Tamiru Desta Ejajo, an Ethiopian refugee who owns a tuck shop in Randfontein spoke out about how South Africans treat his people every day.
When asked how he and his people are received in general by South Africans he laughed in disbelief.
“Most of them do not respect us. They treat us like dogs. No. Some people have more respect for dogs, we are less than that to them.”
He continued to say that just walking down the street causes trouble as South Africans approach him, asking him who gave him permission to be here.
“Sometimes they ask us for our papers. Even some of the police. If we give them our papers, they ask us for money for no reason,” he claimed.
“Sometimes when the traffic police pulls us over, they want money. Why do we have to pay? South Africans do not have to pay to just drive. You know, it took me three years and nearly R10 000 to get my drivers licence? They kept telling me I was not qualified. How? I can read and write.”
When asked about other services like banking he said, “Don’t even get me started on banking. I have lived here for 10 years and I don’t have a bank account. They tell me I can’t open one. I have to keep my money in my home and when the police come to search my house they are suspicious of why I have so much money and say I steal money. If that doesn’t happen, people break into my house and steal my money.
“If they don’t want us here, they should change the law regarding asylum seekers. Maybe they should even deny all foreigners because South Africa is no place to live for a foreign national.”
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