It is important to lobby for change and to give informed opinions on how best to alleviate situations which arise around the Act. HRC already maintains a presence at the Home Affairs Office in Braamfontein which deals with the majority of asylum seekers and refugees in Gauteng. We are ideally placed to monitor the implementation of the new Act. Our close monitoring of this particular office also gives us an insight into the problems experienced by Home Affairs in implementing the Act. We are ideally placed to put forward innovative ways to deal with the problems experienced by asylum seekers and refugees.
Xenophobia is rife in the country.
Asylum seekers flee human rights abuses in their country of nationality or origin. They visit us for fear of going home and yet their rights under our Constitution are often abused. Through our drop-in service centre and our publications we hope to create awareness of the plight of asylum seekers and refugees in our country. The HRC has already highlighted the plight of refugees in our quarterly reports and we have also appeared in the local press on the issue. The drop-in centre will also assist in gaining intimate knowledge of the region as many asylum seekers have harrowing tales of their home life.