Documentary launch digs deep on deportations
Are there alternatives to the immigration detention and deportation system? This was essentially the question that was explored through film and insightful discussion at the launch of the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town’s new documentary film On The Line at Cape Town’s Labia Theatre on the 28th of August.
Around eighty people from refugee-led organisations, civil society, academia and media packed into the cinema to watch the film and listen to the panel discussion.
‘On The Line’ looks inside South Africa’s deportation system by collating interviews with experts in the field, including input from the Casual Workers Advice Office, Lawyers for Human Rights and Médecins Sans Frontières to highlight the broad societal impact of administering a failing system. The film also details the difficulties many migrants face in accessing and maintaining documentation through profiling Gloria, a teacher who was forced to leave Zimbabwe in the 2000s. Last but not least, ‘Mr X’ – a former immigration official with the Department of Home Affairs who enacted deportations himself – threads through the film, providing exclusive insights into the harsh realities of the system and its ineffectiveness.
Filmed in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Musina, the documentary paints a picture of a damaging, fruitless and expensive deportation system that not only fails to meet its goals but whose impact spreads across South Africa and the region. “In making this film, we were able to see first-hand from a wide range of voices about the tremendous waste of resources that is the deportation system, and it really highlights the urgent need to invest in alternatives,” said Corey Johnson of the Advocacy Programme, who helped produce the film.
While deportation is often posited as a simple and clean migration policy tool, the film highlights the complexity and paradoxes of the process. After the film, a panel of experts provided fresh insights on the issues shown in the documentary.
Appointments in 2028 and scraps of paper: the inaccessible asylum system
For an asylum seeker, accessing documentation is critical to avoiding arrest or deportation. Recently, departmental practices involving the arrest and detention of ‘newcomers’ (people seeking asylum in South Africa who have yet to lodge a claim) being detained for deportation before their application is made. This practice is being challenged in court, explained James Chapman, Head of Advocacy and Legal Advisor at The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town. Represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, Scalabrini has approached the courts to put a halt to this practice and has received an interim order interdicting Home Affairs from initiating any process to deport any asylum seeker has indicated their intention to apply for asylum until their asylum application has been determined on the merits. “It is simple,” James summarised. “We are asking [the state] to stop arresting and detaining those who have fled war and persecution, and we are asking them to renew access to asylum in South Africa.”
The reality of that access to asylum in South Africa was poignantly detailed by another panel member: Abdikadir Mohamed, National Director and Programmes Manager of the Somali Association of South Africa. “The [recently opened] Cape Town Refugee Reception Office is a beautiful building,” he opened, “but inside, people are not getting the necessary help.” Newcomers are given appointments for 2027 or 2028, explained Abdikadir, and “sometimes that appointment is handwritten on a small scrap of paper with no stamp. Sometimes it is even written by the security guard.” Out on the streets, a police or immigration officer arresting someone “has no time for that scrap of paper.”
Corruption is the other side of the detention and deportation system
These slips of paper and lack of documentation contribute to creating an environment where unlawful detentions and corrupt practices occur. The panel discussed instances of detentions lasting beyond the prescribed 48 hours and difficulties with the verification system. Indeed, the immigration enforcement process on the streets is replete with reports of extortion, corruption and unlawful practices.
Extrapolate this and you will find corruption existing at a much wider scale around the South African deportation system. Such corruption was outlined by Nabeelah Mia who heads up the Head of Penal Reform Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights. She spoke to the history of Lindela and its embroilment in corruption around privatisation and tender processes. Bosasa, a private company, was awarded the contract to operate Lindela in 1996. The death of a toddler who was detained at Lindela in 2019 sparked deeper insights into the conditions at the centre and further investigations effectively found that the more detainees that were processed, the more money Bosasa made – leading to Lindela being referred to as ‘Bosasa’s meal ticket.’
The running of Lindela is now outsourced to a company called Enviromongz. “Why,” Nabeelah asked the audience at the cinema, “is the government paying around 51 million Rands [annually] to a company that is not even compliant with human rights law?” This question is especially timely considering the recent death of a detainee in Lindela at the hands of Enviromongz security officers.
Police are not equipped to deal with the complexities of migration
To understand why injustices occur within the deportation system, we need to understand the perspective of the police and immigration officers themselves. In the documentary, ‘Mr X’ – the former immigration official – describes how a lack of prioritisation and resources made him feel like the job was a “waste of time, waste of resources sometimes.”
Vuyokazi Yokwe, from the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum, added to this point at the event. “Raids to find guns are one thing, but immigration raids are more complex,” she said.
“Raids and Sweeps are not the correct approach to migration issues, this remains an administrative rather than securitisation issue”.
A lack of understanding is reflected on the other side of this equation, Vuyokazi stressed, as those being arrested also often do not understand exactly why they are being arrested.
Alternatives to detention and reasons to be hopeful
‘On The Line’ closes with a range of alternatives to detention – the main one being accessible documentation for migrants and asylum-seekers in South Africa. Lilian Obiye, Africa Regional Manager at the International Detention Coalition based in Nairobi, added to this at the event, and reminded the audience to be hopeful.
South Africa, she said, is in fact an excellent example of a country where documentation has been used as an alternative to detention. The issuing of special permits to Angolans, Lesotho and Zimbabwean nationals by the South African Department of Home Affairs “means people can regularise their stay and avoid detention,” she said, adding that Colombia is another example. Other alternatives to detention include shelters within communities that provide accommodation to people who are migrants.
“More widely, there are hopes for migrants within the SADC region,” Lilian said. “Africa has a free movement initiative, for example. That is a good thing and we must stay hopeful.”
Theatre-goers recounted an informative and engaging evening at the classic venue.
Rowan Hendricks, from the People’s Legal Centre in Cape Town, said the difficulties migrants face in accessing documentation and staying ‘legal’ was one part of the film that stood out for him: “The journey that Gloria went on to access documentation – staying outside for a week at Home Affairs, and everything after… just seeing people in that situation is disheartening.” He said he came away from the film understanding that the Department of Home Affairs needs to improve its administrative system.
Isaiha Mombilo, speaking on behalf of the Congolese Civil Society of South Africa, said he appreciated the film’s emphasis on aspects of the detention and deportation process that are not well-known. “For us, the documentary shows how Lindela became a place of well-organised corruption, where it was not a deportation centre but a place to delay and make money out of suffering.” He added further that there is a need for the film to be shown widely and to educate people.
Speaking about the night overall, Mary, said the film beautifully depicted the difficulties many go through in trying to access documentation. “The film is a remarkable piece of art and shows how a piece of paper or document is being used to divide people forgetting that, borders or no borders, human dignity is to be respected at all times.”
