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...
Migration-Security Nexus vs Migration-Development nexus. Is decolonization of migration a third way?
The shift towards the securitization of migration is complete and this is not a news. However, so far, the debate around security and migration has involved countries in the Global North, while on the African continent discussions have privileged the migration for development paradigm and its agenda. Nonetheless, the security paradigm is gaining consensus amongst African states, some of which receive financial aid from the European Union to stop irregular migration. Countries such as Niger, Ethiopia and Sudan have put in place interventions aiming...
The African Observatory for Migration and Development: for the benefit of whom?
During the 28th summit of the African Union (AU), as soon as Morocco returned to the AU after thirty years of absence, the country’s sovereign, King Mohammed VI, was appointed Africa’s leader for migration. Part of this decision was based on the positive development of the 2013 Moroccan policy on national immigration and asylum which aimed at regularizing the situation of many migrants and which benefited 25,000 migrants in 2014 alone. The King started working towards an African Agenda on...
Whose Agenda? Bottom up Positionalities of West African Migrants
The article summarized below, “Whose Agenda? Bottom up Positionalities of West African Migrants in the Framework of European Union Migration Management” was originally authored by Lothar Smith and Joris Schapendonk from Radboud University (Netherlands) and published by the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa (SIHMA). In an attempt to stem the influx of African migrants towards the shores of Europe, the European Union has launched numerous initiatives to boost economic...
Refugee Entrepreneurial Economies in Urban South Africa
The article summarized below, “Refugees Entrepreneurial Economies in Urban South Africa” was originally authored by Jonathan Crush, Godfrey Tawodzera, Cameron McCordic, Sujata Ramachandran, and Robertson Tengeh and published by the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa (SIHMA). The South African migration integration scene is highly characterised by xenophobia. While racism is based on race, xenophobia is based on nationality meaning that nationals of a hosting country dislike or are prejudiced against people from other countries. Xenophobic...
Voluntary repatriation as a durable solution or reshape the notions of return?
Angola is just a picture in my mind Voluntary repatriation can be accompanied by a whole range of practical, identity and post-conflict related problems. Sergio Carciotto, the associate director of the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa (SIHMA) , gives us insight into the process of voluntary repatriation in South Africa after Angolan refugees had their refugee status ceased in 2013. This came to be known as the ‘Angolan Cessation’. The findings of his article, “Angolan...
