JOHANNESBURG, 2 June 2008 (IRIN) - The government's long awaited response to the wave of xenophobic violence that engulfed South Africa has been to relocate thousands of people displaced by the attacks to camp sites, which critics have slammed as grossly inappropriate.

On 1 June the authorities in Gauteng - South Africa's richest province, and the epicentre of the hostility that erupted in Johannesburg three weeks ago and rapidly spread through most of the country - started removing thousands of displaced foreign nationals from makeshift shelters at police and fire stations, churches and communal buildings.

"We have established four sites and started moving people in on Sunday," Colin Deiner, Head of the Gauteng Disaster Management Centre, told IRIN. The sites are located in Johannesburg and Germiston, on the East Rand, with two more planned: one more in Johannesburg, and one in Pretoria, about 50km north of Johannesburg.

The anti-migrant violence, which drove tens of thousands from their homes and left over 60 dead, targeted mainly people from neighbouring countries.

Deiner said between 5,000 and 6,000 people would be provided with shelter, but Goodman Chiloane, Deputy Manager Disaster Intervention and Support at the National Disaster Management Centre, said the shelters were by no means a permanent solution: "The intention is to reintegrate them [the displaced] when we can."

The hospitality on offer by the South African authorities has been widely criticised, and many migrants have been reluctant to accept the invitation to go to the camps. Most fear the prospect of having to return to the communities that shunned them; instead, thousands have already opted to return to their countries of origin, like Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Inadequate shelter

Oxfam, the UK-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), was quick to sound the alarm on the state of the relocation sites. "Minimum standards of humanitarian assistance and protection have not been met. Adequate water, sanitation, and security facilities should have been in place ahead of relocations," the relief agency said a statement on 1 June.

"Current sites sheltering displaced people are not suitable and we have advocated for relocation to more appropriate sites," said Chris Leather, Oxfam's humanitarian coordinator.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the international medical humanitarian organisation, expressed concern over "the process of relocation imposed on the people displaced by recent violence in Johannesburg, after living in unacceptable conditions for up to three weeks," in a statement on 2 June. "The people displaced are now being relocated ... without proper access to information about their rights and options, to sites that are unprepared and insecure."

Bianca Tolboom, an MSF nurse, commented: "Our patients have already been traumatised by the violence they have suffered and the abhorrent conditions of displacement.

"They say they are being treated like animals; they are not given any information about where they are being taken, how long they will remain and what the plans are afterwards, so they are paralysed [and unable] to make any kind of informed decision. This uncertainty only exacerbates their trauma."

Hurried and unprepared

MSF described one of the sites it visited as "a dusty old mine dump", and said it would be "harmful to people's health". According to Rachel Cohen, head of mission at MSF in South Africa, "there are too few latrines, tents are too close together, and sharp drops make the grounds unsafe for children - people are telling us they feel trapped, with nowhere to turn, and that everyone is failing to protect them."

Oxfam's assessment said the conditions posed a health risk: there were insufficient toilets in place, and water distribution was a concern.

Deiner described the shelters as "liveable", but agreed that in their current state they left much to be desired. He blamed late preparation and a hurried relocation process.

He said provincial and government relief resources could only be made available once the authorities had officially declared Gauteng Province a disaster area, and the declaration was only made on 30 May, some three weeks after the first attack.

"The UNHCR [the UN refugee agency] and the Red Cross did advise us to wait and to take more time to find adequate locations; we should have had more preparation," Deiner told IRIN. Growing pressure on the South African government to address the problem is believed to have influenced the decision to start setting up the camps.

"The relocation should not have gone ahead today [Sunday 1 June] - two days [from the declaration of a disaster on 30 May] is unrealistic to set up sites that meet minimum standards," said Oxfam's Leather. "An extra two days would have made all the difference."

But, given the constraints, Leather said "the National and Provincial Disaster Management Centre have done a good job in advising the South African government, and in trying to ensure adequate protection and assistance for refugees. However, this has been an impossible task in the time that has been made available to them."

Deiner said everything was being done to improve the sites, and providing food and access to water were now the most pressing needs.

tdm/he/oa

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