VIDEO: Durban refugee reception office shuts down amid protest
The closure of home affairs on Che Guevara Road follows a protest by March and March and others calling for the facility to stop operating.
The situation remains volatile on Thursday (October 8) on Che Guevara Road, where scores of protesters are blocking the entrance to the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Office.
Members of the anti-illegal immigration movement, March and March, joined by different political parties and members of the public, shut down the offices and blocked operations aimed at assisting asylum seekers with applications for refugee status.
Also read: Hundreds of asylum seekers descend on Che Guevara Road
Traffic movement and pedestrian traffic are largely interrupted. No foreign nationals were seen after a reported aggressive chase in the early hours of the day. Hundreds of foreigners have been accessing the refugee office since Friday, with queues winding up Che Guevara Road and inlet roads.
The COR Roadworthy Test Centre next to the refugee office is feeling the effects of the recent commotion.
“We are facing a serious backlog due to the blockades and long queues outside the premises. Vehicles cannot access the site for testing, and some of the vehicles coming here are doing emergency and service delivery work.
“We hope the refugee office can close down, and relocate where there is more space, not where daily business operations take place,” said Bugsy Sabjee from the testing centre.
The leader of March and March, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, is at the forefront of the protest, with the movement members having spent the whole night camping outside the refugee office.
“We will be stationed here until the government presents a solution, even if it means we camp until November 4. The government cannot tell us that the constitution is the final will of the country even if it oppresses the people. This is not different from the apartheid regime which suppresses people in the name of the law,” Ngobese-Zuma said.
Steve Thusi, the leader of the Dalton Hostel community and IFP PR councillor, was on site. He reiterated Ngobese-Zuma’s sentiments. “This office will remain closed; we will make sure of that. No one will access any assistance, and no one will even attempt to come here. This operation is disturbing businesses; it must be carried out at the borders, not here,” Thusi said.
The refugee office remains closed indefinitely.
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