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Officials return to tense camp
04/06/2008 14:09 - (SA)
Verashni Pillay
Cape Town - Government authorities pulled out of Blue Waters safety site in Strandfontein on Monday, after foreigners sheltered there threatened to burn down the site and demanded to speak to the UN.
Disaster Management spokesperson Charlotte Powell said foreigners housed at the site refused to speak to city and provincial authorities.
The 168 foreigners sheltered at the site because of xenophobic tensions were reportedly angered after a bus that was meant to transport them to a march failed to appear.
Police were called in and negotiators deployed to resolve the situation.
Powell said staff and community volunteers returned to the site on Tuesday morning, but there was still tension.
"Their gripe is they want to engage with the UN. They don't want any support from the city nor the government," said Powell.
The city had made contact with the UN but had not yet received any feedback.
The foreigners allegedly refused to allow in black policemen.
Powell said NGOs refrained from bringing Xhosa-speakers especially into the camps because of the havoc it caused.
The foreigners apparently become tense. "They make remarks and it causes conflicts," said Powell.
At a press conference after the march in Cape Town on Monday, refugee leaders said they demanded to speak to the UN and did not trust the South African government to resolve the situation.
"We are saying we no longer need your assistance, we are appealing to the UN to meet our needs," said B-Abee Toperesu from Zimbabwe, citing long neglect by the Department of Home Affairs previous to the xenophobic attacks.
- News24
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