Bishop Verryn urges SA government to assist with refugees

By Tererai Karimakwenda
20 November 2006

We reported Monday that the refugees who were evicted from the Methodist church in Braamfontein, South Africa last Thursday are camping out on the streets and in the rain. It was originally reported that the decision by the church board to evict them was taken after a woman was raped and after several robberies. But Methodist Bishop Paul Verryn said a condom and a pair of panties had been found near the pulpit and the locals “went into toyi toyi mode” after the discovery and there was no going back on the eviction decision. About 40-50 refugees from several countries, including Zimbabwe, had been sheltered there. Women with babies are now on the street.

The bishop said he received a call from the xenophobia unit of the department of home affairs in South Africa after the evictions, thanking him for the work he is doing with refugees. Verryn found it disturbing that Home Affairs would thank him yet they have not given him any form of assistance with the refugees. The bishop said internally displaced South Africans are now also being referred to him by the social development division after hearing he is caring for the destitute. But the same department has also failed to assist him. Verryn said help comes mostly from the kindness of parishioners but he urged government to help the poor if they are to sort out all the problems.

Verryn’s Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg has been sheltering about 600 refugees for years now in a space that was not designed for such large numbers. The bishop said many are Zimbabweans but there are also refugees from the DRC, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda. Many of them are professionals and sadly those skills are being wasted. Verryn said this includes principals, teachers, doctors, accountants, carpenters and highly educated young people who have fled their countries.

Bishop Verryn identified poverty as the single most important issue they must address if they are to solve other problems. He said this is why he is helping the refugees who are coming to him with nothing. He added that he was delighted to hear on the radio on Saturday that fellow clergymen Bishop Desmond Tutu had apologised to the world community for the xenophobia that has plagued South Africa. Asked if he believed this would lead to more pressure by Tutu on South Africa, Verryn said: “I am sure he is not afraid.”