RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS FROM REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS I don t want to have to go to Musina anymore For queries, contact: Marike Keller Marlise Richter Policy Development & Advocacy Specialist Policy Development & Advocacy Manager Sonke Gender Justice Sonke Gender Justice marike@genderjustice.org.za marlise@genderjustice.org.za 021 423 7088 021 423 7088
Table of Contents The Issue Explained... 3 Why was the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office closed?... 3 Why does Cape Town need a Refugee Reception Office?... 3 What is meant to happen next?... 4 Why should I care?... 4 Advocacy: The Department of Happiness Affairs... 6 Recommendations: Suggestions from those directly affected... 9 2
The Issue Explained 1 Why was the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office closed? The Department of Home Affairs closed the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office (RRO) in July 2012 for new asylum applications. The closure meant the Cape Town RRO was no longer fullyfunctional and would operate only for those who lodged claims prior to the closure. Asylum seekers who arrived after the closure had to apply at the remaining fully functioning RROs Durban, Musina and Pretoria and then return to the RRO of application for any further administration of their claim, including permit renewals. Why does Cape Town need a Refugee Reception Office? The Cape Town RRO, and urban RROs in general, are critical components of South Africa's asylum system. Without them, access to asylum procedures is restricted, family units are separated, the adjudication process is delayed, and asylum seekers are unable to keep their documentation valid. The closure of three of the six fully functional RROs has made access to the asylum system extremely difficult for many asylum seekers. With the closure of the Cape Town RRO, 1 http://genderjustice.org.za/card/the-cape-town-refugee-reception-office-and-south-africas-asylum-policy/ 3
previously the second busiest RRO in the country, access at the remaining RROs has become more difficult and those RROs have struggled to provide services. These challenges have prolonged an already lengthy refugee status adjudication process into one that takes many years. The systemic challenges and poor-decision in the refugee status process mean that individuals are routinely denied refugee status without proper consideration of their asylum claim. This in turn means the appeal process is critical for refugees to attain refugee status, but the high rate of first-instance rejections means the Refugee Appeal Board is overburdened with cases and currently has a backlog of at least 130,000 cases. With the urban RRO closures, asylum seekers are often forced to take regular and sometimes dangerous journeys to extend their asylum seeker permits. This leads to a situation in which many asylum seekers' permits expire, leaving them undocumented and in a vulnerable position. This makes the administration of the asylum system more difficult and adds to the delays and backlogs mentioned above. In short, given the difficulties asylum seekers experience in attaining refugee status, the Cape Town RRO is critical to allowing them to live in stability and dignity before they attain refugee status. What is meant to happen next? The Department of Home Affairs was ordered to reopen and maintain a fully functioning RRO by 31 March 2018. This means that newcomer asylum seekers would be able to apply for asylum and have their asylum claims fully adjudicated on in Cape Town. Asylum seekers with permits from other RROs but who are residing in Cape Town must also be assisted to finalise their claims in Cape Town. Once re-opened, the Cape Town RRO should be properly maintained and be able to provide proper services to asylum seeking clients and refugees. However, the 31 st has come and gone and the Department has yet to re-open the office. Why should I care? South Africa has a national and international legal obligation to protect refugees. A functioning, efficient, and fair asylum system is needed to protect refugees and filter those that do not require this protection, and would ensure that taxpayers funds are properly invested in a functioning system. A report by Lawyers for Human Rights found that from an administrative efficiency perspective, the government is devoting significant resources to an ineffective system that is fundamentally failing to conduct proper status determinations. The effect may also be counterproductive to government s goals, as the long delays for appeals generated by the existing system encourage those economic migrants looking for temporary means to regularize their status to enter the asylum system (see http://www.lhr.org.za/publications/all-roads-lead-rejection). More generally, migration is a phenomenon as old as humanity itself and is a key aspect to our ever-connected globe. Migrants and refugees can bring skills to the South African 4
economy, expanding economic services and contributing to the state through tax payments and economic demands. Migrants and refugees can contribute to South Africa s involvement in regional development. Indeed, as recognized in the White Paper on International Migration, The global movement of people, information, technology and capital across the globe gives us huge opportunities. The White Paper proposes plans to manage migration, including more fluid economic migration opportunities in the SADC region which contribute to the transformation of Africa. (Its approach to refugees, however, is deeply concerning, as it plans the construction of asylum processing centres on the northern borders which, if a functioning asylum system existed, would not be needed). South Africa s National Development Plan also recognizes that the potential of migration can be harnessed to promote our national development. 5
