Refugee kids miss exams as Home Affairs sends family from city to city

Source: IOL, 11/06/2018

Asylum seekers walk past the Home Affairs offices on the Foreshore in
Cape Town. File picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
Cape Town - Three Zimbabwean refugee children aged 7, 12 and 14, were
forced to stay out of school for two weeks and missed examinations
because they had to travel from Johannesburg to Cape Town to renew
their refugee status. The Pretoria Home Affairs office refused to
serve them because they originally applied for asylum in Cape Town.
And their overnight trip to Cape Town became ten days, as they tried
to navigate the Home Affairs bureaucracy.

Before the family left for Cape Town on 22 May, their school
threatened to deregister the children because they had been absent for
two days trying to get their documents renewed at Pretoria Home
Affairs. “If they are not back to school within ten days, we will
deregister them,” the mother was told.

On Wednesday, 23 May at about 4 am Nyarai (not her real name) arrived
at Home Affairs on the Cape Town Foreshore. An official told her that
Zimbabweans are only served on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. But the
official also said that Friday, 25 May was not an option because the
building was going to be fumigated.

Nyarai tried to negotiate with the official, explaining that she
needed help urgently. She explained that she didn’t have family in
Cape Town, nor money for food and accommodation for such a long period
of time. But, she says, the official refused to listen to her story.
“We don’t care about your story that you are from Joburg. It’s not our
problem … we don’t want to hear it,” Nyarai says the official told her.

She also told the official about the school’s threat to deregister the
children, hoping that he would offer her a formal letter for the
school. But the official said the document she was going to be issued
was her proof. “I became emotional and burst out in tears. Why are
these people not considerate? Why work with refugees when they do not
have refugees’ interests at heart?”

Nyarai had to hitchhike to Cape Town because she didn’t have enough
money for bus fare. “I am a single parent. I work as a hairdresser and
the only days I make money are the last three days of the month, which
I already spent here in Cape Town. I rent a hairdresser’s chair for
R2,500. I need to pay for our [home rent], buy food and pay school
fees,” she said.

When she returned on Monday, 28 May at about 4 am the queue was
already long. The official then said there were too many people and
gave them appointment dates. She was given an appointment for 31 May.

On 31 May at about 2 pm she was finally served, but with a notice of
intention to withdraw her refugee status. She has 30 days to appeal.
“This means I have to travel back to Cape Town again at month end. I
was told that because I travelled to Zimbabwe in 2007 I invalidated my
refugee status.”

Nyarai said she fled persecution in Zimbabwe. “Before the 2005
parliamentary elections, ZANU PF leaders would come and recruit young
girls and boys, forcing us to sing liberation struggle songs and do
slogans. Youths in the same area were also forced to join a national
youth service. When I refused to join the national service I was
shambokked. I then crossed to South Africa through Beitbridge border.
My wounds were still fresh when I sought asylum.”

Last month Home Affairs spokesperson Thabo Mokgola told GroundUp that
children are prioritised at the Foreshore office. He also said that
applicants who can show proof that they are travelling are prioritised.

Anthony Muteti of Voice of Africans for Change said, “It is an
unfortunate incident that clearly shows how insensitive Home Affairs
officials are. This runs contrary to their principle of Batho Pele.”

Home Affairs has been taken to court a number of times over its policy
of only serving asylum seekers and refugees in the centres where they
originally applied