We are excited for the interns from Italy and the USA that will join us from May until August 2019. Are you also interested in learning more about PASSOP and getting involved yourself? Apply now for an internship by sending us your CV and filled our application form to internship.passop@gmail.com.

The Department of Home Affairs has extended the Lesotho Special Permit deadline until the end of December 2016. Lesotho nationals have until then to regularise their stay in the country or face deportation.

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba says the department will consider extending the deadline for online applications later as the cut-off date was last Saturday (1st of October). Gigaba says the process at the 11 application centres set up throughout the country will continue until December 31.

The department states that over 52 000 Lesotho nationals have submitted their applications. They are now in the process of checking those applications to see if they comply with the requirements.

PASSOP relies heavily on the diverse backgrounds, knowledge and skills of its volunteers and interns. At any given time, there are usually 4-7 interns and volunteers working with us, mostly students from the United States, Europe and South Africa. Their roles and tasks vary and are designed to match their own expertise and interests, as well as PASSOP’s priority needs and campaigns at different times.

What you need to Volunteer/ Intern

To intern at PASSOP, a background or strong interest in one or more of the following areas is recommended: law, human rights, migration issues, political science, development studies and journalism. We are looking for highly motivated and dynamic young people who are passionate and fearless in standing up and fighting for the rights of the vulnerable, the poor and the marginalised.

If you are interested in volunteering at PASSOP, please send us your application form and let us know what motivates you to want to get involved with PASSOP.

Current Internships:

LGBTI Refugee Program and Fundraising Intern

PASSOP is looking for someone passionate about LGBTI rights who understands the complexities of being an LGBTI person living in a new country and the challenges that brings.

The LGBTI Refugee Program Intern would help run the support group and monthly skills-training program as well as give suggestions on how to improve the program. They would also assist with fundraising to help the program members obtain legal documentation.

You must be a self-starter and have experience working with people. Previous experience in social work, with human rights/social justice organizations a plus, as well as grant writing or fundraising experience.

Skills:

-Capacity to multi-task and ability to prioritize across multiple projects
-Strong computer skills (e.g., Microsoft Word & Excel, Google apps)
-Ability to work in a team environment
-Strong organizational skills
-Experience working or studying abroad a plus

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
3 – 6 months
Please send a CV and cover letter to: interns.passop@gmail.com

Fundraising/PR intern

The Fundraising/PR intern must passionate about human rights/social justice. They must have experience in at least one of the following: managing fundraising events, grant writing that has led to funding for an organisation, experience of working with NGO’s or non-profit organisations and/or setting up a donor base.

The intern will focus mainly on obtaining funds for PASSOP, assist with processing donations, Assist with the implementation of event logistics and planning, writing grants, and improving and keeping relationships to other NGOs, organisations and donors. They will also have the chance to work within whichever specific program they feel (please see our website for our current programs).

Skills:

-Experience or interest in event management and fundraising
– Strong communication and collaboration skills to interact with other NGOs
-Capacity to multi-task and ability to prioritize across multiple projects
-Strong computer skills (e.g., Microsoft Word & Excel, Google apps)
-Ability to work in a team environment
-Strong organisational skills
-Experience working or studying abroad a plus

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
3 – 6 months
Please send a CV and cover letter to: interns.passop@gmail.com

Social media and marketing intern

PASSOP is looking for an enthusiastic intern who is willing to take control and manage multiple social media platforms within the organisation. The intern must have good communication skills and have had a background within social media as well as an interest for NGOs or human rights organisations.

The intern will focus mainly on organising PASSOP’s Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin, as well as replying to comments and emails on all social media platforms.

Skills:

-Experience or interest in social media and marketing
-Capacity to multi-task and ability to prioritize across multiple projects and social media platforms
-Strong computer skills (e.g., Microsoft Word & Excel, Facebook, website design, Instagram, Twitter, Google apps)
-Ability to work in a team environment
-Strong organisational skills
-Experience working or studying abroad a plus

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
3 – 6 months
Please send a CV and cover letter to: interns.passop@gmail.com

PASSOP is hosting a community-building and awareness-raising event on Saturday July 23rd. The aim is to promote understanding and tolerance, as well as further the integration of LGBTI refugees into the larger LGBTI community here in Cape Town. Our hope is that the event will encourage LGBTI refugee rights activism, empower the community, and be educational for those outside the community. The latter being extremely important for the safety of this very marginalized population. There will be an array of speakers:

-People who work directly with the community speaking on the specific challenges LGBTI refugees face
-LGBTI refugees who will selflessly share their personal stories
-Community leaders who will promote the message of empowerment

We will also showcase an exhibition of award winning photographer Robin Hammond’s “Where Love is Illegal” project. http://whereloveisillegal.com/

The event will be free and open to the public. Among those encouraged to attend will be: Police, Department of Home Affairs, Department of Labor, community leaders, church leaders, LGBTI organizations, and South African media.

