Refugees in South Africa fear new attacks as September 30 deadline looms

What the report says

Refugees and asylum seekers in Durban, South Africa, are worried about fresh attacks as a September 30 deadline set by the anti-immigration movement March and March approaches. According to Al Jazeera, people who had been camping outside the Durban Refugee Reception Centre say they had sought safety there after fleeing anti-foreigner violence, but instead spent months living on the pavement with limited support from volunteers and civil society groups.

The report focuses on Bishop Raphael Bahebwa, a Congolese refugee who says he is now in hiding after receiving threats for speaking up for foreign nationals. Other residents described recent confrontations, including a September 3 incident in which protesters and refugees clashed and police intervened. March and March says its campaign targets undocumented migration, crime and poor local conditions, while rejecting accusations that it is xenophobic.

In mid-September, authorities cleared the informal camp and offered people a choice between returning to the communities they had left or moving to the Lindela facility in Gauteng, which is used for immigration detention and deportation processing. On September 15, 274 people were bused there, while others stayed in Durban and tried to find new housing.

The article places the dispute in a wider South African debate over migration, border enforcement and political pressure ahead of local government elections on November 4. It also notes that the government says it has increased deportation and repatriation efforts, while warning private groups not to enforce immigration rules on their own.