About 200 March and March supporters return to refugee camp after violent clashes
The refugees’ blankets and other belongings at the camp were set alight and stones were thrown.
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About 200 March and March supporters returned to a Durban refugee camp on Thursday. Photos: Tsoanelo Sefoloko.
A week after violent clashes broke out outside a Durban refugee camp, about 200 March and March supporters returned to the site on Thursday.
Some members of Operation Dudula also joined. Protesters gathered at King Dinuzulu Park before marching to the camp outside the Department of Home Affairs on Che Guevara Road. Hundreds of refugees have been camping outside Home Affairs for more than three months, seeking protection from xenophobic attacks.
Some protesters carried sjamboks, golf clubs and bats. As marchers approached the camp, refugees moved away. The refugees’ blankets and other belongings at the site were later seen on fire.
Police and private security guards were deployed. They were seen trying to extinguish one of the fires with five-litre water bottles.
Hailey Fudu, secretary at Religious for Peace South Africa, said she was hit in the leg while trying to collect stones that were thrown at the refugees. “I am going to open a case at the nearest police station because I don’t understand why the police allowed the March and March members to come close to us, especially after what happened last week.”
March and March members said the group returned after some members were allegedly assaulted during last week’s altercations. The group’s leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma addressed the crowd.
“I am not a coward. I cannot be intimidated,” she said.
“The only thing that we want is for those people to go back to their countries,” Ngobese-Zuma said. “We believe that those people are breaking the bylaws of the city,” she added.
Last Thursday, several people were injured when March and March supporters confronted refugees at the site. Police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowd.
Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign coordinator Yeshelen Govender said authorities did not learn from last week’s violence. Govender said SAPS and Metro Police should prevent March and March supporters from approaching the refugees.
EThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba arrived around midday but was not given an opportunity to address the crowd. He told the media that refugees had previously been given the option to be taken to a repatriation centre in Gauteng or return to their countries of origin.
“After speaking to some of the leaders of the refugee group, some of them have decided that they want to be sent to a repatriation centre,” said Xaba.
Police were seen trying to extinguish the flames of the refugees’ belongings that were set alight.
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