After watching his brother burn to death during the height of the xenophobic attacks last year, he vowed not go back to Isipingo, where he was staying, or to any other township.
Mwenze Kashishi, 26, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was
traumatised.
He was constantly looking over his shoulder even though the violence had abated. He feared for his life. And going back to the DRC was not an option.
“When I think about going home the image of my father being shot repeatedly by rebels flashes back. I’m not going back there, never, I would rather die here,” said Kashishi, a former security guard.
He and about 120 other foreign nationals who refused to be repatriated or reintegrated back to their communities, sought refuge in a two-bedroomed flat in Shirley Chambers, a run-down block in central Durban.
When the Sunday Tribune visited last week, children played in the corridor, seemingly unaware of the plight of their parents, while the grown-ups stood idle, contemplating their next move, as the landlord wants them out in two weeks if they don’t pay the rent. But they don’t have the money.
“My brother, things are bad for us and we don’t know who to turn to for help. We are limping from one crisis to the next,” said Kashishi.
One room is for men and the other for women and children. Both are packed with bunk beds, which were starting to show signs of wear and tear. A stomach-turning stench wafted through the corridors, paint was peeling off the walls and most of the windows were broken.
Kashishi said this “shelter” had been arranged by the KwaZulu-Natal Council of Churches when they were forced to leave the farm.
Their last place of refuge was Hope Farm in Cato Ridge, west of Durban. But they moved out after they had a dispute with the owner over the living conditions, which they claimed were “pathetic”.
A better life
Andrew Wartnaby, the owner, said the foreigners were put up at his farm as an interim solution. However, he denied falling out with them.
“They decided to leave and I was delighted that they left here peacefully. They wanted to be heard and sitting here and doing nothing was not helping them. They just wanted their plight to be known,” he said.
Fleeing their home countries was the only option they had as those who rebelled against orders were killed. “That’s why we came to South Africa. We hoped for a better life. We couldn’t stay in our countries,” said Kashishi.
Despite their woes, Kashishi said: “Things like this happen in every family. I know that one day we will be able to sit down and reconcile with our brothers and sisters as a family.
“But I honestly don’t know what is it that we did to our brothers and sisters from South Africa for them to treat us in this manner,” he sighs.
Another foreigner Kabange Kaji, 42, also from the DRC, recounted how she had fled her country during the political turmoil after the assassination of Laurent Kabila, president from 1997 to 2001. This was the last time she saw her husband, whom she had been married to for five years.
“I don’t know whether he is alive or dead. I have never heard from him or his relatives.”
Kaji gave a grim story of how she had escaped a mob of rebels armed with bush-knives and pangas. But her brother wouldn’t run. He was killed. She fled to South Africa in 2001.
“Everything was good in the beginning, we felt welcomed. But things changed and our brothers have turned against us,” she said.
The attacks forced her out of a two-roomed house in Mayville lasy year.
Her four children dropped out of school after the attacks. Her eyes fill with tears when she talks about her pain at seeing her kids idle at home while schooling was in full swing.
“These are the future leaders but now they are roaming at home because we can’t send them to school as we don’t have a permanent place to stay. We are always moving from one place to the next,” she said.
Making ends meet is proving difficult for Kaji. “Sometimes we go to bed with empty stomachs. We are used to it now,” she says, managing to laugh.
Kaji ran a clothes-selling business before last year’s attacks.
After learning about the plight of foreigners at the flat in Shirley Chambers, the Islamic Medical Association came to their aid, providing food, clothes, cleaning materials and other necessities.
Honey Allee of the IMA said: “The situation is terrible there and we couldn’t sit and watch when people were suffering. We plead to more business people and government to also weigh in,” she said.
Kashishi said: “We are very thankful to them. They come at least once a week. But we can’t rely on them. We have to fend for ourselves. That’s all that we ask for is government to ensure that we are safe.”
Christian Njiya, strategic partner of the Nelson Mandela Foundation in KwaZulu-Natal, who has been working on xenophobic-related issues since 2008, said the cost of keeping displaced foreigners at Shirley Chambers was difficult. The cost has risen to R82 600 in a period of two weeks. He urged other NPOs to assist.
“All our efforts are not producing result. But we will continue to fight until these people get help.”
eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo said a task team headed by deputy city manager, Dr Musa Gumede, had been formed to re-engage with the foreigners. The team included officials from the provincial government, the police and Home Affairs.
“When we negotiated with them last year they didn’t want to be reintegrated or sent back to their countries. But we hope this time we will find some solution to this crisis,” said Nxumalo, adding that there were time frames set for the team.
The SA Human Rights Commission has yet to release its full report into what triggered the attacks last year.
Sunday Tribune