Migration in Southern Africa

Front matter

IMISCOE Research Series

Pragna Rugunanan Nomkhosi Xulu-Gama_ Editors

Migration in Southern Africa

Foreword

I recall that it was in October 2018 when we had the first conversation between the Chris Hani Institute (CHI) and Professor Pragna Rugunanan from the Sociology Department at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) regarding possible research and broader intellectual collaboration. We met fortuitously at Wits University, in a workshop on the future of the labour project. Our conversation immediately drew in the subject of migration, which was a common research and intellectual interest of both UJ colleagues and CHI researchers. We agreed that, while there was a lot of research and literature in the body of knowledge on migration, our own individual experiences with the subject brought to the fore the dominance of ‘the North’ over both research and theory, and the dearth of theorising migration from a South-South perspective.

From that conversation, we began formulating the idea of collaborating, which culminated in a workshop in July 2019. The workshop brought together a number of Southern scholars on migration and related disciplines. At the workshop, numerous papers were presented within the broad theme of Southern perspectives on migration. Furthermore, we benefitted from Emeritus Professor Edward Webster’s harmonisation of key points from the different workshop sessions, the crafting of possible research programs and institutional arrangements needed to build scholarship on migration from Southern perspectives.

This book is an output from this inaugural workshop, but it is also the first of a series of our intended research collaborations towards building nascent scholarship in Southern studies of migration. While the book advances novel perspectives and knowledge on Southern studies in migration, it also has an intentionally Africanist contextual framework in thinking, experiencing and researching migration.

Migration is inextricably linked to historical developments that have produced our present experience and knowledge of southern Africa. From as far as Tanzania to the southern tip of South Africa, the historical roots of migration continue to feature in languages, surnames and clan names as well as cuisines, reflecting a tapestry of influences ranging from Bantu to Indian, Arabic and European cultures. What we today call the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has even stronger migration linkages, as mainly men migrated to mines in Kimberley

Vii

Vili Foreword and the Rand in South Africa over the turn of the twentieth century. The discovery of diamonds and gold heightened migration in South Africa, characterised by a confluence of an internal migrant labour system, recruitment of migrant workers from neighbouring colonies, and European migration into mining towns in search of the promise of better work prospects. At the turn of the twentieth century, mining capital even brought migrant labour from China. In the Natal colonies, on the other hand, there was Indian indentured labour from the 1860s, later followed by Indian merchants and petty bourgeoisie settling in Natal.

The roots of current migration trajectories in the region can be traced to the apartheid regime and its massive incursions on the region, destabilising legitimate independent governments, seeking to force these countries to isolate anti-apartheid movements operating in exile, from Mozambique all the way up to Angola. Some of these incursions included sponsoring rebel forces, resulting in protracted civil wars as well as the economic collapse of these countries. Other push factors for regional migration into post-apartheid South Africa (in particular) and Botswana include the negative effects of structural adjustment programs (SAPs), poor governance by post-colonial ruling elites, and violent contests for state power that have produced civil wars, genocide and consequent dislocation of scores of affected people.

The challenge of climate change manifests in unpredictable changes in weather conditions, droughts in many parts of the region, repetitive cyclones and flooding in Mozambique, and the threat of mutative diseases following the global Covid-19 pandemic, pointing to continuing push factors for people to relocate either in search of mere survival or to escape political repression and ethnic cleansing, or for better prospects of life for themselves, their families and their posterity. These have been the main push factors for migration dating from early human civilisation.

This book edition is a beginning of a conversation to bring Africa in particular and the South in general to the forefront of knowledge production on the movement of people, and theorising it from perspectives from the Global South. We are indeed anticipating engaged discussions, but more so development of scholarship that will not only produce research and knowledge on migration but also inform struggles for a liberatory understanding and political action on migration, first in the SADC region, and then broadly in the South.

Chris Hani Institute Sithembiso Bhengu

Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the timeous contributions of the authors of this volume and for taking part in the first round of internal review. Our sincere appreciation is due to Emeritus Professor Edward Webster for his thought-provoking and probing questions during the conceptual phase of the colloquium and his summation at the end, which paved the way for this edited compilation. Thank you to the University of Johannesburg for hosting the 2-day colloquium in July 2019, and the Chris Hani Institute as well as the National Research Foundation of South Africa for partly funding the colloquium. We also acknowledge the financial contribution of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg for editorial services. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed here are those of the authors, and the funders do not accept any liability in this regard. We are truly grateful to Claire Ceruti for editing this manuscript and for her meticulous attention to detail. Thank you to Mavhungu Ramavhoya for her assistance in the editing process. Last but not least, a deep appreciation goes to our families, for the many stolen hours that culminated in this edited volume. This manuscript was put together at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the emotional, mental and physical strain on individual contributors cannot be taken for granted nor generalised. We are thankful for the resilience of all who contributed to this project.

