June 21, 2007
By Emily Visser
JOHANNESBURG has long taken a practical approach to refugees seeking asylum in the city of gold. Far from ignoring the thousands of people arriving from all corners of the African continent, the City aims to embrace these people and draw them into its fold.
As such, the City joined forces with the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa; UNHCR, the United Nations' refugee agency; Refugee Children's Project; Department of Home Affairs; and Jesuit Refugee Services to mark World Refugee Day on Wednesday, 20 June at City Hall. The aim was to acknowledge the needs of refugees and offer support to those organisations that help refugees.
The focus of this year's World Refugee Day fell on the unheard voices of refugee children. Poet Kenneth Karisa opened proceedings with his poem "Take no offence, all I want is to be heard".
Speaking on behalf of the many refugee children who have no voice, the poem was a plea to listen to those children; they have no future if society does not help, and are cut off from basic education and medical care and, often, shelter and food.
The message on World Refugee Day was that Johannesburg had a genuine concern for the wellbeing of its foreign inhabitants and appreciated the diversity of its own global village.
Many refugees flee their countries with only the clothes on their backs, desperate to escape famine, inhumane conditions, war or political instability in their homelands. Of the 69 visitors to the City's Migrant Desk last month, 51 had no documentation. The majority came from Zimbabwe, a country that has come to a grinding halt in most respects.
"The majority seek assistance with the refugee status determination procedure," confirmed Alan Grobbler, the regional co-ordinator for human development.
Migrant Helpdesk
Joburg opened its Migrant Helpdesk in April, a first in the country, to help people seeking asylum and to direct them to the right resources.
Although refugees are still slow on the uptake, the helpdesk has become a crucial link between them and the Department of Home Affairs and other representatives.
Migrant Helpdesk official Dawood Moosa, says it sees about five people a day, but the City hopes to increase this amount with more publicity. "At the moment it is word of mouth."
This year the spotlight fell on problems facing refugee children
A central filing system will be set in place to smooth over the administration and cross-referring of refugees; it will also keep track of their wellbeing. The helpdesk works closely with a number of refugee representatives, including Black Sash, Bienvenue Shelter and Refugees Without Voices.
Intergovernmental links
Joburg hopes to deepen its relationship with the Department of Home Affairs and gain a better understanding of the laws and regulations involved with refugee status, and 40 City officials from various departments recently attended a course on the Refugee Act.
Anna Mohajane, the City's manager for its human development programme, said this relationship would continue to grow "through regular intergovernmental workshops".
The Migrant Helpdesk is at CJ Cronje Building, 80 Loveday Street, Braamfontein, next to the Region F People's Centre. It can be contacted on 011 376 8689/5.
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