Bulelani Mfaco says he has never felt safe living in South Africa.
What put Mfaco’s mind at ease was discovering dozens of other South Africans who had also applied to the Irish government for asylum-seeker status: “When I claimed asylum … I didn’t think I would see other South Africans, but when I walked in the reception centre in Dublin, the first thing I noticed was that I could hear all the different languages that are spoken in South Africa,” he said.
“I’ve had incidents myself where I was attacked because of my sexual orientation. I’ve been spat at [and] targeted by security guards in malls. I’ve even had stones hurled at me, for no reason other than that I was gay,” Mfaco said. A 2016 report by LGBTIQ-rights group Out said of 2 000 respondents to a survey, 9% had been verbally insulted, 20% had been threatened with harm, 17% “chased or followed,” and nearly 10% physically attacked.
“South African police were useless to protect her. And when she applied for asylum in Ireland she was initially rejected because [Ireland] described South Africa as a ‘safe country of origin’… If Ireland declares a country a safe country, the onus is on the applicant to prove they will not be safe,” Mfaco said.
Countries such as Albania, Georgia, and South Africa, which have contributed the bulk of the increase in applicants, are considered stable democracies, with applicants from these countries less likely to be granted refugee status.