<\/p>\n
SA-based anti-illegal immigration group March and March is demonstrating near the Department of Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road, KwaZulu-Natal.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
SA Refugee Led Network (SARLN) Partnership and Stakeholder Relations Representative Blaise Kasiama said refugees had moved to the makeshift camp after experiencing threats and attacks. \u201cThe people on the ground are being threatened by March and March,\u201d Kasiama said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cSome were injured and beaten. They are seeking temporary shelter where they can stay safely with their children.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to Kasiama, the group has been camping outside the centre for almost two months after March and March issued a deadline on July 30.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kasiama said the camp included families and children who were reluctant to return to communities because of continuing safety concerns. \u201cThey are not confident that they will be safe if they return to the communities,\u201d Kasiama said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why they are calling for temporary shelter where they can stay until the tension goes down and they can consider how to reintegrate into the communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kasiama said Home Affairs had checked the documentation of those staying outside the office. Most held recognised asylum seeker documents or refugee status. \u201cAll of them are legally documented with the Department of Home Affairs,\u201d Kasiama said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Home Affairs had asked the group to return to communities, according to Kasiama. However, affected families wanted authorities to provide temporary accommodation first.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Some refugees had indicated a willingness to move to the Lindela Repatriation Centre if no temporary shelter was available in eThekwini or elsewhere in KwaZulu-Natal.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kasiama criticised the use of the term \u201cclean-up operation\u201d when referring to action targeting refugees and asylum seekers. \u201cThis is a violation of human rights,\u201d Kasiama said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThose people are documented. They are supposed to be protected by the government of SA.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kasiama also raised concerns about sanitary conditions at the camp and called for urgent government intervention. \u201cPeople are in hospital with injuries because they have been beaten and shops have been closed,\u201d Kasiama said. \u201cWhat we are calling for is government intervention so that we can have peace in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43180,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-45161","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Refugees and asylum seekers camping outside a Home Affairs office in South Africa's (SA) eThekwini, in the KwaZulu-Natal province are appealing for temporary shelter amid fears of violence linked to planned demonstrations.","published_date":"","news_description":"Refugees and asylum seekers camping outside a Home Affairs office in South Africa's (SA) eThekwini, in the KwaZulu-Natal province are appealing for temporary shelter amid fears of violence linked to planned demonstrations.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/45161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/45161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45162,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/45161\/revisions\/45162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=45161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}