Riyaz Patel
The UN refugee agency UNHCR says some 1,500 foreign nationals have been forced to flee their homes in South Africa in the wake of the deadly xenophobic violence in parts of the country.
UNHCR voiced alarm at the violence earlier this month, which resulted in at least 12 deaths — two foreign nationals and ten South Africans — in a spate of attacks against foreigners fuelled by soaring unemployment and poverty.
“At least 1,500 foreign nationals, predominantly migrants but also refugees and asylum-seekers, have been forced to flee their homes,” UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley said in Geneva.
He said the agency had in recent weeks received “a significant increase in calls to our telephone hotlines, with people reporting that their homes and businesses have been looted, buildings and property have been set on fire.”
UNHCR also received reports of “increased gang activity on the streets and rising incidents of sexual and gender-based violence,” he said.
South Africa, the continent’s second-largest economy, is a major destination for other African migrants, but they are often targeted by some locals who blame them for a lack of jobs.
“Many refugees are now too afraid to go to work or carry out their day-to-day trade, despite having no alternative sources of income,” Yaxley said.
Over the past two weeks, some 500 Nigerians took advantage of free flights home amid the attacks in Johannesburg, including many directed at Nigerian-owned businesses and properties.
Some 800 people, mainly from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, have sought safety in community halls in Katlehong, with the city of Ekurhuleni providing various forms of support.
UNHCR, he said, was strengthening its operational presence in South Africa to work with the government and other partners to help ensure the refugees’ safety.
Yaxley also called on “those with a voice in the public domain … to ensure their language does not further inflame the situation.”
Foreigners, he said, must “not become scapegoats for complex socio-economic challenges.”
Additional reporting AFP
