Newfound hope was seen in South Africa on 27 April 1994, when the country held its first democratic elections. In that spirit, South Africa acceded to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and agreed to uphold its promise of protecting the most vulnerable. However, 25 years on, refugees have experienced increased exclusion and rights violations. The last 25 years have brought with them numerous struggles for refugee communities, including violence, institutionalised xenophobia and a lack of political will. How do we get back the momentum and spirit that paved the way for democracy in South Africa? While South Africa has robust legislative measures, a sense of humanity has been lost in their implementation. This article offers an overview of what it means to be a refugee in democratic South Africa, and it asks whether we can trust our democracy to protect the most vulnerable. By exploring the day-to-day obstacles that refugees encounter from the moment they arrive in South Africa, this article aims to highlight the systematic breakdown of the generous laws that are supposed to protect refugees. The law can work, but an ‘injection of humanity’ is needed in public and private life to ensure that the vision of democracy is upheld.

1994年4月27日，南非举行了第一次民主选举，人们看到了新的希望。本着这种精神，南非加入了1951年的《联合国难民公约》，并同意履行其保护最弱势群体的诺言。然而，25年过去了，难民经历了越来越多的排斥和侵犯人权的行为。过去的25年为难民社区带来了许多斗争，包括暴力，制度化的仇外心理和缺乏政治意愿。我们如何获得为南非民主道路铺平道路的势头和精神？南非虽然有强有力的立法措施，但在执行中却失去了人道感。本文概述了成为民主南非的难民意味着什么，它询问我们是否可以信任我们的民主国家以保护最弱势群体。通过探究难民自抵达南非之日起遇到的日常障碍，本文旨在突显本应保护难民的慷慨法律的系统崩溃。法律是可行的，但在公共和私人生活中需要“注入人性”，以确保维护民主远景。