A large law enforcement contingent is gearing up outside the offices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) offices in Brooklyn in Pretoria to evict a group of refugees.
Fire and rescue teams are also on site.
A court order had permitted the removal of over 100 refugees who have been camping on the pavement of the UNHCR offices since 2019.
They comprise mostly Congolese, Burundian and Kenyan nationals.
Tshwane Ward 56 Councillor Jarad Frimmel says, “This is not a place to live. There are rats running around, the smell is unbearable, kids are not going to school, it is not a place to live. It also has an effect on the surrounding communities. So, the city had no choice but to go to the courts and ask for assistance so that these refugees can be taken back to Lindela, the children can get accommodation, have a bed to sleep in and food every day and they have the opportunity to go to school.”
The report below has more on the eviction:
Human Rights Lawyer, Louise du Plessis, who is also present at the scene, is urging law enforcement agencies to exercise caution and respect the rights of children, women and men refugees as they carry out the eviction order.
The UN has since expressed concern that more than 50 children, some of whom are of school-going age, are among the group of refugees camping outside the offices.
UN spokesperson Laura Padoan says, “It’s extremely concerning that many of the children have been out of education and that’s why living on the street in a public area where children don’t have access to the education that they need is not any kind of (a) solution.”
In the video below from yesterday, an asylum seeker speaks of their plight:
