Tuesday, May 5, 2015 - 09:26
On Thursday the 23rd of April RIATT-ESA and REPSSI joined 57 organisations and up to seven thousand people to march against Xenophobia in South Africa.
The march was to show that most South Africans welcome migrants regardless of economic status or race; and are committed to human rights and social justice. RIATT-ESA joined the march to raise awareness for the children affected by xenophobia. Its banner declared “Don’t let the children fall off the map, STOP xenophobia”.
Click here to read the RIATT-ESA Call to address children’s needs. The call urged:
- Camp management authorities to ensure that children are properly documented, protected, and provided with appropriate services.
- Governments and NGOs in the receiving countries to ensure that repatriated children are immediately linked and retained in services to ensure their health and well-being.
- Communities to make it their priority to support affected children and their families, taking into account the trauma they have experienced.
- The African Union, The Southern African Development Community, the East African Community, and all governments to create spaces for dialogue and processes to comprehensively address the underlying causes of xenophobia.
RIATT-ESA received a lot of positive media coverage. The banner held high by the RIATT-ESA Chairperson and REPSSI CEO was featured on the front page of The Star- a daily newspaper.
The chairperson was also interviewed Africa News Network 7 (@ANN7tv) and aired live on DSTV 405. She spoke about the need to stop sowing the seeds of hatred in children. Click here to hear the interview.
RIATT-ESA messages were featured on a South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) broadcast. Click here to view on YouTube.
The RIATT-ESA statement was distributed through the website, twitter and partner channels including Af-AIDS www.safaids.net
To see the march in pictures click here.