Growing up as a refugee or asylum seeker in a foreign country is filled with a world of challenges.
Gomez Bakwene, 23, has held asylum seeker status in South Africa since his family fled the Democratic Republic of Congo 19 years ago.
An asylum seeker has fled their country, mostly because of war, and seeking recognition and protection as a refugee another country, like South Africa.
The Bakwene family sort refuge in South Africa in 2003 during the war in the Congo which 60 000 lives.
Bakwene recalled living in fear.
“We were poor, and the violence and war were ongoing. I was very young, but I recall feeling fearful,” he said.
Bakwene said the overarching theme of his life has always been feeling left out.
“There are disclaimers attached to many opportunities like bursaries and scholarships that specify in the fine print that no refugees or asylum seekers should apply as it is for citizens only,” he said.
“I’ve been here for so long, and I feel as if I don’t belong. I am 23, having spent 19 years of my life here. I feel like a South African citizen, but reality always reminds me that I am not.”
The Adonis Musati Project (AMP) is an non-profit organisation that seeks to empower marginalised refugees and migrants in South Africa.
Bakwene has been part of AMP for five years and said he is grateful for the the work it does.
“I came here looking for a safe space. I never intended to stay here for so long, but I grew to love it over time,” he said.
“I participated in the youth programme. It taught me how to empower myself, gain communication skills and taught me my rights as a foreigner. It was here that I found myself as well.
Bakwene is currently in his final year studying user experience (UX) design at Red & Yellow Business School and works two jobs to pay for his studies.
“I never thought I would have reached my studies as growing up, finances were always a problem,” he said.
“I thought I would finish school and start working.”
The programme’s executive director, Gahlia Brogneri, said the biggest challenge refugees face was obtaining the correct documentation.
“Asylum seekers have trouble with this. This affects employment opportunities, health access and education,” she said.
“The increase in xenophobia and the language barrier are some of the main challenges.
“Refugees have something to contribute to South Africa. They have a lot to offer, and they are not here to take jobs and be a burden to the health system or on social grants.
“They can be part of nation-building. We believe that and that’s why we’ve been doing what we do for the last 15 years,” she added.
A new stage production titled Hold Still currently on at the Baxter Theatre, highlights the plight of many who are like Bakwene.
The play is about a family of three where the parents are both children of refugees. The mother is the daughter of a family who escaped South Africa during apartheid and the dad’s father escaped the holocaust in Nazi Germany.
The Feigels, who raise their son in North London, are forced to face their generational trauma and interrogate their prejudices when their son hides his best friend, an asylum-seeking teenager.
Hold Still was directed by Jay Pather and written by Nadia Davids.
Davids is an acclaimed playwright who has won 12 Fleur du Cap theatre awards for her work.
The genesis of the play lies in her years in London when the migrant crisis hit.
The government’s response and ordinary people extending themselves to support refugees is what moved her at the time.
“We saw so many children making the migration on their own. It was disturbing, upsetting and worrying,” she said.
“This is a time where there’s often a disconnect between what ordinary people want and how the government rules.
In articulating such sensitive subject matter, Davids said she wanted to pose the moral question of how people engage with the refugee crisis.
“Parents often have to navigate morally complex moments with their children. What happens when you carry a terrible political history within your being?
“I always consider how people interact with systems of power. I make a lot of effort to develop characters who are complex and have a variety of experiences.” Davids said.
Chairman of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and former UCT vice-chancellor professor Njabulo Ndebele described Hold Still as a powerful production.
“It was a spellbinding fascination from beginning to end, as if it could go on and on opening more layers of the human condition,” he said.
Clinical psychologist Melody Pick said this production should be prescribed to high schools nationally to create awareness.
“There is so much insight into intergenerational trauma.
“This has demonstrated once more that Cape Town’s creative scene is the place to be for mending this nation,” she said.
Hold Still is on show at the Baxter Theatre until November 19 and tickets can be purchased on Webtickets online.