Refugee Stories

Refugees, asylum-seekers, and immigrants face hardships, discrimination, and violence at every turn, both in their home countries and here in this country. In South Africa, they are often treated as second-class citizens, denied access to justice and refused even their most basic rights. Yet, they somehow manage to overcome the odds. The following are a compilation of stories from some of the many people we have worked with. The purpose of these stories is to give them a voice and to raise awareness around their plight.

Moses Chikwanda was shot in the leg by his boss, the owner of a pig farm. Moses has to this day not gotten justice: the farmer remains free, and Moses never received any compensation. He is left with a leg that is sore and swells up every time he stands for more than a few minutes. This means he finds it challenging to find work. This is his story.

Roy fled Uganda after he was assaulted and blackmailed for being gay. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Seven men broke into his apartment one day with machetes and a video camera, threatening to expose him to the police with their ‘evidence’ that he was gay – if he did not empty his bank account for them. This is his story.

For the project “My Home, My Body and My Dreams,” PASSOP collected reflections by LGBTQI Refugees in South Africa. You can read about their stories of persecution, their arrival in South Africa and their dreams in our online publication. For a hard copy, please contact the office.

For a visual report of the project, please click here.

We thank the Friedrich Nauman Stiftung for their generous support for making this project possible.