Fourteen refugees trawled the Cape High Court for legal representation on Monday, spearheading an attempt to launch a class action suit against the government.
The refugees say they want a court order compelling the government to reimburse them for the losses they suffered when their businesses were looted and their money stolen.
The men say they want to leave South Africa because they feel unsafe.
The 14 are part of a group of refugees camping outside the Cape Town police station after they fled the violence which has erupted in the townships.
Most of them left their businesses behind and some have not been in contact with their families.
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Kabemba Ngulu left the Democratic Republic of Congo and ended up in Lower Crossroads, where he founded a publishing business.
One of his novels L'Ombre du Soleil has been nominated as one of the top 23 novels at the London Book Festival.
He left his home on Wednesday and hasn't seen his wife and children since.
Ngulu says he sleeps outside the Cape Town police station with about 150 other refugees.
The police have offered them their barracks to stay in temporarily, but they have refused, saying they no longer trust the police.
Refugees lost millions of rands when their properties were damaged, their stock was stolen and their businesses looted, Ngulu said.
"It's a public robbery. They say it is xenophobia. They are lying. It's a war against another nation," Ngulu said.
He said the group went to the City of Cape Town early on Monday to apply for permission to march to Parliament so that they could hand over memorandums addressed to President Thabo Mbeki, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the international community.
"No one's coming to help us," Ngulu said.
"This is an SOS to the international community. This is a war. Our people are dying."
fatima.schroeder@inl.co.za
- This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Times on May 27, 2008
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