22 Afghan Refugees Reconsidering Seeking Asylum After Insurmountable Pushback From Home Affairs and Public

• The 22 Afghan asylum seekers who fled the Taliban in Afghanistan have had a change of heart about living in South Africa
• The group said that intense public backlash made it clear that they are not welcome in the country and are now considering their options
• Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi questioned why they didn't apply for asylum in the other countries they visited before coming to SA

PRETORIA - The case of the 22 Afghan refugees seeking asylum in South Africa has taken an unexpected turn.

After pushing back at the Department of Home Affairs' refusal to grant the group of men access to SA for two weeks and obtain a Pretoria High court order, the refugees are considering other options.

22 Afghan refugees do not feel welcome in South Africa, consider residing somewhere else

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This comes after intense public backlash to the asylum seekers allegedly made it clear that they were not welcome in South Africa.

According to the group's lawyer, Maurice Crespi, the 22 Afghans are considering residing in other countries because they were misled into believing the country would be hospitable to them, SowetanLIVE reported.

Afghan asylum seekers tried to enter South Africa through Beit Bridge from Zimbabwe

The men tried to enter South Africa via the Beit Bridge from Zimbabwe. Still, they were denied entry by the border post manager after allegedly failing to provide evidence that their lives were at risk.

The men fled their home country of Afghanistan in 2022 after the Taliban took over governance and started hunting citizens who assisted the USA when it controlled the government.

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Though the group stayed in both Pakistan and Zimbabwe, they did not apply for asylum in those countries. The American government also rejected the refugees for asylum status in the USA.

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi questions why 22 Afghan refugees took SA government to court

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi did not take kindly to the Afghan men legally challenging his department's decision not to grant them access to SA, EWN reported.

Motsoaledi questioned why the group didn't challenge the US government when it rejected their asylum application.

The Home Affairs minister asked:

“If that is the case, why didn’t they take the Americans to court? Why is it us [SA] who are being taken to court, not the Americans?"

South Africans in two minds about 22 Afghan asylum seekers' case

Below are South Africa's mixed reactions to the 22 Afghan refugees seeking asylum in Mzansi.

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@veganplath slammed:

"It is SO DEEPLY EMBARRASSING that the very department (@HomeAffairsSA) tasked entirely with dealing with foreigners is so DEEPLY XENOPHOBIC."

@MpheniMulayo said:

"We have loadshedding, please don't come."

Qhaba Mosuli explained:

"South Africa as a constitutional state is obliged to accept people who seek refugee status as a matter of life."

@darrylv18 accused:

"This lawyer taking South Africa for a joke."

african umlungu claimed:

"If they can help us with their skills, they should be welcomed."

@Lebza_Lash commented:

"We dodged something here..."

@Sentletse suggested:

"They must go to the US."

Taliban takeover: Afghan women barred from doing jobs that men can do

In a related story, Briefly News reported that a few weeks after the Taliban ascended to power in Afghanistan, female employees in the Kabul city government were barred from working until further notice.

The announcement was made by the interim mayor of Kabul Hamdullah Namony, outlining that only the women in positions which cannot be replaced with men are exempted.

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Namony said:

“There are some areas that men can’t do it, we have to ask our female staff to fulfil their duties, there is no alternative for it."

Source: Briefly News