The United Nations General Assembly decided that 20 June would be celebrated as World Refugee Day in Resolution 55/76. The significance of this day is to highlight the situation refugees across the world are facing and urge the global community to stand in solidarity with them. To mark this day, the Advocacy Unit of the Centre developed a documentary as part of the #AfricanMigrantsMatter campaign.

‘Why We Are Here’ is a documentary exploring the lives of refugees and migrants residing in South Africa. African migrants and refugees face many institutional and social barriers while integrating into new communities after being displaced. In South Africa particularly, there has been a spate of xenophobic violence over the years which has specifically targeted African migrants residing in urban areas. This documentary hopes to shed some light as to some of the different reasons and factors which influence why people migrate to South Africa. We hope that it will sensitise viewers and serve as a counter-narrative to the notions that fuel the hatred towards African foreign nationals.

#AfricanMigranstMatter #WorldRefugeeDay #StepWithRefugees

For more information on the #AfricanMigrantsMatter campaign, visit www.chr.up.ac.za/africanmigrantsmatter