Missio Politica Pro-Refugee Camps: The Case of South Africa
Jonas Sello Thinane 
Issue: Vol.9 No.8 August 2023 Issue Article 3 pp. 385-398
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2023983 | Published online 3rd August, 2023.
© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Dissimilar to several countries of the world including some African countries such as both Namibia and Botswana, South Africa continues to be without refugee camps nor camp policy. The problems arising from the lack of such measures have become apparent in recent years, as increasing numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers living in host communities have become victims of violent situations. Among some of the challenges resulting from this absence is that during the heightening of xenophobia or at times during public protests, both unsuspecting refugees and asylum-seekers are left without protection. To this end, this paper relied upon literature and employed a missio politica framework to align the urgent need for refugee camps in South Africa with the objectives of the Missio Dei. Although South Africa is the case in point, the objective was to argue for the establishment of refugee camps in all of Africa permanently open to accommodate refugees and asylum-seekers. In this way, the main goals of the Missio Dei, especially with regard to total salvation, are achieved at the continental level. Consequently, the scope of this paper provided an opportunity to further examine a new and relatively unexplored significance of refugee camps from a theological and missiological perspective.
Keywords: Missio Dei, Missio Politica, Asylum-Seekers, Refugee Camps, South Africa.
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Dr Jonas Sello Thinane is a researcher at the University of South Africa (UNISA), College of Human Sciences (CHS) within the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (RITR). With a PhD in Theology, specializing in Missiology, he has dedicated his entire career to the study and research of missionary work. Since then, he has published numerous scholarly articles in prestigious journals, covering a wide range of theological topics, but particularly Missiology topics. In addition to his publications, Dr. Thinane continues to actively participate in local and international conferences, seminars, and webinars. As such, his academic contributions continue to make a mark both in South Africa and internationally.
Thinane, Jonas Sello. “Missio Politica Pro-Refugee Camps: The Case Of South Africa, “ E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 9 no.8 (2023): 385-398. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2023983
© 2023 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
