SIHMA

Researching Human Migration across Africa

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11 Nov

Layers of (Un)Belonging: Zine-Art Research with Migrant Youth Leaving Alternative Care in Cape Town

"I do not feel I belong anywhere. I do not belong here, I am not from here. I am nowhere. I am not from this country. I am not from this planet. I just feel like I do not belong anywhere."

These words, written by Rebecca on the last page of her ‘zine’, capture the profound alienation felt by many young migrants navigating life after leaving alternative care. Rebecca, 17, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), came to South Africa with her mother, who claimed asylum. After her mother’s death when Rebecca was 10, she was placed in alternative care under South Africa’s Children’s Act. Now approaching adulthood, she faces the legal and bureaucratic challenges of transitioning out of care without the documentation she needs to fully participate in society.

Rebecca’s story is not unique. It reflects the lived experiences of 20 young people from the DRC and Burundi, aged 16 to 25, who participated in a study exploring what it means to belong or not belong while living in Cape Town. These young migrants, all of whom were formally placed in care, navigate a complex web of legal uncertainty, social marginalization, and personal loss.

 

Understanding Belonging and Unbelonging

Belonging is more than physical presence, it is a “subjective feeling of deep connection with social groups, physical places, and individual and collective experiences”. It affects mental, social, and emotional well-being, shaping identity and the ability to imagine a future. Conversely, a lack of belonging, especially in the context of migration and care systems, can create precarity, powerlessness, and a deep existential sense of not being human.

For young migrants leaving care, unbelonging manifests in multiple layers: personal, social, and political. They are challenged not only by the trauma of early separation and displacement but also by language barriers, discrimination, xenophobia, and the lack of legal documentation needed to participate fully in society.

 

The Legal Maze

South Africa’s legal framework, while designed to protect unaccompanied migrant children, has gaps that exacerbate feelings of unbelonging. The 2020 amendments to the Children’s Act define unaccompanied migrant children as “in need of care and protection,” granting them access to the national Child Protection System. However, obtaining independent legal status after turning 18 remains complex. Children often leave care undocumented, leaving them in a state of liminal legality a precarious space where they exist without recognition, unable to access education, employment, or healthcare.

 

Zines: A Window into Youth Narratives

To capture these multi-layered experiences, the research used art-based methods specifically, zines. A zine is a handmade, magazine-like creation combining images, text, and objects to reflect personal narratives. The format allows participants to express themselves beyond words, layering their stories in visual, tactile, and textual ways. Creating zines gave participants agency and choice. The process began with exposure to existing zines and a variety of art materials, followed by the instruction: “You are going to make a zine called ‘My Belonging Story.’” The open-ended nature of the task enabled young people to explore what belonging meant to them and, in doing so, reveal their sense of unbelonging.

Despite alienation, participants demonstrated remarkable resilience and creativity. Many adopted local “kasi style” dress, blending into the cultural landscape to avoid overt discrimination. Others found belonging in sports, music, theatre, or nature. One young man found solace cycling through Cape Town’s mountains; another escaped into the world of Japanese animé. Friendships and social networks were crucial, providing inclusion and support in spaces where structural systems often excluded them.

 

Multi-Layered Unbelonging

Through their zines, participants layered their narratives: early memories of displacement and loss, challenges navigating schools and communities as outsiders, experiences of bullying, and trauma that led to their placement in care. They depicted personal pain with stark imagery dark colours, jagged lines, and symbolic objects and described the emotional weight of non-documentation, which rendered them invisible or “not human.” One young man’s depiction of the sea as a space without borders symbolized a longing for freedom and recognition: “I would like to be a fish because in the sea there is no border. If all of us could get that privilege, that freedom like a fish, you would not be behind bars blocked because you are an asylum seeker.”

Zines allowed researchers to apprehend the complexity of these experiences. Page by page, image by image, participants revealed the interconnectedness of personal history, social context, and structural barriers. Art became a protective mechanism, giving participants emotional distance while communicating unspoken truths. Simple objects like string or tape transformed into powerful metaphors of survival and connection.

 

Migrant youth leaving care exist at the intersection of vulnerability and resilience. They navigate personal trauma, social exclusion, and legal precarity while actively creating spaces of belonging. Yet, the lack of legal documentation can strip them of agency, visibility, and recognition, intensifying feelings of unbelonging.

This study underscores the urgent need for:

  • Legal pathways enabling migrant youth leaving care to obtain documentation.
  • Awareness and education among officials interacting with youth at all levels.
  • Art-based approaches as a tool for understanding complex psychosocial realities.
  • Direct engagement with young people to co-create supportive systems that restore dignity and belonging.

The zines reveal lives that are layered, textured, and profoundly human. They demand attention, empathy, and action. As one participant reminded us: “You feel you are not human… before you have documents, you are invisible… a ghost.” Addressing this crisis is not just a legal necessity but a moral imperative to restore humanity and belonging to those who have been rendered abject by circumstance.

 

Photo by TRG on Unsplash

View the Journal: https://sihma.org.za/reports/pathways-of-wellbeing-and-un-belonging-understanding-the-experience-of-migrant-youth-in-alternative-care-and-recently-out-of-care-in-cape-town

 

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