Call on SA government to grant asylum to displaced Ukrainians

While South Africans continue to return to local soil in dribs and drabs, Ukrainians have called on the government to allow visa-free travelling to help evacuate the ongoing warzone.

Kaone Molefe was one of the South Africans lucky to escape the Russian invasion. He had to travel from Kyiv to the Polish border post to Rzeszow and take a train to Berlin, from where he then finally managed to make it back home.

Ukrainian Association of South Africa spokesperson Dzvinka Kachur has called on South Africa for asylum for Ukrainians after one and half million people fled that country. She said 6 000 Ukrainians were living in South Africa.

“So it’s not random people who will be applying, it’s family members who can come visit,” she said.

Kachur said those who had managed to flee and had family in South Africa, could not come to South Africa because they had received messages to apply in their country of origin.

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“We are requesting [for refugees] to fly on an airline visa-free and apply for the visa when in South Africa.”

The head of Strategic Litigation and Advocacy at the Refugee Rights Clinic for the University of Cape Town Refugee Rights Unit, Sally Gandar, said they had not been approached for assistance by any Ukrainians wanting to apply for asylum in South Africa.

Gandar said South Africa was a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugees Convention, as well as the 1969 Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Convention.

This meant South Africa was obligated to offer protection to any person who falls within the definition for refugee status.

Section 3(b) of the Refugees Act states that an individual should be recognised as a refugee if they have been compelled to leave their country “owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or other events seriously disturbing the public order” and if their government was unable or unwilling to protect them.

Gandar said usually this entailed being issued with an asylum transit visa on arrival which gave a person five days to go and make their asylum application at a Refugee Reception Office.

– marizkac@citizen.co.za