THE owners of Hope Farm in Cato Ridge have been left hopeless and living in fear after allegedly being threatened by foreigners who were given temporary refuge on their farm.
The Cato Ridge family opened its 20-hectare farm to 143 foreign nationals, including children, who were displaced during the 2015 xenophobic attacks.
Andrew and Rae Wartnaby, both 47 at the time, decided to take the refugees in when they heard that the eThekwini Municipality was closing the single remaining camp for displaced foreigners in Chatsworth.
The group moved to the farm after the state dropped charges of trespassing against 85 parents, and the adults at the camp refused to take the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ financial assistance to be reintegrated back into the communities or be resettled elsewhere.
Rae said, “We feel like we were manipulated to take them in, now they have turned against us.” The family has taken care of refugees for the past 10 months, a stay which was only meant to be for two to three months.”
Rae was crying on the other side of the phone, pleading for the paper to publish the truth. The foreign nationals have demanded food and electricity.
“Our electricity was cut off by Eskom and we use solar power, and they are demanding we share the solar power with them. We have been accused of child trafficking and slavery,” Rae said. They have been looking after foster children since they got married in 1990.
Last year the refugees split themselves into two groups. The bigger group became militant and they refused to do anything on the farm, while the other group still cooperated.
“We don’t know what to do any more, we have been held hostage in our home, they have threatened us,” she said. The police and government department representatives came but were over powered by the refugees and left. “This is bigger than us,” she said.
Rae and the children have left the farm just more than two weeks ago after the traumatic incident in which the refugees attempted to forcefully prevent them from leaving. Andrew has continued to stay on the property.
“The government has offered help and the United Nations are trying to persuade the refugees to move, but at this point no one has left,” said Rae.
