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UK gives R8m for SA shelters
05/06/2008 19:33 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Britain's government said on Thursday it would donate £500 000 (about R7.7m) to help victims of anti-immigrant violence living in temporary shelters.
The money will be split between the South Africa-based Treatment Action Campaign in the Western Cape and Oxfam's programme in the Johannesburg area, said British Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander.
A wave of anti-immigrant attacks in South Africa in recent weeks claimed 62 lives and displaced thousands.
South African authorities have transferred immigrants who had been sheltering in police stations to organised tent camps.
Sub-standard shelters
Human Rights Watch on Thursday called on the South African government to "ensure that temporary shelter sites for homeless and traumatized victims of recent xenophobic violence comply with international standards."
"Hasty government decisions to relocate these people means there hasn't been enough time to prepare the sites for safe and dignified human habitation," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at the New York-based organisation.
"These people's lives have been shattered by the recent violence and now they're forced to live in sub-standard shelters."
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