South Africa – World Cup preparations/immigration

Bishop calls on World Cup to be used to help migrants

Article published on the 2010-02-01 Latest update 2010-02-01 19:03 TU

Former South African international Luas Radebe in action during a promotional event for the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on 30 January, 2010
(Photo: Reuters)

A Methodist bishop has pleaded that his church in Johannesburg, where illegal immigrants have sheltered for the past five years, should not be closed down.

Paul Verryn also believes the South African government needs to do more to help immigrants as it prepares for this summer’s football World Cup.

He told RFI that the country should not hide “one of the most profound difficulties” that it is facing.

“In actual fact we should use the World Cup to expose the journey that we’re on as a country,” he says. “Because I know that we’re not the only country in the world that is facing this kind of thing. So to pretend, because we’ve got a World Cup coming here, that everything is good and clean and fresh is, in actual fact, not the truth.”

Amid allegations of poor sanitation and abuse, Verryn fears authorities will shut the Central Methodist Church down without offering any alternatives for the hundreds of people who stay there every night.

“They have been talking about wanting to clean up the inner city and, I know from management within the inner city, that certainly is the mindset in [local] government at the moment.”

Provincial authorities have accused Verryn of refusing to co-operate with social workers who want to move children at the church to a safer shelter. The situation has also raised tensions between the bishop and his church leadership.

But Verryn says his main concern is getting help for the people seeking refuge in the church. The majority of them come from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the DRC but a significant number of homeless South Africans are also seeking shelter there.

“Even though we have progressed quite far as a country in terms of constitution and in terms of transformation, we’re still very vulnerable with regard to the poorest of the poor,” Verryn says.

“There is a suspicion that there are approximately between 40 and 50,000 homeless people in the inner city and all living in the most appalling conditions."

Verryn says he met with government officials last January with a view to finding a more suitable building to house the migrants. He understands that the building that was chosen has been renovated but, for the moment, it lies idle.