2024 World Refugee Day
Every year on the 20th of June, the world comes together to celebrate the annual World Refugee Day. In honor of this crucial day, Scalabrini Centre hosted a day filled with activities, commemorating and celebrating the experience of migration. With the theme of World Refugee Day being, ‘Our Home’, Scalabrini Centre and SIHMA focused on the importance of community and comfortability when integrating into a new country. Hosted at the Scalabrini...
Youth Day and The Release of Border Towns and Spaces of (In)visibility
On the 16th of June, South Africa will come together and recognize Youth Day. In honor of Youth Day, SIHMA would like to recognize the importance of youth migration and its impacts on the advancement of opportunities. To highlight the lived experiences of youth migrants, SIHMA is pleased to announce the release of a new report, Border towns and spaces of (in)visibility: Study of young people on the move in the border towns of Chipata and Katete, Zambia....
May Press Review
National: South Africa election 2024: ‘You see skeletons’ - the deadly migrant crossing 4 April, 2024, BBC News Migrants continue to risk it all in order to seek asylum and opportunities in South Africa. With the influx of migrants typically traveling from Zimbabwe into South Africa, political tension and xenophobia are on the rise. The crossing of the Zimbabwean border into South Africa is dangerous due to wild animals and gangs of criminals that can be...
Can a film make a difference?
I would argue that the films that are made reflect the focus and spirit of the time in which they are made. There seems to be an uncomfortable parallel between what is news and what becomes entertainment. Consider that so many recent films interrogate the complex horrors of war, even as war plays out on so many of fronts. Consider that so many migrants become the ghastly statistics reported on the news. Somehow, we hope that deft filmmakers...
Labour-related experiences of migrants and refugees in South Africa
Migration continues to be one of the persistent issues globally with large numbers of people migrating everyday for various reasons. Of the drivers of migration, the need for better economic opportunities remains one of the major drives. Even if a person is pushed to migrate because of other factors such as war, to ensure sustainability and integration one needs to have a livelihood strategy mostly through employment or business. However, the rights of migrant workers continue to...
“The nexus of human trafficking, asylum seekers and refugees"
“Refugees at Risk: UNDOC uncovers human trafficking at camp in Malawi.” – UNDOC, May 2022. “IOM warns of increased risk of trafficking in persons for people fleeing Ukraine.” – IOM, March 2022. “Girls sold into forced labour. Largest group of trafficking victims identified by IOM in Bangladesh refugee camps” – IOM, October 2018. Human trafficking, or trafficking in persons refers to “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or...
