People on the Move and Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day is a national day that is observed annually on 21 March to remind South Africans about the sacrifices that accompanied the struggle for the attainment of democracy in South Africa. Every year on March 21st, South Africa remembers the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 on Human Rights Day. Human Rights Day commemorates the struggle for a democratic South Africa by paying tribute to all those who fought and...
A migrant is born
We have, over the centuries, done a great disservice to the Biblical challenge of Christmas. We have sadly reduced it to shiny tinsel, Christmas trees, strings of fairy lights and mince pies. All of which are fine in their own way but all of which also blunt us to the sharp challenge of the first Christmas and the politics that that commits us to. This is true for the poor, for the marginalised, for the peoples whose stories...
A Comparison Between South African and United States’ Immigration Policy
Comparison and Path to Permanent Residency: Acquiring permanent residence in a country other than your birth country comes with trials and tribulations. As of 2019, the number of international migrants stood at approximately 272 million, making up 3.5 percent of the world’s population (1). In South Africa, the number of international migrants stands at approximately 4.2 million, and South Africa is the country with the largest number of international migrants on the...
The Exclusion of Migrant Women in Africa | Access to the Labour Market
About the blog series Studies show that intra African female migration is a growing phenomenon in recent years as more and more women migrate (1). For instance, since 1994, South Africa has received an influx of migrant women from various parts of Sub-Saharan Africa (2) and the proportion of female migrants in Sub-Saharan African has risen from 46.4 in 2005 to 47.5% in 2019 (3). Migrant women represent a particularly disadvantaged group: gender, ethnicity and racial discrimination...
Statelessness of Migrant Children in South Africa and the Impact and Opportunity for Social Workers
Statelessness is an increasing phenomenon around the world and particularly on the African continent. At SIMHA, we are active in promoting research and awareness on statelessness in South Africa and beyond. In our latest edition of the African Human Mobility Review Journal, in a joint effort with the University of Western Cape, SIHMA published Ajwang Warria’s research paper titled “Stateless Transnational Migrant Children in South Africa: Implications and Opportunities for Social Work”1. This is the first time that...
Detention and Migration
One of the fundamentals of ensuring dignity and protection of human rights of people on the move is ensuring they are not subject to arbitrary or unlawful arrest, detention, and deportation. Migration and freedom of movement are fundamental tenants of what makes us human. Detention of people on the move, particularly for the purpose of deportation or regularising sojourn, should only be as a last resort and alternatives to detention should be prioritised....
