03/06/2026
Kleinmond rises to the challenge - again
ELAINE DAVIE
“Whenever there’s a crisis in Kleinmond, the community steps up. They don’t have to be asked, they simply arrive – with offers of assistance, food, blankets, toiletries, socks …” says Ward Councillor, Grant Cohen.
It is lunchtime at the Kleinmond municipal hall for more than 100 Malawian refugees who have fled their homes in fear of becoming victims of the current wave of xenophobia sweeping through the Overstrand.
Most of them have been there since the Kleinmond anti-foreigner protest march on Sunday morning, and no one knows how long they will remain in the hall. According to Grant, the majority of them were working here legally and some, even as far away as Cape Town.
However, when the group was visited on Monday by immigration officials and were asked who wished to remain in South Africa and who would prefer to return to their country of origin, roughly 90% indicated that they wished to leave.
Surprisingly, the group does not include a single Zimbabwean, although it is known that a number of them live here. Grant believes they are in hiding, afraid to come to the hall, in case they will be repatriated, willingly, or unwillingly. But they have reached out to some of the leaders of the community and he is hopeful they will come in out of the rain and cold. They are ready to welcome them.
In the meantime, the various churches in and around Kleinmond are taking responsibility for providing three hot meals a day for the men, women and children already there. Yesterday a group from Gift of the Givers arrived to offer assistance, but Grant was proud to tell them that, thanks to the generosity of the local community, there was nothing they needed.
Although the hall is crowded, there is a sense of order among the people as they patiently await news of transport to Malawi.
Images: Elaine Davie
Blankets: These men taking refuge in the Kleinmond Municipal Hall are stunned to receive 10 beautifully hand-knitted and -crocheted blankets from a local knitting group.
Lunchtime: It’s lunchtime in the municipal hall and volunteers from the Shofar Church in Kleinmond hand out warm soup, sandwiches and bananas to the refugees.
