International Youth Day 2026 focuses on architecture to meet common aspirations in diverse contexts

Refugee families in Durban were forced to spend eleven weeks setting up camp on the sidewalk in front of the Department of Home Affairs building on Che Guevara Street. Among the people in such dire conditions were infants, children, elderly, and sick individuals, which prompted refugee rights defenders to demand urgent provision of shelter, food, and blankets.

These families informed the publication IOL about the pressing need for food, warm blankets, clothing, water, and medication. Humanitarian organizations and volunteers are providing assistance with basic necessities while people continue to live on the streets.

Deborah Ewing from the Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign, which fights xenophobia and violence against migrants, noted the worsening situation as the government has left the provision of basic needs to civil society.

She stated: 'The situation of refugee families stranded in front of the Department of Home Affairs on Che Guevara Street for 11 weeks is deteriorating every day. These are all people whose legal status in South Africa has been checked and rechecked.'

According to Ewing, refugees and asylum seekers were forced to leave their homes, and their property was stolen, and businesses were closed and goods looted. Ewing also dispelled the misconception that documented refugees are prohibited from working or trading in South Africa.

She emphasized that the Refugees Act allows individuals with proper permits to conduct business for self-sufficiency and contribution to the local economy, noting that their livelihoods were destroyed.

According to Ewing, the families do not require permanent housing, but rather emergency shelter that would allow them to begin the process of long-term reintegration. She added that the city could not even provide a temporary location where Siyafana volunteers could offer vital services, forcing civil society and private individuals to help with food, water, clothing, blankets, and medicine.

The prolonged displacement has also negatively affected the lives of children, some of whom cannot attend school. Ewing reported that attempts by some refugees to return to their communities led to new attacks, with allegations that the police either failed to act or refused to file charges. 'They are treated like criminals, not victims of crime,' said Ewing.

The Ubuntu Army organization pointed out that this situation highlighted a broader problem of the inability to combat the racism and xenophobia faced by refugees. 'Refugees on Che Guevara Street are an inconvenient consequence of racism that no one is willing to admit,' stated the organization.

Ubuntu Army also stated that refugees have been let down by the local government, refugee programs at national and international levels, as well as religious organizations. The organization reported observing for nine weeks how religious organizations turned away from the families despite requests for help. 'Even though our team appealed to them to host these families, each organization either ignored our emails and calls or responded with something even more condemning: their thoughts and prayers wrapped in polite logistics,' reported Ubuntu Army. It specified that the organizations' responses varied in wording but not in substance.

Bishop Raphael Bahebwa Kabambire, a camp leader, stated that refugees require urgent intervention from the South African government, especially since the families continue to sleep on the streets without adequate food or shelter. 'We need intervention from the South African government. We need temporary shelter and we need food because what we are going through is inhumane,' said Kabambire. He noted that those responsible for the circumstances that forced refugees to leave their homes are not experiencing the same difficulties. 'Politicians are in their homes. Those who created this, self-defense groups, are enjoying their lives while people suffer,' he added. Kabambire concluded that the families simply need help in a situation they did not create. 'We just need help because we are in a situation we never created. It was prepared somewhere, and we are paying for the consequences.'

Municipal Reaction

The eThekwini Municipality reported that the group was initially brought from the Diocesan Centre to the Department of Home Affairs Migration Office on May 21st for documentation verification. The municipality emphasized: 'It is important to note that this group was brought from the Diocesan Centre to the Department of Home Affairs Migration Office on May 21st to verify the status of their documentation.'

According to the municipality, 457 people were verified, with only three being deemed to lack valid documents. The municipality stated: 'Out of 457 verified individuals, only three were found to be without valid documentation.'

The municipality reported that those with legal documents were offered the option to return to their residences and reintegrate into their communities. 'During this interaction, the group was presented with two options: reintegration into the community or placement at the Lindela Repatriation Centre. The group declined both options,' clarified the municipality.

It also noted that the refugees are now demanding housing from the city, despite the alleged illegal occupation of public space. 'The group is now demanding that the municipality provide housing in the city. By continuing to illegally occupy public spaces, they are violating city bylaws,' stated the municipality.

The municipality reported that the group continued to live on the streets until June 12th, when they met with a Multi-Departmental Committee delegation led by Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mamoloko Kubayi. The refugees' primary need remains basic: protection from the weather and a safe place to live until a solution to their displacement is found.

Three women who believed they had moved to Durban for call center work were ordered to change into underwear for a man known to them as 'Boss,' and were subsequently filmed for men willing to pay to view them.

Initially, they were transported from Johannesburg to an unfamiliar private house in the suburbs. Upon arrival, the women were in a state of fear, located 600 km from home, were locked up, forbidden from contacting anyone, and were constantly monitored.

Shortly thereafter, 'Boss' allegedly touched one of the women during an embrace, squeezing her buttocks, and then touched the chest and buttocks of another woman.

The state has brought charges against a 65-year-old man from La Lucia, who appeared in the Durban Regional Court on Wednesday, facing 20 charges including human trafficking, kidnapping, and sexual assault.

The man, whose name has not been disclosed pending conviction, is a Durban businessman and former police officer. He was previously convicted for selling Mandrax in 1992 and received an effective three-year prison sentence.

Dressed in a brown jacket, he looked like a solitary figure heading into the courtroom, running his hands through his hair. The indictment in this new case, which IOL reviewed, names him and five other individuals.

According to the document, the three women were recruited in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, in February 2022. The state alleged that between February and March 2022, the accused hired the three victims under the false pretense of employment related to selling SIM cards in casinos and/or working in a call center.

