By Karen Breytenbach
Somali refugees are among the Africans most vulnerable to crime and xenophobia in South African townships, largely due to unpopularity created by social isolation, refugee organisations have said.
Besides frequent attacks and armed robberies this year, Somalis have been murdered in Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Mossel Bay, Plettenberg Bay, Swellendam and Port Elizabeth.
Despite frequent xenophobic violence, Cape Town is considered an example to other cities on how to treat refugees, said Marivic Garcia, a social worker with the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) in Johannesburg.
Somali refugees who live in Khayelitsha told the Cape Times on behalf of their community that they were safe nowhere in the country. Two or three of their countrymen were being murdered in Khayelitsha every month, they added.
"We are grateful to the government for our refugee status, but we also need their protection. We have no voice, we need help," said Mohamed Samoron Aden.
His friend, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had been attacked three times in Khayelitsha, forcing him to move around.
"We report it to the police, but it doesn't help," he said.
About 150 small shops in Khayelitsha are run by protective clusters of Somalis.
"We live in groups of ten or 15 and help each other to start businesses. The locals target us, thinking we have money," he said.
Erica Jacobs of the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence said Africans in general are stereotyped as criminals or takers of jobs and opportunities meant for locals.
"Members of syndicates are here for economic gain, while the Somalis are entirely different; they are political refugees," she said.
Garcia said their self-imposed isolation did little to dispel misperceptions.
"Somalis don't make the effort to integrate or make friends like other Africans, which makes them more misunderstood.
"Talk to the person next to you in the mosque, reach out," she said.
CSVR researcher Francis Spencer said the media had a role to play in raising the issue.
Cape Town Refugee Centre director Christina Henda said they planned to go into communities with other stakeholders to educate locals and raise awareness on refugee issues, but faced a lack of staff and resources.
"We're worried about xenophobia," she said.
On Somali entrepreneurship, Garcia said: "They haven't had a government for decades and their country is a war zone.
"They've had to learn to be resourceful and assertive, and some interpret this as aggression or arrogance."
In SA their resourcefulness springs from limited access to employment.
"It's a constant battle to get their skills recognised. Many flee overnight and come here without papers.
"There are other ways of verifying their education," she said.
Refugees from across the continent lacked adequate support from the SA government and the police, while their states were good to apartheid exiles, said William Kerfoot, an attorney with the Legal Resource Centre, specialising in refugee cases.
"Another problem is that home affairs is understaffed, and the staff dealing with refugees are often undertrained," he said.
Refugees also lack adequate support from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, said Spencer.
This article was originally published on page 6 of Cape Times on August 07, 2006
Soure: Cape Times, Aug 7, 2006