Unisa online - Walking in the shoes of a refugee

From left: Prof Nqosa Mahao, Dr Joseph Diescho, Prof Rushiela Songca, Mr Aher Boll, Prof Rinie Schenck & Mr Sergio Calle Norena

Unisa launched a short course entitled “Refugee Law and humanitarian support” on 17 March 2011. The course aims to cement an understanding of what it means to be a refugee and prevent atrocities such as the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

Dr Joseph Diescho, Director of International Relations and Partnerships at Unisa, said that the course will expand knowledge and understanding of the growing phenomenon of refugees and displaced people.  “We know that there are people who sleep on our streets in Pretoria, petitioning the United Nations to help them,” he said. “The main issue is: understand we are human beings first and then citizens.”  He believed that what happened in South Africa was not xenophobic, “It was ‘Afrophobic’.”

Unisa with its vision, “Towards the African university in the service of humanity” is concerned with the challenges faced by Africans. Prof Nqosa Mahao, Executive Dean of the College of Law, said that the course seeks to showcase critical interventions that the College of Law believes are in line with Unisa’s social mandate.

The course also showcases the possibilities and benefits that exist within collaborative efforts. “As you can see, we have partnered with different organisations and have put this course in the public domain. This course will broaden our horizons of what it means to live peacefully with people of different African cultures, empowering us to respond better to asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced people, migrants and stateless people who need our assistance.”

Mr Sergio Calle Norena said that a number of institutions were invited to attend the course. “We have invited Home Affairs officials, the SAPS and other related NGOs, as their representatives deal with many asylum seekers, refugees and other such people.” He is satisfied that Unisa is offering this particular course, due to the university’s reach in the continent. “People who attend the course will be better equipped to deal with the legal and overwhelming humanitarian issues.”

Mr Aher Boll, author of the course’s prescribed textbook, The lost boy, in which he describes his own personal experiences as a four-year-old boy when war broke out in Sudan said: “The book provides all who deal with refugees a perspective as to what they have experienced, and how they should be treated to avoid further trauma. Home Affairs officials, SAPS, the UN, NGOs and the community will gain a lot of insight from this course.”