Contents

L Introduction: «20064200 c+saneessi ease sees EEEE 1 Pragna Rugunanan and Nomkhosi Xulu-Gama

Part I Theorising Migration from a Southern Perspective Kezia Batisai

3 Migrating Beyond Borders and States: Instrumental and Contingent Solidarities Among Pragna Rugunanan

4 Neoliberal Capitalism and Migration in the Global South: Samukele Hadebe

Part II Legislation and Policy Frameworks Governing Migration

5 [Immigration Policy in South Africa: Public Opinion, Steven Lawrence Gordon

6 Refugee Policy as Infrastructure: The Gulf Between Policy Intent and Implementation for Refugees Khangelani Moyo and Christine Botha

7 Policy Implementation Challenges for Worker Education Nomkhosi Xulu-Gama, Sibongile Ruth Nhari, Musawenkosi Malabela, and Tebogo Mogoru xi xii Contents

Part III Internal Labour Migration and Regional Mobility

8 Informal Settlements: A Manifestation of Internal Anna Oksiutycz and Caroline Muyaluka Azionya

9 Migrant Women’s Experiences in the City: Nomkhosi Xulu-Gama

Part IV Children and Mothers on the Move

10 Young Mothers, Labour Migration and Social Security W SOU ARICA eeren ead iatresdibeeeebenasvean nan oes Kearabetswe Mokoene and Grace Khunou

11 Conceptualising Second Generation Immigrants in South Africa: Chioma Joyce Onukogu

12 Experiences of Mozambican Migrant Children Betty Chiyangwa and Pragna Rugunanan

Part V Identity Politics in Migration Studies 13 The Role of Interpersonal Communication in Re-identity Karabo Sitto

14 Apartheid Racism and Post-apartheid Xenophobia: Bridsing thé Gapiic2cs3 60. cesaciadgscsbaddiggdsidgiiwentenges Anthony Kaziboni

15 Strategies and Tactics of Integration of Transnational African Biniam Misgun

Part VI Workers’ Rights and New Forms of Work

16 “We maZimba... There Is Nothing That We Cannot Do”: The Work Ethic of Undocumented Zimbabwean Day Johannes Machinya

17 “No, We Are Not Fighting Against Foreign Workers and We’ll Never Fight Against Foreign Workers”: Aisha Lorgat la Comh oa025 2586. cpstenaden ees SCR EERE CLEARER OSL: Nomkhosi Xulu-Gama and Pragna Rugunanan

Contributors

Kezia Batisai is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg.

Christine Botha is a research associate of the Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, and is a candidate architect at 1 to 1 Agency of Engagement and Hoven Design.

Betty Chiyangwa is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg.

Steven Lawrence Gordon is a senior research specialist at the Developmental, Capable and Ethical State research division within the Human Sciences Research Council. He is also a research associate of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg.

Samukele Hadebe is a senior researcher at the Chris Hani Institute and a research associate of the Department of Sociology at Rhodes University.

Anthony Kaziboni is the director of research at the Institute for the Future of Knowledge at the University of Johannesburg.

Grace Khunou is a professor in sociology and director of Scholarship Transformation in the Department of Leadership and Transformation at UNISA.

Aisha Lorgat is a researcher at the Chris Hani Institute and doctoral candidate at the University of Cape Town.

Johannes Machinya is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER), under the research program Regions2050: Mobile spaces, porous borders, and pathways of regionalization. He holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of the Witwatersrand.

xiii xiv Contributors

Musawenkosi Malabela is a researcher at the Chris Hani Institute and is a doctoral candidate in the Sociology Department at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Biniam Misgun is a lecturer in the Department of Economic History and Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Tebogo Mogoru is a researcher at the Chris Hani Institute.

Kearabetswe Mokoene is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Wayne State University, United States.

Khangelani Moyo is an independent researcher and research associate of the Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand.

Caroline Muyaluka Azionya is a lecturer in the Department of Strategic Communication at the University of Johannesburg.

