Michael Uredi, "My wife was raped because I gave my opinion to a newspaper"

Michael Uredi, 37, a cabinet maker, came to South Africa from the Eastern Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) eight years ago. He is a member of the Bembe ethnic group, married to a woman from the Banyamulenge, so he is not welcome at home and his wife was raped by his "own people" before they fled. This is his story.



"I started my own business in Du Noon [a township near Cape Town] and I had a lot of customers. One day before the [2008] xenophobia [started in Johannesburg], I gave the taxi driver R100 [US$13] and he refused to give me my change. When I told him I need my change, he stabbed me in the leg.



"Newspaper reporters came to Du Noon and were reporting about the xenophobia in Johannesburg, and asked for my opinion. I told them we've been living in this situation since we've been here.



"I was stoned by a group of men that day and my wife was raped that night, just because I gave my opinion to a newspaper. I made a report to the police, but they didn't help. We left Du Noon and went to the Killarney Race Track [a safety site].



"My landlord called and said, 'You must come get your stuff.' I don't know if it was a set-up, but while I was packing our things, six men came into the house. People outside were shouting things about 'makwerekwere' [pejorative term for foreigners]; how we came with nothing and we should leave with nothing.



"But I earned all those things - I worked hard for those things. So those people came and they took everything and broke my workshop. I was stabbed in the back while I was protecting my stuff.



"We stayed at the safety site but they said we should try to go back to Du Noon. So on 8 August we went back - we wanted the kids to be able to go back to school.



"We were there for two nights. They stoned the roof in the night. I got a letter in Xhosa threatening my family. I went to the police but they said there was no evidence that we had been attacked.



"As I was leaving a white policeman said, 'If you feel unsafe, don't wait around', so we went back to the safety site. My eldest son and I went to Joe Slovo [township] to look for a place to rent. We were stoned there. After that we couldn't go back into the community.



"We went to Harmony Park and then to Blue Waters [both safety sites] - we were in Blue Waters for almost a year. We came here [to Blikkiesdorp - 'tin-can town' in Afrikaans - a Temporary Relocation Area about 20km outside Cape Town] just a few weeks ago.



Anywhere, but here



"I just want to leave South Africa. For two years now my kids have been afraid to go to school - I want another country, really. The UNHCR [UN Refugee Agency] guy came once to Blikkiesdorp. He didn't give me any hope.



"It's like dumping something - they forget about you. Last night my wife was being followed when she was walking outside, and a Congolese guy was attacked the other day here. There hasn't been a night that we've slept well - people throw stones at our house.



"It was better to be in Blue Waters than here [Blikkiesdorp]. I had peace of mind, whatever the conditions were - it's better to eat cabbage with peace than meat without peace.



We are not safe here. I'd like to go anywhere I can be safe - Africa, abroad, it doesn't matter. My life is in someone else's hands - I'm not free, my children are not free.



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