A CANADIAN immigration board’s decision to grant a South African refugee status in Canada on the grounds that he was persecuted at home for being white was condemned by the South African government yesterday.
Canadian newspaper the Ottawa Sun reported on Monday that the country’s immigration and refugee board had found “clear and convincing proof” that Brandon Huntley (31), from Mowbray near Cape Town, was victimised because of his race.
Mr Huntley applied for refugee status last year saying he was persecuted by black people, and that he was unable to secure work because of the government’s affirmative action policy, which seeks to address imbalances in the workforce by insisting companies hire South Africans who were disadvantaged under apartheid.
According to the immigration board’s chairman, William Davis, the evidence presented to them painted a picture “of indifference and inability or unwillingness” by the South African government to protect Mr Huntley from persecution.
In evidence given last month in Ottawa, Ontario, Mr Huntley said that between 1991 and 2003 he had been attacked seven times and stabbed four times by “African South Africans” who singled him out because of his race. He told the tribunal his attackers referred to him as “a white dog” and “a settler”. Blacks hated whites because “of what we did to them – it’s all about the colour of your skin”.
When asked why he had not reported the attacks against him to the police, Mr Huntley allegedly said because the majority of them were black South Africans and he did not trust them.
Mr Huntley’s application was supported by testimony from witness Lara Kaplan, his lawyer’s sister, whose evidence included an account of how her brother Robert was reportedly tortured and shot dead by black South Africans in 1997. Between 30 and 40 newspaper clippings outlining stories from South Africa that supported Mr Huntley’s point of view were also presented as evidence.
Mr Davis reportedly said he found the applicant’s story to be consistent and plausible and that Ms Kaplan’s testimony also supported his claims that racism against whites was “a common event today in South Africa”.
Speaking to South Africa’s Times newspaper yesterday, Mr Huntley’s advocate, Russell Kaplan – a human right’s lawyer who left South Africa in 1989 – said the ruling was a landmark case. “The judgment was a direct criticism of the South African government,” Mr Kaplan added.
South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, and last year more than 18,000 murders were reported to the police. However, the majority of victims are black people from the townships who cannot afford private security.
South African home affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said he was “disgusted” by the ruling, describing it as “baseless allegations against our people and our country”. “It would have been courteous for the Canadian government to allow the South African government to respond to the allegations.”
The ruling African National Congress party said Canada’s decision to grant Mr Huntley refugee status on the grounds that Africans would “persecute” him was in itself racist.
However, civil rights organisation AfriForum said the government needed to view the ruling “in a serious light”. “South Africa’s human rights record has already suffered serious damage as a result of the seemingly uncontrolled crime in the country,” said spokesman Willie Spies.