Some of the foreign nationals who have been taking refuge in Cape Town’s Central United Methodist Church have begun to accept relocation to other areas within South Africa under a scheme offered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Nissen said it was pointed out to them that going to Namibia would mean accepting settlement in camps and they would not have the same freedoms as they would in South Africa, where they had the right to health care and schools.
The standoff between the refugees camping outside the UNHCR offices in Cape Town and Pretoria has seen explosive altercations, with a large group arrested for storming the premises of the UNHCR in Pretoria. Nissen said at a meeting last Wednesday that the leaders produced a list of people who had case numbers proving that they had previously applied to the UNHCR for help with resettlement – some as far back as nine years ago. The list had been forwarded to the commission, which would take up their cases individually.
“The opportunity for repatriation has gone down tremendously. There are no longer many countries willing to do resettlement.”
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