ZIMBABWEANS STILL CROWD METHODIST CHURCH

About 1200 destitute people, mostly Zimbabweans, still live in the Central Methodist Church in inner city Johannesburg. I discovered this when I visited there yesterday to see if conditions had improved after the promises to assist made by government departments and NGOs last year.

While the number is down from the worst days when 3000 people lived there, it is still very crowded with only two inside toilets. About 90 unaccompanied children have been moved from the church to the Soweto Youth Centre, and are bussed every day to the school in Alberts street. There are about 200 women still at the church.

According to Reverend Paul Verryn, new refugees continue to arrive from Zimbabwe, many of whom have been tortured. Most of the Zimbabweans are registered as asylum seekers and did not apply for residence or work permits.

They were afraid to return to Zimbabwe to get their birth certificates and could not afford the R750 for a Zimbabwean passport. People complained about police harassment, including a crippled man who was recently beaten by police in the street.

It is not all despair as Verryn told me that there are various church-run projects, including street cleaning, sewing, carpentry and computers. The church will remain a beacon of hope for refugees for as long as there is oppression in their home countries.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Member, Gauteng Legislature, January 25 2011

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