Thesis (MTech (Public Relations Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / This research analysed the use of interpretation services to address the communication challenges faced by Congolese asylum seekers at the refugee reception office in Cape Town. It examined the language challenges of Congolese asylum seekers, the role of the interpreters in addressing these challenges and the perceptions of refugees and home affairs officials about the quality of services provided by interpreters. It also discussed the implications for the outcome of Congolese applications for asylum. This project was framed around Bell and Reiss’s theories of translation and the general communication model. Community interpreting and interpreting studies complimented these theories because all of them focus on the intricacies of interpreting messages and the implications for meaning making, especially in the case of oral accounts. The research design was a case study and its unit of analysis was a company called Zeenab, Remy, Gerald, and Buba (ZRGB) Interpretation, Translation and Social Services, which has for years been the main provider of interpretation services to the department of home affairs in Cape Town. Since this project was a case study, it adopted a qualitative approach and used qualitative methods such as interviews, observations, focus group discussions and document analysis to collect data from respondents. These methods were suitable for this project because they provided unrestricted space for Congolese refugees and home affairs officials to express their views about the interpretation services and the implications thereof. All interviews took place in Cape Town between June and July 2016. The duration of interviews ranged from 25-65 minutes and the total number of respondents was 18. The researcher used a thematic analysis approach to organise, analyse and interpret the data collected from participants. This process involved coding, defining and naming and penetrating themes, searching for multiple meanings embedded in the data. After interpreting the data, this research revealed firstly that the main challenge of Congolese asylum seekers was to communicate their experiences consistently and accurately in English language. Secondly, asylum seekers blamed the rejection of their applications for asylum on the poor quality of interpretation services provided by ZRGB. Thirdly, asylum seekers had different impressions of the role of interpreters in the refugee determination process. In terms of scholarly contributions, this study hopes to shed light on the communication challenges that francophone asylum seekers and refugees face during the application and interviewing process. In addition, it can contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the politics of asylum and the acquisition of refugee identity in post-apartheid South Africa.

This study examines the reintegration of South African political returnees into South African society from a sociological perspective after the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC), South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in 1990. It specifically looks at the role of liberation movements, government, the International Organization For Migration (10M), the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) and the South African Council of Churches (SACC) in the pre- and post- 1994 period. This study contends that for refugee reintegration to succeed, primary prerequisites include a relatively good and sustainable economy and, most significantly, positive governmental intervention. A central argument of the study is that the ANC-Ied government has played a significant role in the repatriation and long-term reintegration of political returnees. Of significance is the economic dimension of this process since it facilitates reintegration at the social level. The assessment of the role of the ANC-Ied government in the political returnee reintegration process is undertaken primarily through the Special Pension and Demobilization Acts of 1996 which constitute the focal point of analysis of this study. The findings of this research are that the International Organization For Migration, the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees, the African National Congress, the Pan Africanist Congress, the South African Communist Party and the South African Council of Churches played a significant role in the repatriation and early reintegration of political returnees in South Africa in the pre-independence phase. In the post-independence period, the ANC led government played an important role in long-term reintegration through legislative means, namely, the Special Pension and Demobilization Acts of 1996. The recommendations of the study are that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should continue conducting large scale political refugee repatriations because of its expertise in international repatriation, programmes and processes of this magnitude. More research on the long-term socio-economic implications of the refugee reintegration process needs to be conducted in view of the fact that this area of study has not been sufficiently problematized. Finally, from a policy perspective, there is a need for governments with returning refugee populations to be more proactive in addressing this problem through legislative measures. / Sociology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts, Applied Ethics for Professionals. Johannesburg, 2017 / Many asylum seekers and refugees in South Africa reportedly find it difficult to access basic health care services. The issue about foreign nationals in relation to health care can be considered from different angles. The concept of access, though, points to gate-keeping. Gate-keeping is the practice that guides decision making about who has access to what and to what extent they might enjoy benefits. In this essay, the question of whether gate-keeping is a morally justifiable practice in South Africa in relation to asylum seekers and refugees’ right to basic health care services is explored. It is concluded that carefully considered and consistently implemented gate-keeping might be a morally justifiable practice that could contribute to ensuring that resources are distributed fairly. It is also argued that the kind of gate-keeping often observed is inconsistent with human rights and Ubuntu precepts. These moral frameworks seem to be the main ones shaping the view of most South Africans as well as our institutional arrangements. Considering the current South African context in which asylum seekers and refugees have difficulty in accessing basic health care services, patriotic bias claims are considered. However, it is concluded that partiality towards compatriots ought not to hold sway when any human being’s basic needs are at stake. / MT2018

This study examines the reintegration of South African political returnees into South African society from a sociological perspective after the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC), South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in 1990. It specifically looks at the role of liberation movements, government, the International Organization For Migration (10M), the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) and the South African Council of Churches (SACC) in the pre- and post- 1994 period. This study contends that for refugee reintegration to succeed, primary prerequisites include a relatively good and sustainable economy and, most significantly, positive governmental intervention. A central argument of the study is that the ANC-Ied government has played a significant role in the repatriation and long-term reintegration of political returnees. Of significance is the economic dimension of this process since it facilitates reintegration at the social level. The assessment of the role of the ANC-Ied government in the political returnee reintegration process is undertaken primarily through the Special Pension and Demobilization Acts of 1996 which constitute the focal point of analysis of this study. The findings of this research are that the International Organization For Migration, the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees, the African National Congress, the Pan Africanist Congress, the South African Communist Party and the South African Council of Churches played a significant role in the repatriation and early reintegration of political returnees in South Africa in the pre-independence phase. In the post-independence period, the ANC led government played an important role in long-term reintegration through legislative means, namely, the Special Pension and Demobilization Acts of 1996. The recommendations of the study are that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should continue conducting large scale political refugee repatriations because of its expertise in international repatriation, programmes and processes of this magnitude. More research on the long-term socio-economic implications of the refugee reintegration process needs to be conducted in view of the fact that this area of study has not been sufficiently problematized. Finally, from a policy perspective, there is a need for governments with returning refugee populations to be more proactive in addressing this problem through legislative measures. / Sociology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)