More than a month after being removed from Durban’s Diakonia Centre, dozens of foreign nationals remain living on the pavement outside the Department of Home Affairs’ Refugee Reception Centre on Moore Road.
Most of the group are asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of Congo who were displaced during anti-undocumented immigration tensions in parts of Durban.
Home Affairs has confirmed that the overwhelming majority of the group are legally documented asylum seekers and refugees.
Despite this, many say they are too afraid to return to the communities where they were previously living, claiming they faced threats and intimidation.
The group, which includes women and children, has erected makeshift shelters outside the reception centre and neighbouring businesses.
A nearby business owner says the presence of the camp has affected customer confidence, although those staying there have generally behaved peacefully.
He says, “The impact’s mainly been from clients who have been a bit worried about coming here. But I must say that people have been pretty well behaved. We haven’t had too much of a problem. But It’s been a bit of a problem with our clients coming here as far as Park is concerned. And I feel a little bit threatened coming here as well. But that’s basically been about it. We have given them a little bit of water, and the bits and people have come and fed them. But as I said before, they’ve been pretty well behaved. We’ve only had screaming at real issues. They do clean up around. We had to ask them to clean up our entrance ’cause they sleep inside the entrance.”
