No cash relief for xenophobic attacks

THERE will be no payment of compensation to victims of the recent xenophobic attacks.

Tina Ghelli of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Southern Africa regional office said this despite providing once-off payments to a limited number of refugees in Gauteng and Western Cape in 2009 after the xenophobic attacks of 2008.

Ghelli said the fight against xenophobia in South Africa was hampered by lack of funding.

The UNHCR said it had been unable to raise the required funding despite reaching out to the government, donor countries, private foundations and corporations.

It said it had developed a proposal to implement a mass media campaign combined with education outreach and social media in partnership with other organisations in an attempt to address xenophobia. The UNHCR's programmes worldwide are funded by donor governments and it receives less than half of the requested funding.

"We prioritise provision of legal and social assistance to the most vulnerable groups of refugees," said Ghelli.

Refugees have all the rights of South African citizens, except voting, but there are problems with the enforcement of these rights when refugees try to access social services such as health or education.

The UNHCR provides funding to legal partners, Lawyers for Human Rights and the law clinics of the universities of Cape Town and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan.

Any refugee without resources but with a legal concern on their documentation or access to services due to their legal status can approach them for assistance. Following the outbreak of xenophobic violence last month, the UNHCR's partners, the Displaced Migrant Persons Support Programme and the Consortium of Refugees and Migrants in SA, conducted mapping on affected shops in Soweto.

sidimbal@sowetan.co.za

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