Sibongile Ruth Nhari is in the Durban University of Technology Writing Centre (Alan Pittendrigh Library) and is a doctoral candidate at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Anna Oksiutycz is a senior lecturer in the Department of Strategic Communication at the University of Johannesburg.

Chioma Joyce Onukogu is a senior research associate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg, and research associate at the African Centre for Migration and Society at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Pragna Rugunanan is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg.

Karabo Sitto is a lecturer in the Department of Strategic Communication at the University of Johannesburg.

Nomkhosi Xulu-Gama is a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cape Town.

Abbreviations

AU

AUC BIBC BIG BNG CCMA CERT CIG CSG COSATU DHA DSD ESAP FAWU HRDC HRW ICCPR ICESCR IOM IMF MPFA MIWUSA NALEDI NAP

NCRA NDP NGO NUM OAG OAU

African Union

African Union Commission

Building Industry Bargaining Council

Basic Income Grant

Breaking New Ground [housing policy]

Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Centre for Education Rights and Transformation Chronic Illness Grant

Child Support Grant

Congress of South African Trade Unions

Department of Home Affairs [South Africa]

Department of Social Development

Economic Structural Adjustment Programme

Food and Allied Workers’ Union

Human Resource Development Council

Human Rights Watch

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [United Nations] International Organization for Migration International Monetary Fund

Migration Policy Framework for Africa

Migrant Workers’ Union of South Africa

National Labour and Economic Development Institute National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

National Consortium on Refugee Affairs

National Development Plan

Non-Governmental Organisation

National Union of Mineworkers

Old Age Grant

Organisation of African Unity

XV

RDP REPSSI RRO SACTWU SADC SAHRC SAMP SAPS SASA SASAS SATAWU SETA UDHR UN UNCHR UNCRC UN DESA UNHCR WPIM ZANU-PF ZCTU

Abbreviations

Reconstruction and Development Programme Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative

Refugee Reception Office

Southern Africa Clothing and Textile Workers Union South African Development Community

South African Human Rights Commission

South African Migration Programme

South African Police Services

South African Security Agency

South African Social Attitudes Survey

South African Transport and Allied Workers Union Sector Education and Training Authorities

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

United Nations

United Nations Commission on Human Rights United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees White Paper on International Migration Zimbabwean African National Union-Patriotic Front Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union

List of Figures

Deportations of undocumented migrants by the South African Department of Home Affairs, 1994-2018. (Source: Data was compiled by the author from annual reports of South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs. Data from 2011 and 2012 is

from the 2013 Parliamentary Portfolio Commission on Home PMG Porte carl hot do eae A Geel amherst lea sadist atenteltie Public attitudes about whether foreign nationals increase crime rates in South Africa, 2008-2018. (Source: South African Social Public attitudes about whether foreign nationals are good

for the economy in South Africa, 2008-2018. (Source: South African Social Survey (SASAS) series 2008-2018)... eee Support for boundary making in immigration selection criteria. Main reasons given to explain why people take violent action against foreigners living in South Africa in 2017 and 2018 (multiple responses). (Source: South African Social Attitudes Survey PO UG aeaiiai a e aai Main solutions proposed to solve anti-immigrant violence

in South Africa (multiple response). (Source: South African Social Survey (SASAS) series 2018) uresen

Age OF respondents To j orenian iaa ai The education levels of respondents (20). sisccccssscancsceresscreneesenanseees

Amended schismatic framework for social analysis and re-identity. (Sitto; DOT) cia tance ceria cabvecdneecawseoaracssuadeudenneceeuecannets xvii

List of Tables

Table 5.1

Table 13.1 Table 13.2

Count of adult population who reported participation in anti-immigrant violence, 2015-2018 oo... eee eeeeeeseeseeeeeeneees

Parucipant Profile Sron Readjustment of selfAdentity as sascsacsecssisactiseanesteksceaneseaaddeaseaesiacnisod

Chapter 1 A Introduction Greek for Pragna Rugunanan and Nomkhosi Xulu-Gama ©

It is the main contention of this book that there is a decisive and urgent need for migration research from a southern African perspective. The chapters in this book contend that South-to-South migration will dominate migration trends, leading to an increase in migration within the Global South and to the Global South. The predominant literature on the Global South adopts theoretical and methodological scholarship rooted in South-to-North migration. While there is an emerging body of knowledge in the sociology of migration within the Global South (Landau & Bakewell, 2018; Batisai, 2017; Rugunanan, 2016), here we assert that there is a noticeable absence of theorising migration from the Global South about the Global South. We build on Segatti’s (2011) assessment that the migration literature has ignored population mobility and international migrant workers in Africa and, in particular, southern Africa.

