Abduladhi Ibrahim has been living in Cape Town since 2008. Photo by Tariro Washinyira
29 January 2014
Hundreds of asylum seekers who have been living in Cape Town for more than five years and have renewed their documents more than twelve times are now undocumented. They may lose their work. They no longer have access to health, education, and bank accounts. And they are vulnerable to arrest, detention and deportation.
Abduladhi Ibrahim, a 35-year-old Somali man in Malmesbury, applied for asylum in 2008. He received extensions without any problem twelve times. His last asylum application expired on 10 October 2013. He has tried four times since then to renew. On his last visit, a Home Affairs Official wrote on the back of his asylum paper that they would contact him.
Ibrahim said, “I might be arrested. I cannot access my bank accounts. I cannot register my car and I am losing business.”
On 5 December 2013, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) held a stakeholders consultation meeting at its Barrack Street offices on the future of the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office. At the meeting it was acknowledged that asylum seekers are struggling to renew once they reach more than 12 extensions.
In the minutes, William Kerfoot of Legal Resource Centre said, “It is irresponsible and hard-hearted to breach the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, besides administrative incompetence. How does one say to people, who have been in Cape Town for many years, who have had their permits renewed 16 times, we are now no longer going to assist you.”
James Chapman of the University of Cape Town law clinic said, “We are also dealing with people who have been in Cape Town, and in some instances have had their permits extended 16 times. They have been here for eight to twelve years. They have always had their permits extended in Cape Town, but because they got their first permit elsewhere they are now being told that they cannot be assisted in Cape Town any longer.”
Anaclet Mbayabu of African Disabled Refugee Organisation (ADRO) said, “We have a lot of clients in Cape Town who have been here for many years. Many of them are single mothers with many children, who got their original permits at offices other than Cape Town, especially Pretoria. They have renewed their permits at Cape Town over 10 times, but now they have been told that the system is blocked and they cannot renew their documents in Cape Town.”
Last week, Chapman told GroundUp that there is a policy which says asylum seekers should not extend more than 12 times. He has given Home Affairs many opportunities to do something about the policy and they did not. Next week, he is going to court to force DHA to cancel this policy.
DHA did not respond to GroundUp.