Refugees still living in Durban’s Albert Park were confronted by SAPS this morning who came to remove their shelters (a small number of displaced foreign nationals have refused re-integration into communities and repatriation efforts, even from the UNHCR, have been rejected). Read here below an email sent by Oliver Meth to History Matters:
Early Saturday afternoon, November 01, 2008
Just taking a break from the scene of the confrontation, at Albert Park in central Durban, and have more information which can be verified by numerous witnesses:
* around 50 refugees, mainly women and children, were approached at 8am by Durban police, without warning, and their plastic shelters destroyed and most of their possessions confiscated
* the constable in charge of the operation has gone on record saying that the original orders were to evict the refugees at 9pm last night, but for ‘humanitarian’ reasons they delayed until this morning;
* the constable named city manager Mike Sutcliffe as the man responsible (“the great white shark”) and said that his orders were to clear the area both because “2010 is around the corner” and because on Tuesday, there is a major ANC imbizo planned for the park, with high-ranking politicians expected
* Sutcliffe spent a few minutes on the telephone with Sayed-Iqbal Mohamed of the Organization of Civil Rights, telling Mohamed that he could do nothing, and that this was now a police matter
* the police have no information about victims’ human rights during displacement and evictions (i.e. that alternative accommodation must be provided), and they simply expect the refugees to disappear with their remaining belongings
* after a two hour wait, a city ambulance has just taken away one women refugee who collapsed during the scuffling this morning; there was some manhandling of especially children who tried to prevent goods from being confiscated
* the churches we’ve spoken to so far have no money so are turning down the refugees’ request for immediate shelter
* Durban police captain Ragavan said that confiscated goods have been taken to the police department impoundment area
* the media have flocked to the scene, but in addition to support for immediate shelter, lawyers are still needed
A few months ago, here’s Mike Sutcliffe on how wonderfully Durban is managing xenophobia:
https://www.durban.gov.za/durban/government/munadmin/media/cmn/cmnitem.2008-07-25.8057331980/view
Anyone older than 30 years of age would contest very strongly that the recent thuggery and criminality rocking our country was simply about xenophobia. While I have no doubt we all harbour traces of racism, sexism and xenophobia, the attacks required a catalyst. In this case it was groups of men with a clear mission in mind. What happened in our city where foreigners were driven out of their homes was a “spin-off” from the unrest in Gauteng and was not directly fuelled by “locally-based anger or hatred.” The “hotspots” in our city included Albert Park, the Dalton Road hostel, Cato Crest and the area known as Road 1102 in Chatsworth.
The reality is that many foreigners and South Africans were displaced and we were tested and in many cases found wanting. From my side it is clear that national, provincial and local government must work out clearly a modus operandi on who takes the lead in such matter. Whilst primarily a national and provincial responsibility, the reality is that we are the first agencies to get called out. We worked closely with local non-governmental organizations, the Red Cross, faith based organizations, SAPS and provincial government departments, but we must clarify roles and responsibilities and there must be resources backing up those responsibilities.
When the first incident occurred, and for all others, we dispatched officials to put in place a system to provide health, sanitation, waste management, environmental health, feeding, blankets and surveillance by metro police. The health department of the city has being providing health and immunization services at all police stations, community halls, churches and mosques where refugees are being held. Additional nurses and mobile toilets and showers have been hired by the municipality at all these sites to complement the facilities provided by the local churches and mosques.
In the current tough economic climate, he said, with food prices going through the roof, it is understandable that scarcity of basic resources will bring about heightened tension amongst people, especially those who are struggling to survive.
At the height of the tension a few weeks ago, there were about 2000 that needed emergency shelter. Whilst it has been reduced to around 800, what is good is that many of those chased out of their homes are coming back and that is a hopeful sign.
We must always keep the balance between looking after the needs of those who had been displaced and find suitable refuge for them with basic sanitation, and those who face poverty and massive social challenges on a daily basis. While NGOs and the public have assisted the city in alleviating their plight, we also have to take care that we do not perpetuate the situation longer than necessary. A growing refugee problem is something we must try and avoid at all costs.
Our relationship with the local refugee community leadership is good and we must collectively work on ideas to tackle xenophobia and integration of refugees into the local community. Annually the city has hosted the world refugee day celebrations and worked with the local refugee community to explore ways of integrating refugees.
May I express our sincere gratitude to all faith based organizations, NGO’s and individual citizens who have contributed to the plight of refugees. We have realized that there is much room for improvement. At the same time we must work together to remove all criminals from our communities whether they are South African or foreign.
The situation has now stabilised and we must collectively work with all stakeholders towards a climate that promotes a society free from racism, xenophobia and poverty.
Who are the refugees remaining in Albert Park in a particularly downtrodden section of central Durban? Because they have refused offers of support from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (which they say are inadequate to their needs), the group’s plight has not been covered favourably. Below, find some audio testimonials (uploaded by Radio Continental Drift) from the DRC refugees, recorded just over three weeks ago.
Coming soon, a transcript showing explicit police intimidation and violation of the refugees’ human rights, in the course of the eviction this morning.
DURBAN SINGS
audio reports from KwaZulu-Natal
9 October 2008
part I:
http://www.archive.org/DurbanSings
A gathering of makeshift shelters in a public park in the city of Durban, South Africa. A group of Congolese have been living here under plastic cover since June. Pots over open wood fires, washing on lines between the trees, many children are running around the huts. What happened? What made the group settle here under precarious conditions?
What happens to the children when it’s raining…? Gideon, a local passer-bye talks to Delphine, one of the group who is now living at Albert Park (track 03-08). Delphine responds with questions and songs and tells their story. Rebecca Hinely and Oliver Meth, from the Centre for Civil Society are regular visitors. They join the conversation (track 02) while preparations for a chicken-curry are going on in the background.
More songs follow.
These audio reports are published to feed debate and listening exchange for the questions raised here. Comments and responses (written or audio) or links and reports of related experiences and discussions are most welcome and can be posted to the contacts below. For audio comments, please up-load your recordings on archive.org (keyword: Durban Sings) and send us the link.
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