In view of the efforts to centre theories from the South (Connell, 2007, 2009), and the decolonial movement in South Africa (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2018; Mbembe, 2004, 2017), this volume contributes to an emerging scholarship calling for a redefining of how we view and theorise migration in the Global South. To engage in widespread theoretical reconceptualisations about African migration, the contributions in this book pose the following questions: who is migrating, to which countries, and what are causes of migration? In addition, the contributions interrogate whether the migration is a renewed form of circular migration, how southern African migration influences transnationalism, the continuities and discontinuities of

P. Rugunanan (œ<) Department of Sociology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa e-mail: prugunanan @uj.ac.za

N. Xulu-Gama Department of Sociology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa e-mail: nomkhosi.gama@uct.ac.za

© The Author(s) 2022 1 P. Rugunanan, N. Xulu-Gama (eds.), Migration in Southern Africa, IMISCOE Research Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92114-9_1

2 P. Rugunanan and N. Xulu-Gama remittances sent to places where migrants originate, and how migrants are received in the countries of the South.

In South Africa specifically, migration in the twentieth century consisted of two main types: (1) immigrants, exclusively white until the mid-1980s, arriving primarily as “family class” migrants from Europe, with women accompanying their working spouses and (2) migrants, primarily black and male, from Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, who were permitted temporary entry into South Africa under bilateral agreements. Although temporary migration was male-dominated, women later followed their spouses or travelled on their own to South Africa. Early studies on migration in South Africa focused on the migrant labour system, and were situated within neo-classical economic theories of migration. In the 2000s, the emphasis shifted to the impact of immigration and permanent migration. The current emphasis appears to be on the negative stereotypes of immigrants, xenophobia, and policy implications from a human rights and regional perspective (Landau, 2009; Posel, 2003).

A primary reason for migration to South Africa is its relative political stability and economic prosperity. This view is confirmed by an extant body of literature in South Africa (Rugunanan, 2016; CDE, 2008; Landau & Gindrey, 2008). Migrants search for and make informed choices about their destination. The Global South and South Africa, in particular, have become preferred destinations. This view supports the new economics of labour migration theory, which purports that the decision to migrate is based on government initiatives and multinational corporate investment decisions that offer the potential to economically diversify and develop new labour market skills. For many migrants, their choice to migrate is not only driven by the search for ostensible individual freedom and opportunities, but also the hope that such freedom and opportunity would provide for migrant worker families and possibly economic interests in their countries of origin.

Therefore, this book ultimately proposes to explore and interrogate the existing definitions of a ‘migrant’ with a view to conceptualise a definition which speaks to the complexities, envisioning a more inclusive southern African region. We investigate the various levels of migration, moving from the local (rural to urban and urban to rural) to cross-border migration; middle-class versus working-class migrant; household livelihoods; livelihood procurement vs. wage earning; social capital (networks) and how migrants make meaning of their circumstances in a ‘foreign’ space, among other avenues of inquiry. The importance of the history of migration and generational change is also missing from recent studies of migration in South Africa. While migrants of the 1950s faced conditions similar to those facing migrants today, the biggest difference is that men dominated the process of population mobility! in the region. The feminisation of migration has elevated the importance of women migrating within southern Africa, and the role of children has become an important dynamic within this space.

'For the purposes of this book, the terms migration and population mobility are used interchangeably.

The historical unfolding of cross-border migration? in southern Africa is complex and unpredictable; the influences are both locally induced and internationally exacerbated. Although cross-border migration intersects with local mobility, it clashes more than it converges. There has been a reconfiguration of the way we understand geographical spaces (productive and reproductive spheres; inbound and outbound) and identities, and what we understand as (paid and unpaid) work. Labour migration particularly, both local and cross-border, has contributed to ‘new forms of labour’, continuing to exert pressure on existing workers as well as the South African labour movement. The feminisation of labour, organising and mobilising migrants, and the precariousness of mobile populations are some of the immediate challenges that confront us as a society and as scholars in developing a sociology of migration.

