Bernard adds that corruption also stands in the way of them receiving legal documentation.

Many refugees and asylum seekers come to South Africa fleeing wars and persecutions from their countries. Speaking at an event to commemorate World Refugee Day in the SA city of Pretoria, Bernard said the recent Covid-19 pandemic shone a light on the plight of refugees.

“Let us not forget Covid-19 when offices closed down and systems went dark thousands could not register, some of them could not renew their papers not because they vanished but because the state did. To now criminalize them is not only unjust, it’s absurd we therefore call for one time amnesty for those who lost documentation through government failure,” Bernard said.

--SABC--