After fleeing violence, persecution and trauma in their home countries, many asylum seekers encounter new challenges in South Africa – shaped by xenophobia, exclusion and misinformation.

“They leave one war and come and experience a different kind of war – xenophobia,” says Yeukai Chideya, a researcher at Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Institute for Life Course Health Research.

SU’s Division of Health Systems and Public Health and the Institute for Life Course Health Research, in collaboration with partners at the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape and Wits, last week (19 June) hosted a symposium, entitled “Showing Courage and Solidarity with Refugees and Migrants in South Africa”, at the Tygerberg campus.

Held ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June, the event brought together researchers, civil society organisations and asylum seekers to discuss the challenges faced by refugees and migrants, while exploring ways to build stronger relationships between migrants and the communities that receive them.

Prof René English, head of the Division of Health Systems and Public Health, opened the symposium by acknowledging the universal right to healthcare and other services. “It is important to understand the factors that drive the discourse around migration,” she said, referencing reports of migrants being prevented from seeking medical care.

A podcast facilitated by Sunday World further explored some of these issues, with experts discussing the realities faced by migrants and refugees in South Africa. Prof Hassan Mahomed, public health medicine specialist at the Western Cape Government’s Department of Health and affiliated with SU’s of Health Systems and Public Health in the Department of Global Health, noted during this podcast that that xenophobic attitudes towards African migrants in South Africa have increasingly been fuelled by perceptions that migrants are responsible for unemployment and pressure on public services. “Migrants and refugees make up less than 5% of our population. To claim that they are stealing jobs or displacing South Africans is a myth,” he said.

Watch the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTpU95tZ-Rs

During the symposium, researchers and activists working in migrant communities highlighted gaps in administrative systems that exclude asylum seekers from employment, education and economic opportunities. Speakers also challenged the use of the term “illegal” immigrants, noting that bureaucratic delays in South Africa’s migration system have contributed to people remaining undocumented while awaiting processing. The preferred terminology is to refer to documented and undocumented migrants.

Discussions also focused on misinformation about why people leave their homelands. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are not a homogenous group: People leave their countries for different reasons and arrive in South Africa with varying needs and experiences.

Hircil Ngoie, founder of the Umoya Youth Foundation, a youth-focused empowerment initiative, fled the Democratic Republic of Congo with his mother and sibling more than 20 years ago. They later joined Ngoie’s father, who was forced to leave the DRC to escape political violence.

South Africa is therefore the only home Ngoie has known, but the death of his father in 2020 left him without the documentation needed to remain in the country. “I was approximately three years old at the time, which means I did not personally make the decision to migrate. South Africa is the country where I grew up, attended school, built relationships and developed my understanding of the world.”

Addressing the symposium, he explained how delays, renewals and ineffective administrative processes particularly affect the children of refugees and asylum seekers who have spent most of their lives in this country. “I believe there is an important conversation to be had about documentation stability, legal identity, access to opportunities and the long-term realities faced by refugee youth growing up in the country.”

Neva Smith, a social worker who has worked with the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture, reiterated that documentation delays were one of the many challenges faced by asylum seekers and refugees. They also had to grapple with economic uncertainty, access to housing and safety concerns. “There is ongoing fear, social isolation and loneliness.” These experiences were often amplified by restricted access to essential services. “Every denied service can reinforce the message that ‘I am not safe; I am not welcome’.”

Drawing on her experience working with the Trauma Centre, Chideya spoke about the importance of restoring the dignity of people in crisis. She reiterated comments made during the Sunday World podcast that particular focus needs to be given to schools, where xenophobia adds an additional layer to bullying and violence. “If we don't deal with the xenophobic rhetoric that's now happening in schools, we will end up raising children who will only know that conflict or disagreements are dealt with violence,” she says.

Mahomed and Chideya said universities have a critical role to play in generating evidence and creating spaces for difficult conversations. In the democratic era, South African universities have deliberately engaged with institutions across Africa, said Mahomed. “They’ve built collaborations and this is an opportunity to bring this issue into those discussions.”

Symposium participants called for deeper engagement between government, civil society and non-governmental organisations, especially ahead of the 30 June deadline set by groups calling for undocumented migrants to leave the country. Students shared how misinformation on social media platforms fuelled tensions in their communities.

They noted that conversations about migrants and refugees need to be responsible and informed, with solutions derived in consultation with affected communities. “This is one step on a path (to finding solutions). We need to involve more young people in these discussions,” said Mahomed