1.2 Key Contributions of the Book

This book begins by proposing new ways of theorising migration in the southern African region, arguing that dominant western perspectives do not fully fit the dynamics of South-to-South migration. The majority of the book comprises empirical perspectives from different parts of southern Africa. The book recognises the interweaving of gender and class as crucial in analysing migration processes. In a novel way, rather than allocating specific chapters to address each of these social issues, we blend them together across the chapters in varying dimensions to highlight the intersectionality of migration. This is one way of elevating the complexity of labour migration. The migration processes cannot be categorised as those of either low skilled or highly skilled migrants; rather, the everyday lived experiences of migrants reflect a different and complex reality. In the field of migration, it is a norm that scholars research either rural-urban/urban-rural migration or international migration, assuming that there are no similarities or relationships between the two. This book, however, incorporates the two types of migration, rural-urban and international migration, and examines their shared complexities and challenges. We give serious consideration to the presence of children in population mobility in the region. Children have been largely ignored by migration scholars, as well as the complicated positions that women with children find themselves in throughout the migration processes. This book examines South African policy and legislation on migration, refugees, asylum seekers, workers and workers’ rights. We use case studies of the application of policy to examine where it is applied accordingly. The key contribution that the book makes is bringing a Southern-theory focus to the sociology of migration.

>We use the term cross-border migration and international migration interchangeably.

4 P. Rugunanan and N. Xulu-Gama

1.3 Theoretical and Methodological Processes That Brought the Book to Life

One of the foundational aims of this collaboration was to give prominence to African voices engaged in South-to-South migration. The recently established sociology of migration research collaboration between the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg and the Chris Hani Institute embarked on a two-day colloquium, with approximately 30 delegates, on 1 and 2 July 2019 as an initial step in a long-term programme to develop and consolidate a South African and a Global- South centred body of knowledge on migration and its sociological implications.

The colloquium aimed to bring together academics working in the area of migration studies and to begin the discussion, aiming to develop a comprehensive, up-todate sociology of migration that is focused on identifying different research interests to further the development of research on migration in southern Africa, from a theoretical, conceptual and methodological level and with a Global South perspective, focus or orientation. One of the initial goals of the colloquium was to produce a peer-reviewed edited book based on presentations at the colloquium, to consolidate the emerging strands in the sociology of migration scholarship in southern Africa. One of the longer-term goals is to envision relevant institutional formations for broader research collaboration across southern Africa and a home for a sociology of migration.

We accept Posel’s (2003) recommendation that further research explaining patterns of migration through case studies and ethnographic approaches is necessary, with a southern African perspective. While much of the research on migration in South Africa has been quantitative, this book’s approach uses mainly qualitative methods that provide greater flexibility and also offer deeper insights into communities of migrants across southern Africa. Methodologically, the majority of these chapters are based on primary data collected at different times, and on research projects based in countries of southern Africa.

1.4 Structure of the Book

The book is divided into six parts.

Part I begins by proposing new ways of theorising migration in the southern African region, by elucidating how Western forms of theorising fail to capture the differences and complexities of South-South migration. The last quarter of the twentieth century has witnessed a change in the direction, pace and nature of migrant populations, with Asia, Africa and Latin America replacing Europe as the major area of origin (Arango, 2000). Mbembe (2017: 9) pre-empts our argument when he claims: “Europe is no longer the centre of gravity of the world.” This key insight underpins the crux of the book’s pronouncement that the scholarship of South-South migration has often ignored intra-African migration, despite the increase in North African migration to southern Africa.

Batisai’s thought-provoking chapter lays the conceptual groundwork for part one of this edited volume, which calls out the obsession of migration literature for its ‘Asian biases’, where the focus of Asian migration has either been amongst Asian countries or to the Global North. While an extensive body of literature on migration in Africa exists, it is often through the conceptual gaze of Northern theories and literature, and she challenges these universalistic overtones when examining migration in southern Africa. Making a strong argument for interrogating what it means to be ‘foreign’, and debunking the concept of a black African migrant in Africa, Batisai convincingly calls for a “conceptual renegotiation of the meaning of Africanness and African identities.”

Rugunanan’s chapter argues for the development of a retheorising of migration from the Global South with emphasis on South-to-South dynamics. Her chapter on the flows of South Asian migrant workers to South Africa demonstrates that insufficient attention has been given to why migrant workers migrate from less-developed countries to developing countries, which culminates in new(er) geographies of growth.

Hadebe uses the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) in Zimbabwe to explain precisely the argument that large-scale labour migration erupted as a result of neoliberal capitalist practices, giving rise to competition between nationals and foreigners, often resulting in xenophobic violence that destabilises working class solidarity.

