Aid appeal for De Doorns refugees

Farm workers in Zimbabwe get paid US$40 per month... and even that hasn't been getting paid. There is a sad irony in Zimbabweans moving to South Africa and working for "racist" white farmers. From the perspectives of our locals it must be the same as the American Indians watching the settlers going "West or Bust" in their wagons. "How many more?" they asked. It's the same here. The decision to relocate is totally understandable as it's made on an individual self preservation basis (I just need a spot under the sun) If people could/would think as a group for a moment the Zimbabweans would consider what it feels like for the locals. It's been hard enough dealing with apartheid and the absolutely useless government since, but to get supplanted in your backyard like this is "asking for a fight". Some South Africans are having a red mist moment if they find/see Zimbabweans occupying/renting formal housing while they been "on the list" forever while living in a shack. Seeing seasonal jobs the number of which is limited going to outsiders is just too much to bear for some. All you need to do is add some alcohol and stir. Throwing aid at the problem could well exacerbate the issue. History always repeats itself.

As the director of an NGO, it is most shocking to read or hear on TV the response from Government to teh Xenophobic eruptions. On each occasion, they respond with words laced with care and denouncing of the conflict and violence. Unfortunately their efforts have been shortcoming and lacks the seeming intensity of concern that they display. One would have thought that they would respond with the undergirding and enthusiasm of the UN's motto, to respond "earliest"... Proposals have been submitted to the EU for funding, which has been supported by them to address the problem. What is Government's concern in the delay in endorsing the proposal?? Communities are being caught in the cross firing of political interests, with political parties blaming each other and comparing scores, while human beings are suffering untold agonies. Women who flee violence from their home countries are faced with the same in the land of refuge; children are suffering, conflicts abound and NGO programmes are being sidelined, while the governments national and provincial remain silent.

As a young person living in South Africa, I can say that admitidly most of us especially black people are "lazy" to do things for ourselves and instead of finding an approach plan to a problem, we turn to want to beheard and seen in a way demolishing what we already haveand compromising our lives and other people's lives. Lets sit down and come up with plans of how we are going to help our government in dealing with all this issues like poverty, work and many more. If they are really taking jobs from us, then lets ask ourselves some few questions? what are they doing different to what we are doing at the moment? what can we do much better or a better approach to what they have? and what makes them be seen as "hard workers"? I hope we can find a way of dealing with this than the compromising of one for the other...

clem:

don't you get it by now - the government really DOESN'T care about these people.

i'm no scientist, but having lived my entire life in southern africa i know one thing: people in this part of the world are xenophobic to the core.

if i was one of these refugees i'd get the hell out of sa as fast as possible. it's just a matter of time before some serious shit goes down. then we'll all be saying "what happened, why didn't we do something?", a la Rwanda.

the writing's on the wall people. no amount of money is going to solve this.

Thats R2 million wasted on the salaries of Red Cross workers. Somebody please ask the Red Cross what they did with the all the food,clothing and money that was donated to the tsunami victims.

These illegals are a huge burden on the SA taxpayer. Besides costing RSA, they also contribute to crime and work at rates too low for decent South Africans.I also think that people employing illegals (whether Africans or Pakis) should be heavily fined. I also advocate shooting illegals in the back of the head....hint to unruly mobs!

Khalsa how can you say such things? Yes I bet there are those that exploit the vulnarable refugees but to say what you say is inhumane. How would you feel if it was one of your loved ones. Did you possibly attend an Al Queda camp?

Khalsa Singh, go back to your home land Pakistan, India, whereever, you traitor, or face being shot in the back of the head!

I totally agree with Khalsa Sing..wait until you get robbed in your house by armed men who gain access to your house with the help of a domestic worker, who happens to be a foreigner, and illegal one for that matter..our tax money is supposed to help uplift the less fortunate South Africans, not to feed Zimbabweans..finish and klaar..and if you dont pay tax then just shut the hell up..deport all the Zimbabweans and shoot at them when they try to cross back illegally!!

Red Cross wants R2million donations from us for refugees!South Africans are struggling to survive and they expect R2million donations for REFUGEES! What Refugees, there is NO WAR in Zimbabwe or Nigeria! They come here EXACTLY for the reason that
the R2million will be spent on them and not on our OWN POOR!All these organisations like Passop. Red Croos Un and NGO are encouraging influx into South Africa. They come here without jobs, live in squalor, pay no tax, no lights, no water, no medical
etc. so what happens, they expect us to look after them. They should go home to their shacks, their immediate family, plant vegtables, help uplift their own Country and stop coming here for hand outs !!n This socalled REFUGEE Status for these people must stop. They are ILLEGALS not refugees !! There are thousands of these so called Refugees in this Country that are robbing, raping housbreaking and killing, very convenient with their refugee status. Amongst them are hardened criminals. There are no JOBS for them here so what do they want here? Start sending these people back to their countries and stop encouraging them to come, before there is going to be attacks on them like we have never seen here before. People are fed up that they are also very poor,many starving and yet foreigners just flock here and now everybody must contribute to them. It is not right because the problem has got out of hand. There are actually VERY FEW that can even remotely qualify as genuine refugees who are on the murder lists in their Countries. Very few indeed!