Advocacy: The Department of Happiness Affairs The Cape Town Refugee Reception Office (CTRRO) remains closed to new asylum applicants, despite the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ordering the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to re-open the office by 31 March 2018. This clear disregard for the rule of law, spurred civil society organisations working on refugee rights to undertake various advocacy initiatives to encourage and prompt the Department to re-open the office. The advocacy initiatives, which included a Twitter countdown, opinion pieces, digital stories, and a silent protest during a Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs meeting, culminated in the Department of Happiness Affairs. This creative street activism event, hosted by Sonke Gender Justice with the support of 11 organisations, portrayed a utopian ideal of what the DHA could look like a welcome, happy and receptive space. We had a rolling booth (to mitigate concerns that people leave their spot in the queue to attend the booth), to roll along the queue and gather suggestions (see page 9 below) from asylum seekers on how the DHA can improve their services. To maximise the happiness factor, we had various large cakes with a South African flag on it, music from across Africa, face paint and balloon animals for children, other flags from across Africa, and rainbow welcoming visas that included educational material on refugee services in Cape Town. Open the RRO 1 Open the RRO 2 6
Open the RRO 3 Open the RRO 4 Open the RRO 5 Open the RRO 6 7
Open the RRO 7 Open the RRO 8 8
Recommendations: Suggestions from those directly affected At the Department of Happiness Affairs event, we spoke to asylum seekers and refugees directly affected by the closure of the CTRRO. We asked them to tell us what they would like the Department of Home Affairs to know, regarding their experiences at the RRO and suggestions on how the processes and services can be improved. The suggestions below are quoted verbatim. 1. I m a security in Home Affairs. It s unfair. Home Affairs don t listening to the any suggestion. 2. Very bad to live in this situation. 3. No toilet. You re stay all day. No solution. 4. We don t have. They don t care. 5. I m having my paper in Musina. I must go often and I lose my job. Now I m not going anymore. 6. No more Musina or Pretoria. 7. Going far to Musina with my family/children and wife cost a lot of money. 8. Children born here do not deserve to be called refugees because they are born here. Please find an intermediate name for them. 9. Refugees, asylum seekers, migrants are human being. We must be respected by Home Affairs officials. 10. We deserve life with dignity. 11. There is an order from the Court of Justice. Home Affairs must obey because the law is above of all. 12. Give refugee status to all those who have been in South Africa for more than ten years as asylum seekers. 13. Open the office for new comers. Allow family join. 14. Home Affairs must stop sending us to renew our permits wherever we got them for the first time (Musina, Durban, Pretoria) etc. 15. Home Affairs does not respect us at their offices. They do not consider us. We are really vulnerable. They are so rude. We have rights to life/dignity. 16. Home Affairs must recomfort us from persecution and abuse we faced coming here. Not make things worst. 17. Musina is taking 6 days or 2 weeks because we re sleeping outside. 18. The government must help us. We re suffering. 19. It should be opened because it s very far to go to Musina. As I have status I am coming here for 6 days every time they tell me to come back tomorrow and I am at risk of losing my job. Think about who are undocumented. They are in very difficult situation. 20. They should reopen the office for newcomers. They face too many difficulties. They won t get helped if they to hospitals, if someone tries to help you with his documents, for example, the person is very old, so you will get the medicine of his age not yours. 21. Home Affairs must change the way they work. Connect the system together. Pretoria, Durban and Musina Home Affairs must work from Monday to Friday and without give appointment. 9
22. I have came here many times but getting nothing. I would love to they to do that for us. There is so many friend. 23. Home affairs in not giving refugee status any more. We need to be recognized as refugees after being in S.A. for ten years as asylum seekers. 24. Bangladesh: So many in S.A. illegal because of Home Affairs situation. 25. We need Home Affairs to put our details in a system to make it easy to renew our permit whenever we can do it like S.A. citizens renew their passport/id. 26. I wanna is for everybody to get papers because by the end of the day people end up getting disappointed by the life issues. 27. Home Affairs should make things easy for refugees to renew their permit where they live to reduce expenses and to stay free from crime and abuse. 28. Officials must respect refugees. They shouldn t speak to them as if the refugees are kids. Refugees need to be treated with respect and dignity. 29. Home Affairs does not want to join families. People are struggling to join their wives and their kids. Please do all family joining. 30. Home Affairs is corrupt in our days, they want money. If you do not have money they tell you to come back tomorrow, tomorrow and But once you give them money they help you. 31. Congo: I have status but I m sorry for my people because they don t have money to go to Musina. 32. Zimbabwe: Home Affairs must take us as people. 33. Burundi: I m here to renew my ID since 6h00 and they will come later to collect the paper. 