Bulelani Mfaco

Bulelani Mfaco
Born	Libode (Mpondoland), Eastern Cape, South Africa
Nationality	South African
Alma mater	University College Dublin, University of the Western Cape
Occupation	Activist
Movement	Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI)

Bulelani Mfaco is a South African asylum seeker and activist in Ireland, and former spokesperson for the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland. In December 2024, the group announced that Mfaco had accepted and commenced with full-time employment elsewhere and he would not be serving as the group’s spokesperson. He had been in this role for 7 years voluntarily.

Career

While in South Africa, Mfaco was involved in protests calling for better housing, access to land with Abahlali baseMjondolo,[1] healthcare and for improved policing. He was an active member of the Khayelitsha health forum and was branch secretary for the Democratic Alliance.[2]

Having applied for asylum in Ireland in 2017, Mfaco was placed in direct provision centres, first in Dublin, later in County Clare and County Limerick. Based on his experiences within this system, he joined the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) and now acts as their spokesperson. He has spoken out about the issues faced by members of the LGBT community within direct provision, as well as the sub-standard living conditions in many centres across Ireland, describing them as "ghettos in every sense of the word".[3][4][5] He has described how victims of sexual assault are particularly vulnerable within direct provision, and that the way in which people are housed can leave people open to further attacks, particularly those in the LGBT community.[6] He has written reports and documented life within the system, strongly advocating for it to be abolished.[7] Despite holding a permit to work, Mfaco has only worked one hour of paid work since 2018, he says Irish employers not understanding the permit given to asylum seekers.[8][9] In 2019, Mfaco successfully appealed to the Press Council of Ireland in upholding a complaint against The Irish Times for their publication of a racial slur.[10]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mfaco has spoken out about how living conditions within direct provision centres make social distancing or self-isolation impossible due to over-crowding and shared facilities.[11][12][13] Mfaco is MASI's representative in the Expert Group established by Minister Charlie Flanagan and David Stanton to come up with a long term approach to the provision of material supports including accommodation for asylum seekers drawing from international best practice.[14]

Personal life

Mfaco grew up in Khayelitsha in Cape Town.[2] He has a degree in politics and public administration from the University of the Western Cape. He was admitted to the University of the Western Cape through the University’s Recognition of Prior Learning as he hadn’t completed secondary school education. On completion of his studies, he applied for a scholarship for a master's degree in University College Dublin and moved to Ireland in 2015. Having experienced homophobia and attacks in South Africa, Mfaco applied for asylum in Ireland in 2017 on his return from South Africa, having completed his master's degree in 2016. At this point, he was moved into a direct provision centre in Balseskin, Finglas, Dublin. He has since lived in centres in County Clare and Knockalisheen, County Limerick.[3][6][15] His application for asylum was rejected in July 2019, which he is appealing.[16] He was granted permission to remain in February 2023.

References

1. "Macassar Village | Abahlali baseMjondolo | Page 2". Retrieved 24 June 2020.
2. "Bulelani Mfaco". West Cork Music. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
3. Pollak, Sorcha (19 September 2018). "Direct provision: 'It stank. There was no privacy. It was like military camp'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
4. Molony, Don (27 May 2020). "Case study: 'The alarms went berserk as people were cooking in their bedrooms'". Independent. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
5. Matwadia, Eyaaz (18 June 2020). "SA activist seeks asylum in Ireland". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
6. Kelleher, Patrick (19 June 2020). "Gay refugee who fled homophobic South Africa says Ireland's reviled asylum system 'denies fundamental human rights'". PinkNews. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
7. "Direct provision: 'If that is the kindness of the Irish State, I would hate to experience its cruelty'". Breaking News. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
8. McMenamin, Aura (3 July 2019). "People Seeking Asylum Say They're Funnelled Into Low-Paid Temp Work, Unable to Use Their Skills". Dublin Inquirer. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
9. Reinhardt, Cian (8 August 2018). "Roadblocks on asylum seekers' work journey". Limerick Post Newspaper. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
10. "Mr Bulelani Mfaco and The Irish Times". The Irish Times. 12 November 2019.
11. Ó Fátharta, Conall (10 April 2020). "Covid-19 measures for asylum seekers described as 'shambolic'". www.irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
12. O'Sullivan, Colman (5 April 2020). "Asylum seekers fear overcrowding raises infection risk". RTÉ News. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
13. Mackintosh, Eliza (16 June 2020). "Amid the pandemic, a group of asylum seekers was moved to a small, rural Irish town. Then they started testing positive for Covid-19". CNN. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
14. Nick, Callan. "Ministers Flanagan and Stanton announce establishment of Expert Group on Direct Provision". merrionstreet.ie. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
15. Beckler, Hannah (14 October 2019). ""It's a Prison"". The New Republic. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
16. McGreal, Edwin (19 November 2019). "'I don't think it is very helpful'". www.mayonews.ie. Retrieved 20 June 2020.