The Missing, a movie based on a migrant woman from Zimbabwe and the dangers she faces between borders, was screened at UKZN.UKZN Screens Documentaries on Refugees
In partnership with the Refugee Social Services (RSS), UKZN hosted a two-part screening of documentaries on refugees which form part of The “Other” Peoples Film Festival.
Screenings were held at the Westville and Howard College campuses to commemorate World Refugee Day.
The documentaries showcase the different experiences of refugees and highlight the reasons they leave their countries of origin as well as the suffering they endure in foreign countries. They also emphasise issues around migrants – as people moving back and forth between borders in search of better economic prospects; asylum seekers and refugees – as people seeking shelter and protection because of civil war in their own countries; and statelessness – children of asylum seekers and refugees born without legal documentation because of their undocumented parents.
Professor Mershen Pillay, from UKZN’s Discipline of Speech-Language Pathology, urged other Disciplines within the University to contribute to the improvement of the refugee status in South Africa. ‘The School of Health Sciences already offers facilities such as optometry and dentistry to the Refugee Social Services, but what can other Schools offer this organisation?’ asked Pillay.
In seeking to improve the lives of refugees and asylum seekers, the Refugee Social Services continues to provide essential services in KwaZulu-Natal, through their Durban and Pietermaritzburg offices.
To volunteer or for more information regarding the Refugee Social Services, please contact them on their website - www.refugeesocialservices.co.za or Facebook page - Refugee Social Services.
Words: Hlengiwe Precious Khwela
Photograph: Sihle Mthethwa