34. Cameroon: Since 2001 I have status. I need the permanent paper I m not illegal criminal for my job they the green ID. 35. Home Affairs must also employ refugees. Only South Africans work for the department and they form a united kingdom to stand against refugees. 36. Home Affairs is not giving better service to people. The queue is too long and people end up by going home unserved. H. A. can give numbers to people first come, first served. 37. Home Affairs must help everyone, no matter what conditions a person is standing on. The system is the same in the whole country. They must not have excuses to make [indecipherable] offices. 38. People who have been here for long years must have their papers just to reduce the number of people at Home Affairs. 39. Home Affairs is giving verbal statements to people. Refugees want written statements so that the people know what to do next. 40. Home Affairs does not want to help people. They always say that they have a shortage of stuff. Give jobs to people and improve your services. 41. Home Affairs staff must be changed; they are not improving their services. Someone who cares about refugees must be put on top of Home Affairs department. 42. Home Affairs must not tell the people to wait outside because it s very cold, no chairs, no toilet 43. I need an ID for my SASSA. Please help. 44. Not easy to get SASSA papers. 45. Anyone in Home Affairs is a chief or boss 46. My boss doesn t trust me anymore because of my tax number. 10
47. The immigration manager is not nice. 48. If we pay the money to the court it still doesn t make a difference 49. On Mondays Home Affairs is very full. 50. I don t want to have to go to Musina anymore. 51. My children can t go to school because of papers. Please help. 52. Inside of Home Affairs is not easy; especially to get my papers for Musina they are only taking 15 people per day. 53. We want the Refugee Reception Office to work like the one for SA citizens, who can renew their permits whenever 54. Home Affairs should help refugees and asylum seekers to get their permits renewed from the time we come to Home Affairs, they mustn t keep giving us new appointment dates 55. We need to get our permit renewed in Cape Town to protect and secure our jobs, because going to Musina takes time. 56. We get our permits expired because we are not able to go to Musina. We do not have the money to pay the fine; also the fault is Home Affairs not ours. 57. Home Affairs must change the way they are working. I have been waiting 10 years on appeal, and still without documents. 58. Home Affairs must change their staff. 59. Home Affairs must provide comfortable places to receive people. 60. We are all struggling for documents. We support your organisations, because as refugees we have problems getting papers - so what is going to happen to us if we don t have documents? Home Affairs must open the office. 61. We welcome the reopening of the RRO and congratulate Sonke and the other organisations in holding the government accountable. 62. There should be chairs for people to sit on, as some people are struggling to stand for so long 63. The situation is taken for granted as people have to wake up as early as 4am just to come and wait in the queue, and by the time the office opens you will be tired and spend the whole day inside. 64. They don t open windows or toilets in a public place. 65. The government have money. 66. They must reopen. We suffering. 67. We need toilets for clients outside. 68. Reopen the newcomer s office is very important. I need it. I am struggling for it. 69. The documents are very important to help the newcomers is very compulsory. I am struggling to change my document to Durban because I live there. There are people who are married but the children they cannot and family join for their wife. 70. They must open for us refugees. It s not easy to get job without documents. 71. Welcome and very happy to reopen the newcomers office and they get documents because its their rights. We thank all the organisers of this event to help us Somalis. We are struggling for the documents. 72. Most of the people are struggling and as refugees we don t have any other than coming to home affairs and asking the reopening of the office for newcomers so that s the refugees meet every day here. I also have passport problem coming to home affairs for 6 months and I have met different people who are without documents. 11
73. Home affairs they do not care about clients. They are sitting in their offices drinking and don t tell people at all. 74. More days for immigration office to receive people (refugee). Not only two days (Monday, Tuesday). 75. Or they can open another office just for newcomers. 76. Open the office for newcomers and other offices (Durban, Musina). A lot of people are staying in the city without papers. 77. I m coming everyday now for 6 days just to review my status. 78. In our country, we have freedom for refugees. 79. They send you home after standing the whole day. 80. If we spend the whole day when are we can go to work. 81. I m here to join my family. 82. I m not working but I must go to renew my papers. How? 83. Home Affairs gave him asylum for 6 months, but he have status for 4 years. But he doesn t understand exactly what happened. Home affairs must improve services for us as refugees. 84. In our country, we never do it for our guest from 5h00 to 2h00 no service. 85. Home affairs, don t have place to put people. They must have a place to put people when they come for extension or other issue. They don t have like give the document to people. 86. I m SA but my husband is from Nigeria. They give him 30 days to live. 87. They can do the paper at the [indecipherable] and here just to renew. 12