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South Africa: U.S. State Department hears of harrowing refugee experiences during visit to JRS

Source: , 08/11/2016

(Johannesburg) November 8, 2016 — Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United
States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, visited
Jesuit Refugee Service South Africa`s Urban Refugee Program November
1, to learn first hand about the challenges faced by vulnerable
refugees — survivors of SGBV and refugees from the LGBTI community.
Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield`s visit to JRS in Johannesburg
was spurred by her desire to learn more about vulnerable refugees,
particularly survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and
LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex) refugees.

Thomas-Greenfield is a former U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, and former
Deputy Assistant Secretary for the State Department`s Bureau of
Population, Refugees and Migration. Carla Nadeau (the Human Rights
Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria), Dhulce-Janice Maguire of
USAID, and Sydney Letsholo accompanied the Assistant Secretary on her
visit. Also on hand for the visit were: Charity Mungweme from Action
Support Centre; Gulian Koko from Church World Service; Alexandra
Hiropoulos from the African Centre for Migration Studies; and David
Lindgren from Freedom House.

Jesuit Refugee Service Southern Africa Regional Director Tim Smith
welcomed the group and noted that JRS "works in four countries in
Southern Africa: Malawi, Zimbabwe, Angola and South Africa, and here
in South Africa we work exclusively with urban refugees. Many of these
are victims of FGM and SGBV, and those we have invited are part of
that group."

Thomas-Greenfield asked JRS to arrange a meeting with a group of LGBTI
refugees and SGBV survivors, to hear their stories and learn their
challenges first hand. Two Congolese survivors of SGBV, and five
refugees from the LGBTI community (from Zimbabwe, Somalia, Ethiopia
and Nigeria) shared their stories with the Secretary.

The LGBTI refugees fled to South Africa because of their sexual
orientation — in Nigeria LGBTI people are sentenced to 14 years in
prison, and in Somalia and Ethiopia they face the death penalty.

"Several harrowing stories were told, and U.S. officials were almost
moved to tears," said Johan Viljoen, Country Director of JRS South
Africa.

Yvette, a 55 year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, related how a sexual assault in her home while she was four
months pregnant caused her to lose her unborn child. The attackers
kidnapped her husband when they left, and after she recovered from her
physical trauma Yvette took her three children and fled.

After a harrowing journey of several years, Yvette and her children
reached Johannesburg. But, they spent 18 months living on the streets.
During this period, her younger daughter, only 13 years old, was
abducted by human traffickers and used for six months as a child
prostitute. Eventually Yvette and her family were found by Marcelline
Sangara, a Congolese nurse and the JRS home-based care nurse in
Johannesburg. Today Yvette is rebuilding her life. She runs a small
business, and her two youngest children are in high school.

The refugees said they face difficulties in finding accommodation and
income in South Africa. All said that while "ordinary" refugees can
rely on the support of their compatriots, LGBTI refugees cannot. The
Somalis said they face death threats from the local Somali community.

"The main problem in South Africa highlighted by each of the refugees
is difficulty in getting documentation and refugee status — although
South Africa law guarantees this, it is difficult at the Department of
Home Affairs, where they face xenophobia and homophobia at the hands
of officials," said Viljoen.

Although the meeting was scheduled to end at 4 p.m., Linda
Thomas-Greenfield and the U.S. Embassy officials stayed until after 5
p.m., engaging with the refugees.

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