The glaring injustice is there for all who are not blinded by prejudice to see.

--Bram Fischer

PASSOP is committed to the promotion and protection of the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and both documented and un-documented immigrants in South Africa. PASSOP stands for People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty, and the word means “beware” in Afrikaans. It is a Cape Town-based NGO that was founded by a group of Zimbabweans in 2007.

Initially launched to express views of those in the Zimbabwean Diaspora, PASSOP soon became a vocal advocacy group for refugees. PASSOP has two components: a community based branch structure and an NGO side that provides a variety of services aimed at empowering both the branch structures and individual refugees and asylum-seekers. The branch structures are comprised of community committees elected by a larger group of volunteer members living in the surrounding impoverished townships. The NGO has a small staff and operates largely through the support of volunteers and un-paid interns who work in the office.

The NGO offers resources, information, support and advice to the branch committees, who in turn disseminate the information to the broader communities, serving a key function for PASSOP. From encouraging reintegration following the xenophobic violence that ripped through South Africa in May, 2008, to staging sit-ins at the refugee centres, PASSOP members have shown an extraordinary dedication to the fight for immigrant rights in South Africa.

PASSOP is funded through donations, but also through events, including Cape Town Zimfest. PASSOP also receives project-specific funding. In the past, this funding and aid has been from organisations such as the UNHCR and Catholic Welfare Development (CWD). PASSOP has also partnered with a variety of organizations in various projects, but it works most frequently with the Legal Resource Centre, the University of Cape Town Law Clinic, COSATU, the Angolan Society, the Scalabrini Centre, the Adonis Musati project and the Zimbabwe Community forum.

PASSOP believes in the power of the South African Constitution, widely recognised as one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. PASSOP believes that the rights enshrined in the constitution apply to all global citizens, including refugees in South Africa. PASSOP fights to insure that the rights promised to refugees to immigrants under South African law are protected and respected. PASSOP is involved in a number of activities dedicated at realising these rights.

PASSOP’s activities are wide-ranging. They include aid distribution, protesting, lobbying and legal action. PASSOP believes campaigning, lobbying, legal actions and even protest actions (when all options are expired) are necessary to raise awareness around issues. PASSOP has staged several protests, including protests against police brutality, xenophobia, Operation Murambatsvina (which left thousands homeless in Zimbabwe), the January 2007 raid on the Johannesburg Methodist church and deportations. PASSOP has distributed aid in Zimbabwe and in South African townships in excess of eight hundred thousand rand since its launch. PASSOP distributes aid through community structures, its branches and partner organisations in order to maintain dignity, build community and encourage integration.

One of PASSOP’s key activities is pressuring the Department of Home Affairs to provide better services to the many asylum-seekers and refugees relying on the Department to legalise their presence in South Africa. PASSOP has conducted several protests concerning the corruption and under-resourcing of the Department, and this has led to an increase in the number of people served each day. While PASSOP continues to place pressure on the Department of Home Affairs, demanding that the services promised to refugees and immigrants are provided in a fair and ethical manner, it has also built a positive working relationship with government, police and the Department. Frequently PASSOP attends meetings and works constructively with authorities who have made several improvements in recent years and despite the unacceptable current conditions, there has been progress made.