Somali Refugees en Route to South Africa
The increasing number of Somali migrants seeking asylum in South Africa has become a growing domestic concern.
Letta Mhlanga, Intern, Security Sector Governance Programme, ISS Pretoria Office
Somalia is facing what has been termed by Al Jazeera as ‘the largest humanitarian crisis in decades’. A reported 500 starving families were arriving daily in Mogadishu between 15 June and 15 July 2011. This famine has once again placed the Somali crisis on the international security agenda. What remains unspoken is the extent to which South Africa (SA) has been impacted domestically by the Somali crisis. Over the past few months the country has seen a substantive increase in the number of refugees from the Horn of Africa.
It has been reported that, since the beginning of May 2011, South African border officials have begun denying entry to Somalis seeking asylum in South Africa (IRIN News 2 August 2011). At the time, according to Abdul Hakim, chairperson of the Somali Community Board, a local organisation representing the interests of Somalis, approximately 1 500 refugees from the Horn were entering South Africa every month (IRIN News 2 August 2011). According to the IRIN report, the large number of refugees was a cause for concern for both South African and Zimbabwean border post officials, who then jointly decided to try to curb the flow of refugees into South Africa.
As a result, Zimbabwean officials have closed their northern border posts of Nyamapanda, Kariba, Victoria Falls and Chirundu. South African officials apparently further urged the Zimbabwean government to document Somali refugees before entry into South Africa. The request is ironic given the extent to which South Africa itself faces the challenge of tracing and documenting illegal refugees that enter South Africa.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 7 118 Somali refugees currently live in South Africa. The UNHCR further adds that between 2002 and 2010, more than 700 Somalis were killed by South African mobs that were attempting to loot or steal their belongings (Shabelle Media Network 16 August 2011).
The SA government has attempted to introduce measures to manage migration more effectively, such as the recent documentation drive aimed at illegal Zimbabwean migrants. However, South Africa is a preferred destination for African refugees and asylum seekers and therefore the country will have to continue to deal with this issue. Xenophobia, service delivery challenges and competition over limited resources have been cited as causes for the spate of attacks on ‘foreigners’ that South Africa has been experiencing.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2010 report on Migration and Health in South Africa indicated that South Africa was facing the challenge of mixed migration. This means ‘complex migratory population movements that include refugees, asylum seekers, economic migrants and other migrants’. This complexity makes it difficult for the government to distinguish between who should be granted refugee status and who should be deported.
Roni Amit, of the African Centre for Migration and Society at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, suggests that the principle of seeking refuge in the first safe country reached has been used by the SA Department of Home Affairs as a basis for turning away asylum seekers. Amit argues that, ‘By denying entry to asylum seekers based on the mere fact of their transit through another country, South Africa is contravening its obligations under international law’ (IRIN News 2 August 2011).
Similarly, the IRIN report (2 August 2011) emphasised that the ‘UN Convention on Refugees prohibits countries from rejecting, deporting or detaining asylum seekers’. In light of the above, it is evident that the SA government is caught in a dilemma of either having to abide by the international conventions and treaties it is signatory to, or face the economic and security implications of hosting refugees.
The SA government’s handling of xenophobia has received the lowest possible rating by an African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Monitoring Project (NGO Pulse 8 July 2011). With 20 deaths, 40 injuries, 200 foreign-owned shops looted and thousands displaced in the first quarter of 2011, as tracked by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the relative safety of immigrants in South Africa is debatable.
How should South Africa react to the influx of Somali refugees? In trying to answer the question we need to understand that the crisis in Somalia, as grave as it is, has internal consequences for South Africa. One should also not look at South Africa’s immigration policies in isolation. South Africa’s foreign policy, which promotes an African agenda and regional integration, is instrumental in the country’s approach towards migration. Additionally, South Africa has sought to draw international attention, especially in the UN Security Council (UNSC), to the continued conflict in Somalia. More recently, the SA Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has raised South Africa’s humanitarian conscience through support drives for the people in Somalia and has pledged R8 million (US$1,1 million) towards relief efforts in Somalia. We have also seen the SA charity organisation Gift of the Givers, at great risk to their own safety, do remarkable work saving the lives of Somali children in Mogadishu.
There is therefore an apparent contradiction between what the SA Department of Home Affairs appears to be doing, namely ‘stop[ping] the Cushitic-speaking people at the border’, versus what DIRCO is advocating, namely assisting our brothers and sisters in the Horn, particularly Somalia.
One can interpret the SA Department of Home Affairs’ open door policy towards Zimbabwean immigrants with respect to the regional aspects of the country’s foreign policy, i.e. trying to resolve the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe. Both South Africa’s foreign policy and its immigration policy are premised on the promotion of human rights and respect for human dignity. It is therefore important to balance the needs of Somalis with the fears of the South African population, founded or unfounded. Either way, the South African government will face criticism.
Recommendations for the appropriate response South Africa should adopt towards the Somali refugees will be challenged if South Africa is unable to develop sustainable and integrative mechanisms to address the plight of the displaced migrant population already living within its borders.
Criticism of South Africa’s response to the Somali crisis must also be weighed against the government’s domestic pressures.
