‘We need to reclaim our dignity and our position in the world’

Reverend Paul Verryn is a minister with a penchant for human rights activism. He is best known for the unrelenting resolve he showed during the tumultuous xenophobic outbreaks in 2008 wherein, against all odds, he provided sanctuary to thousands of refugees.

As superintendent of the Central Methodist Mission, located in the heart of Joburg’s CBD, Paul Verryn was known to receive all and sundry who desperately sought shelter. It has been a little over two years since he left the Central Methodist Mission; a sanctuary that many flocked to, and in some cases, called home for a number of years.

Speaking to City Buzz, Verryn – now superintendent at the Tsietsi Mashini Community Centre in Jabavu, Soweto – detailed the realities faced by refugees; the church’s stance on the current plight of brewing xenophobic tension; and its subsequent impact on the country in a global context. “The mission’s profile has somewhat changed over the years but its commitment to the migrant crises remains,” he said.

In its time as a hub for the destitute and place of safety during the xenophobic upheaval, alleged reports of internal and government pressure to have the church shut down, resulted in what Verryn terms, ‘a change of profile’. However, according to the minister, although no longer the place of safety of old, the church makes connections to assist those who come knocking on its door.

It is, however, on the issue of the disparities that exist in South Africa that Verryn was most vocal, referring to an unsavoury democratic transition as being at the heart of the social injustices that are prevalent in society today. “The transition the country went through in 1994 [was not a smooth one]. The narrative between black and white was especially polarised; it was difficult to imagine that confrontations would be anything but violent [during that time],” he explained.

Following on from the idea of a rocky transition, Verryn added, “If we’re going to see refugees and asylum seekers as the enemy, as an annoyance and as a problem, then we’re going to be stuck in a [difficult] and antagonist dialogue.”

He further alluded to the current spate of unrest in several locations in Gauteng as being events that give off a negative rhetoric of life in South Africa. “The world looks and hears about what happened in Pretoria, Rosettenville and Jeppestown and it creates a very negative perception of the country. We need to reclaim our dignity and our position in the world, [but] are [at the moment] in a very compromised position,” he concluded.

What is your stance on the current xenophobic scourge? Do you agree with the Central Methodist Church having been shut done as a place of safety? Let us in on your thoughts by sending us a message on the City Buzz Facebook page.