Documentation, Documentation, Documentation!
When we consider people on the move and their interaction with government authorities or access to services one of the matters that is often raised is identification and/or enabling documentation and the absence thereof presents with a number of challenges. We regularly hear about documentation allowing for migration via regular channels or that a migrant migrated via irregular channels because they did not have the requisite documentation. The absence of documentation for migrants creates another layer of vulnerability...
How the Migrant Youth are making a mark in Music and Art
Happy Youth Day! Youth Day in South Africa is on the 16th of June and commemorates the Soweto Uprising and pivot role of the youth. Youth and their contributions are celebrated and commemorated around the world with several Countries declaring a national youth day, along with the United Nations International Youth Day celebration on the 12th of August and the World Youth Day Celebration organised by the Catholic Church, celebrated by millions of people across the...
The Report: 'Labour-related experiences of Migrants and Refugees in South Africa' is now published
On the 16th of March, SIHMA published Dr. Marinda Weideman’s report on the labour-related experiences of migrants and refugees in South Africa. It is an extensive report based on interviews with 17 subject experts, 2 employers and 39 migrants and refugees. The purpose of the report was to understand the processes pertaining to the employment and working conditions of migrants and refugees in South Africa. Dr. Weideman notes 13 key findings: The most likely reason for migration among the...
Africa Report: South Africa's country profile
The Africa Report #110, which came out in January 2020, dedicated a large section of this issue to 147 country profiles, discussing the current situation of the country and its perspective on the upcoming year. This blogpost will describe the key topics of South Africa’s country profile. In the last term, major policy interventions were announced by the leading party; these include wider economic reforms, cuts to the civil service and the establishment...
Spazas, Foreigners, and Crime – It’s More Complicated than That
In May 2008, the world watched in shock as xenophobic violence raged across South Africa. Nationals violently attacked foreign nationals, displacing tens of thousands of migrants and brutally killing over 60. Migrants’ properties and businesses were destroyed in great numbers, with over 550 foreign-owned shops looted or burned to the ground. This storm of attacks ushered in a decade of rising awareness of xenophobic violence among South Africans, and it has become widely assumed that this violence and accompanying xenophobic...
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...
