Press Review September 2019
NATIONAL COVERAGE South Africa apologises to Nigeria after anti-migrant violence news24.com 16 September 2019 South African envoy expressed the country’s “sincerest apologies” to Nigeria on Monday, after a wave of anti-migrant attacks swept through Johannesburg and surrounding cities in recent weeks, fuelling diplomatic tensions. A meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in the capital Abuja was held to convey President Cyrial Ramaphosa’s “sincere apologies about the incident that has recently...
Press Review July 2019
NATIONAL COVERAGE Fewer than 1 in 6 asylum seekers in SA granted refugee status news24.com 9 July 2019 Not even one out of six asylum seekers seeking refuge in South Africa are granted refugee status. Over the past 10 years, the Department of Home Affairs processed 633 395 applications, only granting 99 624 of these applications. This means 533 771 people, mostly coming from war-torn and severely distressed countries, had...
Press Review June 2019
NATIONAL COVERAGE Landmark court ruling gives refugees’ status in South Africa thesouthafrican.com 25 June 2019 The Western Cape High Court has given a crucial lifeline to refugee families from across Africa who have sought asylum in South Africa for many years. As reported by EWN, on Wednesday, 19 June, the court ruled in favour of the University of Cape Town’s Refugee Rights Unit, allowing refugee families access to documentation that...
Press Review May 2019
NATIONAL COVERAGE How Xenophobia Has Become Normalized in South African Politics Worldpoliticksreview.com 21 May 2019 Anti-immigrant rhetoric has steadily seeped into mainstream political discourse in South Africa, where immigration has long been a contentious issue as the country is a primary destination for migrants from across the African continent. In the general election earlier this month, both major political parties, the ruling African National Congress and the opposition Democratic Alliance, advocated stricter...
Press Review April 2019
NATIONAL COVERAGE Africa: How common are xenophobic attacks? bbc.com 7 April 2019 A group of unemployed men attacked Malawian migrants living in the South African city of Durban at the end of March. It followed a recent spate of other incidents in the city during the month, prompting leaders from the three main parties to condemn attacks on foreign nationals. The upsurge in violence has become a charged...
Press Review March 2019
NATIONAL COVERAGE South Africa’s Archbishop Buti challenges consciences with his Lenten message vaticannews.va 2 March 2019 The Archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Joseph Tlhagale, in his Lenten message, has made a passionate appeal to the faithful of the Archdiocese and to South Africans, in general, to become more welcoming of strangers. He proposes that during the Season of Lent, the words of Scripture, “I was a stranger, and you made me welcome,” found...
