits the Republic of South Africa to supply weapons to warring parties in any country, and to negotiate any weapon-related business in South Africa between governments and warring parties in time of war in their counties. .
Madame Speaker,
Honorable Members,
We have not only encountered hardships and dilemmas in this country. We have also met generous South Africans, both institutions and individuals who responded to our calls when we cried. They sacrificed their time, income and resources of any kind to serve the refugees they could reach. Of these, I can list the institutions of justice such as the courts, which remained unfair in the administration of justice. Others, like the Legal Resource Centre, the Legal Aid Clinic of the University of Cape Town, the Trauma Centre and many individuals I cannot name here, including those who hand their change to us at parking bays are highly to commend.
After looking at all the frustrations that the African refugee faces on motherland, I can say along Chinua Achebe "Things fall apart." Yes, they have fallen apart for refugees and asylum seekers!
I am sure that fellow companions in the struggle will add on what I failed to say or express more clearly, what I could not.
Proud of the achievement over the decade of democracy, President Thabo Mbeki had this to say:
"As we enter the second decade of liberation, we must continue to build the sense of national unity, united action, and the new patriotism that have manifested themselves in our people’s response to the calls – faranani, masikhane, letsema and vuk’uzenzele! Working together, in conditions of entrenched democracy, respect of human rights, peace and stability, we must continue to produce the Good News that has made our country a place of hope even for other people in the rest o the world.
Whether this citation from the President is true or false to us, whether it is applicable to refugees remains a question to answer in this House. The reality however remains. We are suffering and something positive to better this trend be done.
I thank you.
