Soweto Organisation Pleads for Help in Documenting Children of Migrants
SOWETO, JOHANNESBURG— The Tsietsi Mashinini Community Centre in Soweto is appealing for urgent assistance in documenting the children of migrants. The centre houses mostly unaccompanied migrant minors who are unable to access basic services such as education and healthcare. The plea came as anti-illegal immigration protests spread across the country, the most recent being in the Western Cape.
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According to SABC News, many of the children living in the Methodist Church-run centre lack official documentation. This status prevents them from accessing school enrollment and medical facilities. The centre is calling on stakeholders to intervene and assist in registering the minors to ensure they receive essential state services.
Tsietsi Mashinini Community Centre appeals for aid
Bishop Paul Verryn said that some children have lived in South Africa for up to 21 years and deserve permanent residence. He noted that children from Zimbabwe who have spent two decades in the country have no alternative home to return to. Verryn stated that these individuals should be granted legal status, adding that every person is a valuable addition to the country regardless of race or gender.
Briefly News speaks to expert
Speaking to Briefly News, Professor Loren Landau from Wits University's African Centre for Migration & Society weighed in on the anti-illegal immigration protests.
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"The state has an action plan on xenophobia and racism. As I've indicated before, this is a plan without a plan. It outlines a series of public education initiatives and efforts to ensure that immigrants are integrated by respecting South African laws and values without explicating what those are. Stopping an escalation of these movements means enervating the organisations leading them. They could do this by investigating their financing and role in public disorder," he said.
Source: Briefly News
