Adaption and survival: perspectives and experiences of migrants in an urban township in KwaZulu-Natal.
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Date
2022
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Abstract
South Africa is currently facing a growing number of migrants from other countries. This
qualitative study investigates the dilemma of being a migrant in South Africa. The overall
objective was to explore the perspectives and experiences of migrants in Newcastle, South
Africa. Particular attention is given to exploring how the migrants negotiate the often
controversial social, economic, cultural, and political realities in the urban towns of
KwaZulu-Natal. The South African case is subject to investigation, particularly regarding the
migration system. In this study, the data was collected using in-depth interviews. Interviews
were held with 20 migrants, both men, and women, living in Newcastle KwaZulu-Natal. All
participants were migrants from various African countries such as Ethiopia, Zimbabwe,
Congo, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Nigeria.
The study found that migrants use different livelihood strategies to survive in South Africa,
and their level of education does not allow them to work in the formal sector. This study
found that migrants work as street traders to earn income, buy, and sell goods at an affordable
price, and they use their skills to make and sell a range of products. Furthermore, migrants
work as hairdressers, restaurant waiters, welders, bricklayers, and shopkeepers to earn
income. Other migrants have families in South Africa as well as in their home countries.
Migrants send home part of their earnings in the form of either cash or goods to support their
families, these transfers are known as a worker or migrant remittances. Migrants are
vulnerable to crime and xenophobia, they become abused and exploited by the local people
since they are not from South Africa, they even call them derogatory names. Most
participants observed that they are surviving in South Africa, nevertheless, they are
concerned with their safety. The study recommends that there must be a strong awareness
among police that everyone has a right and deserves respect and protection, regardless of who
they are and whether they have any legal documentation.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.