Durban - Foreigners in a refugee camp in Chatsworth on Tuesday resisted the government’s plan to close down the camp; most refused to leave.
Thousands of those who sought refuge at the camp after the attacks on foreigners in March have either been repatriated, reintegrated into the communities they fled from, or resettled.
However, close to 200 Congolese and Burundians remained at the camp, citing fear of being victims of xenophobia if they went back to their communities or had to return to conditions of civil and political unrest in their home countries.
The eThekwini Municipality and the provincial government had given those at the camp notice about Tuesday’s closure.
Three buses arrived in the morning to take them anywhere they wanted to go to around Durban, but by noon the buses were still empty.
The first bus eventually left at 3pm with those who wanted to come to the city centre, but the other two left without passengers an hour later.
Celestin Manikarakiza, from Burundi, said the R3 300 reintegration voucher offered by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was not enough to help him rebuild his life.
“I’ve told the officials here at the camp that I’d rather go back to Burundi than take that money. They told me that I couldn’t be repatriated because of the situation in Burundi, so I’m going to stay here at the camp until I can go home, he said.
About 70 people had left the camp by 5pm, but more than 100 others seemed unconcerned about the municipality’s threat to take the marquees and other amenities from the site.
Father-of-six Emile Ntahonvukiya said he feared going back to Isipingo because reintegration dialogues had only involved locals; the foreigners had not been included.
“We are calling for a proper social and business reintegration so that when we go back we can reopen our businesses without fear,” he said.
Congolese Daniel Dunia took the UNHCR reintegration voucher, but accused both the organisation and South African government of forcing him out of the camp by rushing to close it down.
“I’m leaving, but I don’t know where I’m going to end up, because the people who beat us up are still in the communities. Xenophobia is not over and we will be victims again.”
The UNHCR’s Acacio Juliao and eThekwini deputy city manager Dr Musa Gumede were both confident that the reintegration dialogues had been a success and that foreigners would be safe wherever they went.
“Some have asked us to move them to another country, but the UNHCR does not have the powers to move people from a refugee situation in one country to be a refugee in another,” said Julio.
By the evening those who remained at the camp started making dinners and were making no preparations to leave.
“The camp officially closes today, so anyone who is here by midnight will need to give valid reasons as to why they haven’t left. We will then present those to the political leadership of the city for them to make a decision,” said Gumede.
The Mercury