The children of displaced foreign nationals in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, say they are traumatised after being forced to flee their homes during the recent xenophobic attacks.

They have lived in four different shelters over the past three months and have experienced immense hardship. Mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi, 57 children and their parents stay at a farm on Cato Ridge temporarily.

One of the children says she misses school, her friends. The 15-year-old was born at Durban's King Edward hospital. She says she misses school and her friends.  

Reading her favourite Shakespeare pieces, she dreams of becoming a doctor.

“I do miss my friends. I do miss everyone out there but this whole xenophobic thing has separated us. My friends are racist because my parents are from outside. They're always teasing me how I’m black they forget Ubuntu.”  

  Children say they have lost their dignity and are concerned about their education

The children fled their homes at the height of xenophobic violence in March.

First accommodated in a camp at Isipingo, they were later transferred to the Chatsworth camp after their parents were arrested for refusing to leave the camp.

The camp was eventually shut down and the children were held in police cells. The children say they have lost their dignity and are also concerned about their education.

The owner of the farm on which the families are seeking refuge, has engaged the services of a psychologist to counsel them.

The Department of Social Development says it will monitor the needs of the children.