S Africa to set up refugee camps

by Sanjay Jha | May 27, 2008 at 11:58 pm | 230 views | 5 comments

Government in South Africa has decided to set up special relief camp for the foreign victims of anti-immigrant violence.

South Africa is to set up seven refugee camps around the country for foreign migrant workers who have fled a recent wave of anti-immigrant violence.
The holding camps will take up to 70,000 people from the increasingly unsanitary conditions at temporary shelters put up around state buildings.
The government decision comes despite strong advice from respected international aid agencies.
They say South Africa does not have the expertise necessary to run the camps.
Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), the medical charity, says conditions for people seeking refuge in the existing shelters are worsening.

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BigT

at 00:22 on May 28th, 2008

good stuff:

Do you think this will just make matters worse?

azzayindia

at 00:36 on May 28th, 2008

good stuff:

Sanjay Jha, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Dave Keating

at 05:56 on May 28th, 2008

good stuff:

Sanjay Jha, I like this story. It's good stuff.

jordan

at 08:03 on May 28th, 2008

good stuff:

It's the only thing SA can do at the moment to save face to the rest of Africa: these people were made refugees (in this instance) by SA itself. For some, this is their second go-round at fleeing violence in recent times.

jordan

at 09:16 on May 28th, 2008

Update: the fallout continues, even as South Africa demurs from the term "refugee camp":

"Following instructions from the foreign ministry, the Nigerian mission has already compiled the list of Nigerians affected during the mayhem with the purpose of seeking compensation from South African government for loss of properties and physical injuries," he told journalists.

Siobhan McCarthy, the chief director of communications at the Department of Home Affairs, denied that "refugee camps" would be established, and preferred the term "temporary shelters".

The move was planned to "to bring relief to police stations and community halls that are housing foreigners".

"South Africa does not subscribe to refugee camps, so these shelters can't be long-term," McCarthy told the Mail & Guardian Online.

"By separating foreigners from the rest of society, you label them as people who do not belong here. After 1994, our country has been strongly against separating people," she said.

McCarthy said the government's decision to set up shelters was to ensure that displaced migrants had access to health services, food and sanitation. These shelters would accommodate up to 2 000 people, which would assist government in "managing who comes and who goes".