Part II of the book examines the legislation and policy frameworks governing migration. Here we seek to question why, despite having one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, significant anti-immigrant sentiment persists in South Africa.

Gordon demonstrates that despite developing progressive migration policy and legislation in South Africa, implementation remains fraught with anti-immigrant sentiments amongst the populace at large. One of the failures of the South African government, evidenced by recurring and violent xenophobia, he argues, is the lack of a coherent immigration integration policy. He questions why a young democracy such as South Africa has struggled to develop meaningful policy.

Moyo and Botha engage with the South African state’s policy practices for refugees and asylum seekers. The chapter traces the evolution of the decision-making timeline when reviewing the policy landscape, whilst examining the migration infrastructure or lack thereof for refugees and asylum seekers.

Extending the discussion on legislation and policy, Xulu-Gama, Nhari, Malabela and Mogoru embrace the South-South migration framework to situate their chapter about foreign national migrant workers and worker education programmes at the workplace. This chapter is based on research by the Chris Hani Institute (CHI), focussing on worker education and worker control. Trade unions in South Africa have been criticised for their neglect of organising migrant workers and in particular unskilled and semi-skilled migrant workers. This chapter provides some insight into a body of research largely ignored in the South African landscape on migration.

6 P. Rugunanan and N. Xulu-Gama

Part III reveals the crucial interplay of policy and legislation juxtaposed against internal migration and regional mobility. The focus on internal migration in South Africa has lapsed in recent decades. Since the Abolition of Influx Control Act in 1986 and the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994, the lens of migration studies has shifted to a focus on international migration into the country. The case studies on internal migration show how the rural and urban landscapes in South Africa have changed the spatial segregations in South African towns and cities.

The case study by Azionya and Oksiutycz showcases an interesting nexus where internal and cross-border migration overlap in informal settlements. The chapter captures the views of the participants in the informal settlement of Zandspruit, a culturally rich melting pot, populated by internal and cross border migrants. The chapter is a good reflection of the failed promise of South Africa to its citizens and migrant population.

Xulu-Gama uses feminist standpoint epistemology as a way of validating the experiences of women in the migration field when men have traditionally been given preference. Xulu-Gama makes an important contribution by showing the similarities between rural-urban and cross border migrant women, an aspect of research often ignored in the southern African context.

In Part IV, a neglected area of research in the southern African space is a focus on mothers and children as migrants.

Mokoene and Khunou demonstrate how young mothers in historically migrant families are forced by circumstances to become internal migrants and how their search for work interfaces with South Africa’s social security system, through the child support grant. The chapter is a reality check on how cycles of poverty are reinforced in rural areas by the lack of employment prospects in urban areas.

Onukogu examines, more broadly, children as participants in international migration. She considers second generation immigrant children who embrace an alternate migration trajectory. The chapter foregrounds a conceptualisation of second generation from a South African perspective. It applies resilience theory to explain the challenges the children face and the protective factors that provide support and promote resilience among the children.

Extending the discussion on second generation immigrant children, Chiyangwa and Rugunanan study crucial development issues at the intersection of migration and education for second generation migrant children in the rural context of South Africa and how they access education. Using a relational approach, the chapter found that second generation Mozambican migrant children strongly valued access to education.

In Part V, the discussion on second generation migrant children brings to the fore notions of identity politics in migration studies.

Sitto provides insight on voluntary economic migrants seeking new professional opportunities. Adapting to the host country contexts requires that migrants reconsider “social representation barriers arising from acculturation schismogenesis”. The chapter considers how migrants reconstruct their identities within transnational places whilst building a new social reality. The issue of identity and social realities is not the same for all migrants to South Africa, the destination of choice. While migrants are drawn to the country because of its strong constitutionalism and respect for human rights, the repeated upsurges in xenophobic violence against certain groups of migrants raise questions about the issue of migrants’ identities.

Kaziboni explores how intra-African migration and xenophobia are related in a post-apartheid state. The chapter demonstrates that discrimination and oppression are manifest in covert and overt experiences of xenophobia. He claims that xenophobia is rooted in South Africa’s racist past, and further contends that immigrants are surviving in a “post-apartheid apartheid” South Africa.

Continuing with the concept of identity, Misgun explores the tactics and strategies of integration of Ethiopian migrants in South Africa, examining how they make sense of and construct their social identities as African migrants. By problematising integration, Misgun contextualises sameness and difference, movements and moments in the unfolding and recreation of their identities in these transnational social spaces.

Part VI of the book expands on worker rights and new forms of work.