Refugees leave Durban after four-month ordeal - IOL

Refugees board buses outside the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre in Durban before travelling to the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Gauteng.

After sleeping outside the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road in Durban for four months, displaced refugees have begun relocating through government and humanitarian intervention.

At least 274 people were transported by bus to the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, while roughly 150 opted to remain in Durban, temporarily moving to Bulwer Park to arrange shelter and reintegration support.

For four months, refugees from countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, and Ghana slept on the pavements outside the reception centre after fleeing war in their home countries and alleged attacks and looting in South Africa.

Despite official verification confirming that nearly all held valid documentation to stay in the country, they were turned away at a Durban police station, leaving them exposed to severe weather, illness, unemployment, and a lack of healthcare and education.

At 5am yesterday, the Department of Home Affairs, directed by the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration, began relocating the group. The IMC offered two options: return to their local communities or relocate to Lindela.

Home Affairs communications head Ndileka Cola said the government will continue discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regarding potential third-country resettlement.

KwaZulu-Natal Home Affairs manager Cyril Mncwabe said five buses were made available to transport 282 people on their database, but the figure declined to 278 by Monday because a mother had to stay behind with her sick child who could not travel. Two others were omitted because of the recent confrontation with marchers, leading to their arrest and court processes. 

“I’ve been informed that out of the 278, there were four people who elected to withdraw from the process.”

He said 274 got into the buses and left for Lindela. 

He added that reintegration does not necessarily mean returning to the area you fled from; it means finding an area where there is peace and security. 

Members of the refugee group gather at Bulwer Parkark after choosing to remain in the city.

Durban Cares founder Cathryn Aylett coordinated the move of about 150 refugees who chose to stay at Bulwer Park. She said the move was to confirm numbers, implement a transport plan for women and children to shelter and start implementing the shelter plan for the men. 

“With a far smaller number, it’s easier for us to temporarily house individuals. Right now, my priority is to allow the City the opportunity to do their work. Let them get the space clean. We’re going to have lunch, gather ourselves, and from there, we’re going to disperse,” Aylett said. 

She said they are dealing with unique individual cases and the brief pause would allow them to address individual needs, whether that means travelling home independently, going to Lindela, or facilitating reintegration into new communities.

SA First Forum acting CEO Xolani Zuma said the forum had recently given the eThekwini Municipality seven days to clear the site, due to public sleeping and sanitation by-law violations.

“We are happy that what we see today is what we have asked the government to do,” Zuma said, adding that they do not oppose legal foreign nationals and refugees.

Homeless people and EPWP workers clean up Che Guevara Road after refugees and asylum seekers left the area.

Princess Adjei, from Ghana, recalled the severe toll on vulnerable individuals over recent months, including illness and deaths.

“Everyone going to Lindela chose to do so based on the two options provided by the government. Those remaining must reintegrate into the local community,” Adjei said from the bus.

Antoine Kassaka, a DRC national and permanent resident, explained that he moved from Pietermaritzburg to Durban for assistance after being locked out by his landlord.

Mukulu Yohane, a self-employed artisan from South Kivu, DRC, opted against Lindela due to its status as a repatriation centre, fearing return to war-torn DRC despite holding valid documentation.

“I’ve taken my decision with my family to reintegrate. We’re going to try to see if the community will allow us,” Yohane said.