Migration in South Africa

Mobility has been part of human ways for millennia. With the emergence of nation-states, regulating it became a critical part of public policy, generating contestation within and among nations. Migration in South Africa: Conflicts and Identities explores this contestation, migration patterns and policy debates in the country today. This book traces how African migration experiences are similar to those in other regions of the world but also informed by the unique history of a continent whose nation-states were carved artificially by colonial powers. The South African experience of migration is explored in this context. Authors interrogate the resentment of marginalised 'native' communities struggling to access benefits that were meant to come with political freedom; issues of identity; and prejudices that prompt the 'othering' of migrants. Contributors argue too that turning a blind eye to social concerns feeds xenophobic impulses. Some of the chapters provide insights into the mutual benefits accruing in areas where migrants have settled, and how citizens and migrants have come together to fight struggles in occupations such as domestic work. The many attempts - within South Africa, the region and globally - to find sustainable approaches to the migration challenge are considered Authors highlight how the more securitised the approach, the more the human ingenuity of desperation comes into play, rendering such efforts largely ineffective. Migration in South Africa: Conflicts and Identities approaches the issue of migration from a transdisciplinary perspective, straddling social economic factors as well as gender, race, culture and identity, and the elusive sense of belonging. What emerges is that a humanitarian approach needs to be combined with the effective application of laws, with the ultimate aim of achieving Africa's long-term objective of the free movement of goods and people.