“Given Cold Shoulders”: Rosine’s experience as a refugee in South Africa

     Last week I met and interviewed a woman from Rwanda, who shared her experience moving to South Africa as a refugee. Her name has been changed to Rosine to respect her privacy. Rosine moved to South Africa with her one-year-old child after the genocide in Rwanda began. Much of her family was affected, and she struggled to adjust after the trauma and displacement she experienced. I am sharing this particular clip of my interview with Rosine because after 16 years, she and her three children have still not received documents that grant them full rights, despite the promises and "rules" of South Africa's new democracy.
      For Rosine, this has negatively impacted her trust in government, understanding of South Africa, and the overall level of rights and ownership she feels she has in this country. Although South Africa is not what she considers "home", she has made a life for herself and her family and wishes she could be considered a South African citizen with full rights. Specifically, Rosine is concerned for her children, two of whom were born here. This seems to be a common occurrence after talking with several refugees within the community-- where the government promises one thing, but through loopholes and "misplaced" paperwork, their promises are not kept. There is a certain sense of powerlessness evoked by Rosine in her interview, as she feels like the future for her and her family is not in her hands.
      Is gaining full documentation so hard because of xenophobia? How will this impact the lives of her children? A refugee from the DRC who works as a cab driver in Cape Town explained that, “its very common to live here and never get full documentation.” After living in Cape Town for 13 years, he too struggles to get papers and full rights for himself and his family. Another refugee from the DRC said he contributes this to the xenophobic South Africans who believe refugees are stealing their jobs or stereotyping them as criminals. It is so shocking to me, how much xenophobia has increased since the new democratic government in 1994. If I had more time in South Africa, I would like to go to Johannesburg, where most of the refugee camps are—including the most occurrences of xenophobic attacks. I am extremely interested in what my experience would have been in other cities in comparison to Cape Town.