‘Death sentence': Sydney couple facing deportation to South Africa fear being racially targeted on their return

Sky News AU

3 days ago

A South African couple living in western Sydney are terrified they may soon be forced back to the country, saying it will be their 'death sentence'.
Charné-Lee Gunning, 31, and Ivan Strauss, 37, are pleading with the Australian Government to let them stay, as they wait to hear whether their application for protection visas will be approved.
The pair were exposed to violence from a young age and moved around a lot in South Africa in search of safety.
When Ms Gunning was three years old, her father was shot in the head.
She holds on to the blood-stained blanket which was used to cover his lifeless body.
'There was sightings of the men who came to his door and then left the foyer area but it was never followed up on. There was no proper forensics that was taken. His death certificate just says unnatural causes,' Ms Gunning said.
Raised by a single mother, Ms Gunning recalls a group of men trying to break into the granny flat she shared with her mum at the back of a horse farm in Drummond, in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
'They were threatening what they were going to do to us when they got through the window. It was of a sexual nature,' Ms Gunning said.
Ivan also remembers he and his father being held up by two men while working at a scrap metal yard in Spring.
'They both had weapons in their hands, they pulled us out of the car. I was lying on the floor, facing towards my dad, seeing my dad on the other side, also with weapon to his head and all I could think is, this is the moment, we are not going to make it,' Ivan said.
In 2016, Ms Gunning and Ivan were forced off the road while driving a motorbike in Pinetown.
The incident left Ivan with a fractured foot.
'You have to watch your back the whole time. When we came to Australia, the simple thing of just driving with a window open is amazing… You can't do that back in South Africa. When you stop at a traffic light, you stop a car length away from the car in front of you so that you can get away,' Ivan said.
Ms Gunning added, 'The nightmares are still there but I have a sense of safety I've never had before.'
For the past six years, the pair have been clinging to the hope they will one day be allowed to remain in Australia.
The couple arrived in Sydney in December 2018 as visitors and applied for protection visas in early 2019.
Their request was denied later that year.
They then appealed the decision and their case was heard in July, 2025.
They were given until July 30 to submit final paperwork and will wait to hear back from the Administrative Review Tribunal.
Ms Gunning said she can't bear to think about the prospect of having to return to South Africa, out of fear of being racially targeted.
'I feel like that would be our death sentence, especially with what's going on in South Africa at the moment. It has gotten a lot worse since we left and we also go back to nothing,' she said.
'We feel home here, we feel safe and I can't begin to explain how grateful we are for the few years we've had. It is like an extension on our lives basically.'
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs told Sky News the Department cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy reasons.
If the couple's application for protection visas are not approved, they could be given 35 days to leave the country.
People applying for a protection visa in Australia must be found to be a refugee or show they would face serious harm if returned to their home country, in line with Australia's complementary protection obligations.
All claims are assessed in accordance with the Migration Act 1958 (the Act), which gives effect to Australia's non-refoulement (non-return) obligations.
All applications are assessed on an individual basis, with consideration of contemporary information about the applicant's country of origin.
Head of Migration and Immigration Lawyer at Citation Group Yvette Gasic said the couple could have other options.
'That is not necessarily the end of the road for them. If they depart and apply for 482 (Skills in Demand) visa, those visas generally take a couple of months to be finalised and determined,' Ms Gasic said.
'The other pathway of ministerial intervention can be fairly quick but again the Minister may decide, and there are very prescriptive grounds as to when a Minister might decide to intervene.'
Ms Gunning is an Estimating Manager and Ivan is an air conditioning technician.
His skill is in demand in Australia.
Ivan's former boss, logistics manager at Rexel, David Colbran, said the Australian Government should allow the couple to stay.
'Give someone a fair go. They're not a burden, they work hard. I've known them for six years now, they work hard, don't take sick leave, don't sponge off the government, they work hard, they want to contribute,' Colbran said.
Ms Gunning added, 'We will move anywhere in Australia, even most remote place, where skills needed, we will go there.'
Despite the US President's widespread crackdown on immigration, Donald Trump recently expedited refugee visas for a cohort of white South African farmers.
He has alleged that the group are facing 'genocide', claims which have been rejected by South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.
'It's a genocide taking place that you people don't want to write about,' President Trump said.
'Farmers are being killed, they happen to be white but whether they are white or black it makes no difference to me.'
In a televised meeting with President Trump at the White House, President Ramaphosa said: 'People who do get killed, unfortunately through criminal activity, are not only white people, majority of them are black people."
Asked whether Australia should follow the lead of the United States in helping to fast-track visas for the cohort, Shadow Immigration Minister Paul Scarr said: 'I think it is important that the laws are applied the same way across people seeking asylum or humanitarian visas from anywhere in the world.'
Sky News has contacted the Prime Minister's office for comment.