South Africa: Immigrant Traders With Permits Face Livelihood Disruption

Traders with documents and permits chased away, leaving Bellville bus terminus market almost empty Dozens of immigrant traders who usually traded at the Golden Arrow terminus in Bellville are staying away because of anti-immigrant protests. When we visited the once bustling site last week, it was quiet with only a handful of traders. Many stalls were deserted. Some traders we spoke to said they had tried to set up shop in other areas but were stopped. They have not traded at the bus site since the March and March 30 June "deadline" demanding "illegal immigrants" leave South Africa. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn "I need to pay rent, put food on the table, and pay the bills," a Zimbabwean man who asked to remain anonymous told GroundUp. He said he has been selling clothes in Bellville for about five years. He left Zimbabwe in 2008 when its economy collapsed. While he has not been directly threatened, he has witnessed others being harassed. "They will take your stuff and throw it on the ground," he said. "It hurts, but as much as it hurts, it's their country, and they're also marginalised people." Another trader, who introduced herself as Meye, said she has had a permit to trade since 2010. She fled the DRC in 2003. "We are legal; everything is correct. But they say we are foreigners and we need to go back to our country." A single mother of three, she says she is now struggling to feed and school her children. Another single mother, Safia, says she has been unable to trade despite having refugee status and a trading permit. She came from Somalia in 2010. She said law enforcement needs to protect the traders better. "I can't sleep at night because of what is happening. I can't even pay my rent. I can't support my children," she said. Abdulhakim Husein, Western Cape director of the Somalia Association of South Africa, told GroundUp that he had been assisting traders since the start of July. He said many asylum seekers and refugees are traders as they have to rely on being self-employed. They came from Somalia, DRC, Zimbabwe, Angola and Burundi. He said that at a meeting on 13 July (which the City confirmed), it was agreed that traders with valid permits should be allowed to trade. But on 14 July, they received a message warning them about a March and March protest in the area. Husein said they have approached a legal NGO for assistance. City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said foreign nationals whose immigration status has been verified by Home Affairs are permitted to trade with a valid permit. These cost R78 per month. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "It is a concern whenever permitted traders, whether South African citizens or foreign nationals lawfully permitted to trade, are prevented from engaging in legal economic activity," he said. He said intimidation and threats should be reported to SAPS. Read the original article on GroundUp . South Africa Feels the Economic Cost of Anti-Migrant Xenophobia AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us . AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items