Immigration

“We work in love without discrimination” — How immigrant women are making successful businesses

Fatima Mahomed Abukar immigrated to South Africa from war-torn Somalia. She together with a group of Somalis, Burundians, Senegalese and Malawians sell belts, socks and bags in Stellenbosch. Their business now runs smoothly, but they had to fight to get it that way.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 25 June 2015

Angolans in dread of uprooting

In October 2009, the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) proposed to end refugee status for Angolans who fled the civil war which ended in 2002. It recommended member states act in concert to achieve a uniform schedule for the implementation of the cessation of the refugee dispensation.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 23 June 2015

Court to decide if Operation Fiela is constitutional

Is Operation Fiela lawful? Judge Jan Hiemstra in the North Gauteng High Court will hear argument today from Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) that it isn’t.

GroundUp Staff

News | 23 June 2015

Army closes down Cape Town Station

On World Refugee Day this weekend, South African police, traffic officials, metro police, brand specialists, immigration officials and defence force members shut down Cape Town Station's taxi terminus as part of Operation Fiela. The four-hour operation brought commuters to a standstill as taxis were not allowed in or out on a busy Saturday morning. Dozens of foreign nationals were arrested.

Bernard Chiguvare and GroundUp Staff

News | 22 June 2015

Visa applicants rejected for “incorrect and ill informed” reasons

The Forum of Immigration Practitioners of South Africa (FIPSA) last week said many visa applications are being rejected by Home Affairs due to the incorrect application of the law, leaving a stream of applicants unable to work, study and pay their bills.

Bernard Chiguvare and Ashleigh Furlong

News | 18 June 2015

How immigrants contribute to the SA economy

Saturday 20 June is World Refugee Day. In a keynote address at an event organised by the Scalabrini Centre and the Holocaust Centre in Cape Town, Caroline Skinner, senior researcher at The African Centre for Cities (ACC) at the University of Cape Town, shared timely new research about the role of migrants and refugees in the informal economy.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 17 June 2015

Asylum seeker’s eight years in limbo

Enap ‘Pitshou’ Ngwene, 32, is an asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Since he arrived in South Africa in 2007, he has nothing tangible to show. He blames this on his rejection for asylum in 2011, which has now been on appeal for four years.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 11 June 2015

Burundians burnt out in Lower Crossroads

It is almost a week since violence between Marikana and Lower Crossroads residents in Cape Town erupted leaving a trail of destruction. Four Burundians, bystanders caught up in the devastation, are now struggling to pick up their lives.

Bernard Chiguvare

News | 8 June 2015

Battling to be accepted in South Africa

Being accepted in South Africa is hard for foreigners, say Ethiopians living in Cape Town.

Christine Ayela

News | 2 June 2015