Please RSVP to the facebook link: Colours of Cape Town

In many African countries, LGBTI people are persecuted because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Homosexuality is illegal in 38 of the 54 African countries, and four countries enforce the death penalty for persons who identify as homosexual or transgender. African LGBTI people in extreme danger in their home country flee to South Africa to find refuge, as their constitution is the most progressive in the region. However, the lived reality after arrival is far from desirable.

LGBTI refugees face extreme challenges after relocating to South Africa. They are doubly marginalized, as they are not accepted into their own refugee communities because of their sexual orientation/gender identity nor are they accepted into LGBTI communities because they are foreigners. They encounter homophobia, xenophobia, violence, discrimination, and abuse by the general population, their own refugee communities, as well as the police and government officials. They struggle to find employment due to lack of proper documentation (which is often denied to them based on their sexual orientation/gender identity) or they are fired once their sexuality (or in some cases HIV status) is revealed. Many are kicked out of shelters, rejected from housing, and denied medical services all because of homophobia.

This must end.

COLORS OF CAPE TOWN: Solidarity with LGBTI Refugees

PASSOP is hosting a community-building and awareness-raising event on Saturday July 23rd. The aim is to promote understanding and tolerance, as well as further the integration of LGBTI refugees into the larger LGBTI community here in Cape Town. There will be an array of speakers:

-People who work directly with the community speaking on the specific challenges LGBTI refugees face

-LGBTI refugees who will selflessly share their personal stories

-Community leaders who will promote the message of empowerment

Exhibition of award winning photographer Robin Hammond’s “Where Love is Illegal” project http://whereloveisillegal.com/

The event will be free and open to the public. Among those encouraged to come will be: Police, Department of Home Affairs, Department of Labor, community leaders, church leaders, LGBTI organizations, South African media.

Our hope is that the event will encourage LGBTI refugee rights activism, empower the community, and be educational for those outside the community.

Please join us at:

The Nest
129 Longmarket Street
Saturday July 23
6pm – 10pm

Free food, cash bar

Lesotho Special Permit Extended

South African Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has extended the deadline for the Lesotho special permit. After receiving an underwhelming amount of permits, the Minister has extended the deadline to September 30, 2016. There are more than 400,000 Basotho’s living in South Africa who are undocumented, but have the potential to receive documentation from the government. This program will pardon those who are in possession of falsified documents and will receive legal documents. This permit program is essential to obtaining legal documents and should be utilized by all.

To read more about the permit, please click here.

ATTENTION ASYLUM SEEKERS:

On 7 June 2016 the LRC received a let­ter from the attor­neys for the Depart­ment of Home Affairs inform­ing us that they will be appeal­ing the order granted in our favour on 3 June 2016.

That let­ter also indi­cated that the LRC should inform its clients that none of their per­mits will be extended at the Cape Town Refugee Recep­tion Office (CTRRO) and none of their files will be trans­ferred while the appeal is still pend­ing.

The order given in the Nbaya case ordered the Cape Town RRO to renew the per­mits of asy­lum seek­ers whose per­mits were first applied for at other RROs (Pre­to­ria, Musina and Dur­ban). It specif­i­cally said that the CTRRO must renew the per­mits of those asy­lum seek­ers that had approached the LRC’s offices, and whose names were on a list of over 2 500 peo­ple that had been sub­mit­ted to the court by the LRC. It also said that the CTRRO must do the same for ‘all per­sons sim­i­larly sit­u­ated’.

If this order was car­ried out, it would effec­tively mean that the CTRRO must renew the per­mit of any­one enti­tled to a renewal, even if that per­mit was not first issued in Cape Town.

The let­ter from the Depart­ment of Home Affairs attor­neys indi­cates that the CTRRO will not be doing that.

An appeal can take a num­ber of months as it will more than likely go to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloem­fontein. It first has to be granted an appeal date in Bloem­fontein, then the appeal will have to be attended and argued by both the LRC and the attor­neys for the Depart­ment. There­after, the SCA judges will have to deliver a judg­ment, which isn’t likely to be on the same day as the appeal hear­ing.

In the time that it takes for all of that to hap­pen, the fastest and only way that an asy­lum seeker with a per­mit first issued out­side of Cape Town will be able to renew his or her per­mit is for that per­son to travel back to their orig­i­nal RRO and renew their per­mit there.

In the mean­time, the LRC intends apply­ing to the Court for a spe­cific order that says that Home Affairs must imple­ment the order while their appeal is pend­ing. Once this is done, we will update accord­ingly.