The United Nation's High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on the South African government to act harshly against those who have displaced over 3 000 foreigners at De Doorns in the Boland.

The foreigners were driven out by locals from the Stofland informal settlement, accusing them of stealing jobs by accepting lower wages. The foreigners are currently staying in tents on a sports field in the town.

The South African Human Rights Commission says it will closely monitor the humanitarian situation of the displaced foreigners at De Doorns in the Boland.

Yesterday, the Red Cross launched a R2 million appeal for emergency support for xenophobia refugees at De Doorns in the Western Cape. "The South African Red Cross Society calls on South Africans to stand together for humanity," the organisation said yesterday.

The appeal came as negotiators met representatives of the local community in a bid to resolve tensions.

Meanwhile, Parliament's Labour Portfolio Committee chairperson, Lumka Yengeni, says labour brokers are the cause of the displacement of foreigners in De Doorns in the Boland. The Committee visited the area as part of its public hearings to inform proposed legislation aimed at regulating labour brokers.

“We understand that workers who are from the other countries, they are desperate for work and they are more exploited by these farmers than they would to local workers. It seems that labour brokers are the cause of the problem. They are cause of the contradiction between the workers because of the unequal amounts of payments for the same job done,” says Yengeni.