Immigration

Zimbabweans remain unhappy with special permit process

After Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba gave the media an update on the Zimbabwe Special Permit (ZSP) in Midrand on Monday, Zimbabweans who spoke to GroundUp claim there were challenges with the ZSP which the minister did not address. These included delays and rejections.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 20 March 2015

Hope and hatred in South Africa: an interview with Jonny Steinberg

Civil war, betrayal and murder are what Asad Abdullahi left behind in his childhood to travel thousands of kilometres to the land of Mandela, the country of his dreams. But in South Africa he’d experience violence unlike anywhere else in Africa. Mandy de Waal speaks to Jonny Steinberg about his new book ‘A Man of Good Hope’.

Mandy de Waal

News | 17 March 2015

Western Cape human rights organisations respond to Philippi xenophobic violence

At a Western Cape Refugee and Migrant Forum at Scalabrini Centre on Thursday, several civil society organisations agreed to establish a ‘xenophobic response task team and forum’ in response to the recent Philippi xenophobic violence.

Tariro Washinyira

Brief | 13 March 2015

Philippi East foreigners say xenophobic hatred fuelled attacks

While community leaders in Philippi East's Marikana informal settlement quibble over the cause of Wednesday's attacks on foreign business owners, the victims testify to long-standing xenophobic undercurrents in the community.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 26 February 2015

Somali businessmen share their acumen with locals

Abdikadir Mohamed, the Western Cape Chairman of the Somali Association South Africa (SASA), responded to South African business people who accuse Somali owned businesses of questionable practices at a business skills sharing workshop held at Vuyiseka Secondary School in Philippi this week.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 20 February 2015

Parow police accused of abusing immigrants

On 6 February, Bernard Toyambi of People Against Suffering Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) alleges his family was left traumatised after a group of more than 12 armed Parow Police officers broke into his house at midnight, claiming that they had received an anonymous call that there was a woman crying in his house.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 18 February 2015

How xenophobic violence turned Joseph Tau’s life upside down

“I heard a loud noise from the looters outside the supermarket,” recalls 76-year-old Joseph Tau. “I could hear footsteps on the roof and knew they were coming for us."

Mosa Damane

News | 4 February 2015

Delays with Home Affairs permits: Zimbabweans sent away from work

Three Zimbabwean men whose permits are pending have been told to leave their jobs at Touareg Tents in Capricorn Business Park and return only when they can prove they are legally in the country.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 27 January 2015

Returning Zimbabweans battle with bureaucracy

Zimbabweans who travelled to Zimbabwe before their Special Dispensation Permits were issued have complained of problems on their return to South Africa after the holidays.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 15 January 2015

Need that bullet removed from your arm? Then show us your papers

There’s a bullet lodged in Ali Hussein’s body, somewhere between his right shoulder and neck. It has been there for nearly two months.

Joyce Xi

Feature | 22 December 2014

What immigrants do in the holidays when it’s too expensive to travel home

Taurai Mari is from Zimbabwe, but he will be spending the December holidays in Cape Town. He has saved money to visit the city’s tourist destinations.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 19 December 2014

Parow’s block of flats from hell

Immigrants who live in Goodman Close and Le Ruth Close at 194 Voortrekker Road Parow are fed up with the awful conditions they live in.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 10 December 2014

Police fire rubber bullets in city centre

A man was injured when police fired rubber bullets at a crowd of about a thousand asylum seekers earlier today at the Home Affairs Temporary Refugee Centre on Cape Town’s foreshore. Witnesses say that a nine-month-old baby was also injured.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 27 November 2014

The long wait for a trading permit

At least 40 Zimbabwean informal traders fear they may lose their livelihoods after delays in getting informal trading permits from Fezeka City Council offices in Gugulethu.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 25 November 2014

Zimbabweans can now stay longer for the festive season

On Thursday, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba announced that Zimbabweans intending to travel home for the festive season will be able to do so even if their permits have not been issued.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 21 November 2014

We know how to bear hardships, says Chinese trader in Khayelitsha

Next to a small fruit stand and across the street from a hodgepodge of street vendors, Cuiyi Lin sits in front of her furniture store every day waiting for customers. She is the only non-African in the area.

Joyce Xi

Feature | 19 November 2014