The offer reached them via WhatsApp under the guise of a company named ICLICK, and three of the 20 charges relate to these messages. The charges include 'providing false information about employment for ICLICK to the victims through electronic communications, including WhatsApp' and 'representing the legitimacy of the employment opportunity for ICLICK.'

The state claims the messages were effective because 'the representations were false and induced/led the victims to act on this information, causing them harm as they traveled to Durban to meet the employer, only to be told by the accused that the job was actually sexual in nature.'

They were taken to a house at 59 Stirling Crescent, Durban North. According to the indictment, two of the accused kidnapped all three women to this address on March 2, 2022.

The charge states that 'the accused unlawfully and intentionally deprived persons of their liberty, holding them in the house at 59 Stirling Crescent; this area was unknown to them. They locked doors, restricted communication, and monitored their movements, thereby exercising control over them and preventing them from leaving freely.'

The instruction regarding underwear came from the second accused. The charge indicates that 'the second accused unlawfully and intentionally conspired with the 65-year-old man to commit sexual crimes against victims B and C.'

This is followed by descriptions of two separate instances of sexual assault, both committed only against the 65-year-old man in the same house on that day. 'The said accused unlawfully and intentionally committed sexual assault against victim B by embracing her and squeezing her buttocks without her consent.' It also states that 'the said accused unlawfully and intentionally committed sexual assault against victim C by touching her chest and buttocks without her consent.'

Three human trafficking charges, one for each woman, allege that they were moved from Johannesburg to Durban for sexual exploitation. The charge states: 'The accused unlawfully and intentionally recruited, transported, transferred, conveyed, delivered, housed, or received another person, within or outside the Republic, i.e., from Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, to Stirling Crescent, Durban. This was done through coercion, abuse of vulnerability, fraud, deception, threats, kidnapping, or abuse of power, for any form or manner of exploitation, such as sexual exploitation in the form of sex work, webcam posing, participation in webcam prostitution, providing escort services, appearing on the adult website 'Red Velvet', and engaging in sexual intercourse with men in exchange for payment.'

Another three charges are brought against six accused for organizing women as prostitutes. The charge alleges: 'The accused recruited and/or facilitated the procurement of the three victims for the purpose of sexual acts with clients, and the accused recruited or attempted to recruit the victims as regular prostitutes.'

Three defamation charges concern the manner in which the women were treated. 'Subjecting the victims to indecent, degrading, offensive, and invasive sexual behavior, including, but not limited to, treating them as sexual objects. Subjecting them to behavior that violates their dignity, self-esteem, bodily integrity, and privacy, under circumstances where the victims were recruited under false pretenses, were vulnerable, and were misled about the true nature of the job offer.'

The state reported that none of the houses had a license to operate for adult activities, nor was anyone registered there with the Film and Publications Board as a film distributor. By law in South Africa, pornography cannot be sold by anyone who is not registered with the board, and the most restricted category of adult material, rated X18, can only be handled by businesses with an adult activity license from the local licensing authority.

What was conducted from this house, according to the indictment, began long before the three women responded to the advertisement. This included 'live sexual broadcasts via webcam,' 'online broadcasting of sexual acts,' and 'creation and distribution of pornographic materials via internet platforms.' This material was distributed online from this address from some point in 2020 until March 2022, and the accused 'engaged in and/or facilitated such activity for commercial purposes and/or for financial gain.'

Thus, a two-year period of trafficking occurred before the women arrived. The women are identified in the indictment only as victims A, B, and C. 'At this stage, the victims' names are withheld for safety and confidentiality reasons.'

It is alleged that all six accused acted in concert throughout the entire period. 'In all relevant and material instances, all the accused acted towards the common objective of committing the crimes outlined in the indictment.'

The police case was opened at the Durban North station this month, more than four years after the alleged offenses, and the accused was arrested on Tuesday. The Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, lawyer Kalavani Govender from the Durban organized crime unit, confirmed on Wednesday that the state would charge him with a category that requires him to demonstrate exceptional circumstances before any court can release him.

His doctor wrote to the police on the day of his arrest, stating that he was undergoing treatment for uncontrolled hypertension and cholesterol disorder, and had previously had a tumor removed, and requested that he be kept within easy reach of his treating medical team. The court record noted that he was held at Westville Prison hospital. Judge Sharon Marx adjourned the case until August 25th for a formal bail application. Val Tafel and Paul Jorgensen represented the state, while Jay Mohideen, acting on behalf of the accused, represented the defense. He pleaded not guilty to any of the 20 counts.

While traveling to the hospital on a motorcycle, a woman who began labor gave birth to her baby right on the scooter as they approached the medical facility. This moment was captured on video and quickly went viral.

The video shows the woman arriving at the hospital, with doctors and nurses running out to meet her to provide assistance. During the examination, medical staff discovered that the baby had already been born and was inside the woman's underwear, still connected by the umbilical cord.

The newborn was safely extracted, and the hospital confirmed that both mother and child were fine. The incident occurred on August 3 at Phu Luong Hospital in Vietnam.

The 25-year-old woman was 35 weeks pregnant when she felt severe abdominal pain. Her husband decided to take her to the hospital on a motorcycle, and she gave birth before reaching the destination. This was the mother's fourth child.

The medical team quickly surrounded the woman and transported her, along with the baby, on a stretcher, after which they cut the umbilical cord and provided necessary medical care to both.

Videos of this event were spread across social media. Many users highly praised the work of the medical staff, as well as commending the bravery and composure of the mother, who remained calm in the situation, focusing on everyone's well-being.