Roundtable on Migration, Labour & Policy Options
On Tuesday December 10, the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO), The Jesuit Institute and the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa (SIHMA) held a seminar discussion on Migration, Labour & Policy Options in Cape Town. It was intended to be a small round table, with around 16 people attending, representing a number of organisations and the parliament. Father Peter-John Pearson, the director of CPLO, gave a welcome and introduction. Following, Marinda...
My Experience as a Scalabrini Intern
My name is Emma Dionne. I am from Rhode Island, USA. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Criminology in 2017 from Stonehill College in Massachusetts. I’ve worked in the legal field the past two years. I came to Cape Town to gain an international perspective before furthering my education. I volunteered at the Scalabrini Study Centre in Cape Town from April to June 2019. On any given day, Scalabrini Centre in Cape Town is...
South Africa – Sweden University Forum (SASUF): Migration and Mobilities
On 7 May, 2019, the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) Research Niche in Migration and Mobilities hosted a special satellite event for the South Africa-Sweden Research and Innovation Week, with the South Africa-Sweden University Forum (SASUF). SASUF is a collaboration between 36 universities in Sweden and South Africa with goals to “strengthen ties between South Africa and Sweden in research, education, and innovation” and to “connect universities with funding agencies, industry, ministries, and society in working towards...
Women are migrating to follow their aspirations
As of 2017, the total number of international migrants is estimated at around 258 million of which 48 percent are women. The term feminization of migration indicates an increase in the percentage of female migrants and refers to women who migrate independently. Scholars debate whether the feminization of migration is a new phenomenon or not. Some argue that women have always migrated but their movements were of less interest to academics. Between 1960 and 2015, the female share...
Caught in a Catch-22: Child Migrants in South Africa – Are short-term plans and implementation gaps putting foreign children at risk?
In 2004, a court case brought by the Centre for Child Law reflected the severe challenges and restrictions that children face in the South African migration landscape. Responding to the detention of over 100 children at Lindela, including some who were illegally held with adults, the Pretoria High Court ruled that such detention of minors was unlawful and a shameful transgression against the children’s rights and interests. In spite of this, approximately 50 children have been discovered at Lindela since...
Migration-Security Nexus vs Migration-Development nexus. Is decolonization of migration a third way?
The shift towards the securitization of migration is complete and this is not a news. However, so far, the debate around security and migration has involved countries in the Global North, while on the African continent discussions have privileged the migration for development paradigm and its agenda. Nonetheless, the security paradigm is gaining consensus amongst African states, some of which receive financial aid from the European Union to stop irregular migration. Countries such as Niger, Ethiopia and Sudan have put in place interventions aiming...
