The future of the refugees at Paint City remains uncertain despite a meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) in December to find a resolution.
The refugees are adamant that the only solution to their situation remains a resettlement to another country that is "safer" than South Africa.
However, the UNHCR said this week that its engagement with the "protesters" was aimed at encouraging them to return to the local host communities and be re-integrated.
The agency said it also provided information and counselling on voluntary repatriation for those who choose to return to their countries of origin.
"We reiterated that resettlement is an extremely limited option for only the most vulnerable refugees around the world, subject to the decision of the resettlement states," UNHCR spokesperson Kate Pond said.
However, refugee leader Hafiz Mohammed said they wanted nothing less than resettlement to another country.
Since staging a sleep-in protest outside the UNHCR offices in St Georges Mall in October 2019, the refugees had been demanding that they be sent to another country outside of South Africa as they did not feel "safe".
Mohammed said he remained optimistic that a resolution to their situation would be found this year.
According to Mohammed, there were 619 refugees crammed into the single tent in Bellville, around 280 of this number were children, and around 78 were women.
As the country prepared for the re-opening of schools, Mohammed said school-going children were being taught by parents, and those who were supposed to sit for matric exams in 2020, could not do so.
In October last year, Home Affairs conducted a verification process at the camp, and one of the leaders, Aline Bukuru, was arrested.
Her husband, JP Balous, is also still in jail after an earlier arrest and is facing various charges, including malicious damage to property and assault.
Pond said the refugee sites in Wingfield and Paint City were not meant to be permanent and the authorities continued to find a resolution.
According to Mohammed, some refugees from Paint City were repatriated to the countries of origin after they were sent to the Lindela camp.
"In the case of the group who were taken to Lindela, and subsequently repatriated, the decision was made by the South African authorities following due legal process. The authorities assessed the asylum claims of all of the people in the Wingfield and Paint City sites in October and November, and found that the asylum claims for some members of the group did not meet the necessary criteria to be granted asylum.
"Their claims were subsequently rejected. People whose asylum claims are rejected do not qualify for international protection, and can therefore face deportation like any other foreign national.
"UNHCR had full access to the group before deportation, and our specialist staff and legal partners visited them to offer counselling and legal advice," Pond said.
Pond said the UNHCR supported the SA government's right to conduct returns in line with their policies for other categories of migrants, where return did not pose a threat to their lives.