COPING MECHANISMS FOR GAINING SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE AND ENSURING SURVIVAL

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Level of education of migrants

Most migrants (74%) had attained the Ordinary (O) level of education while 19% had Advanced (A) level education. This was combined with a host of certificates and national and higher national diplomas in various fields such as human resources, library science, engineering, nursing, teaching, computers and administration. There were two migrants with first degrees while one migrant had a masters’ degree. There was one migrant who had not reached ordinary level (form four), he held a junior certificate and argues that his education was disturbed by the liberation struggle in the 1978-79 period. He was the oldest in the group. Most educational qualifications were attained before migration. Some migrants continued to further their education in South Africa by attaining certificates in the areas of accounting, catering, security and drivers’ licences.

Step migration

While most migrants came to Johannesburg straight from Zimbabwe, a few first stayed in Musina and Pretoria while others had short stints in Botswana. Edwin first stayed with his aunt in Pretoria in 2007. He then moved to a farm outside Pretoria where his friends worked. He worked as a welder welding greenhouse tunnels. He then drifted to Johannesburg after getting in touch with his cousin in Tembisa. Daniel first stayed in Musina when he crossed the border in 2007 and stayed with his relatives for eight months before moving to Johannesburg. There was one migrant who came to Johannesburg via Mozambique using a Mozambican Identity document.

Raising transport money

There was little resistance to the idea of migrating to Johannesburg. In some cases migration was suggested by family members. A good example is that of Tatenda whose mother suggested that she migrates to Johannesburg for a better future in 2008. She even sought busfare for her daughter. There were few women who stated that there was resistance from their parents. This resistance was not directed towards the idea of migrating to Johannesburg but on the mode of transportation used. For the safety of their daughters, parents tended to prefer buses or closely related malayitsha whom they could trust rather than unknown malayitsha. Grace was one such daughter whose mother did not want her to come with malayitsha in 2007.

Crossing the Limpopo River

There are myths associated with crossing the Limpopo River. In some cases migrants stated that there were medicine men that would jump into the water to chase away crocodiles. In all the cases men and women were made to cross the river stark naked. Rituals of crossing the river involved: crossing the river in the early hours of the day, for example at 2am; killing, beating or leaving behind small children who cried at the river; removing all the clothes and holding hands while crossing. A vivid description of how the river was crossed came from Scott who crossed the river in January 2012: “We crossed the river at a site called Kwamumbengeyi which is near a soldiers’ camp. The water in the river was just above the waist of a tall adult male.

Awareness of the journey by relatives in Zimbabwe and South Africa

Not all journeys were planned properly with the knowledge of relatives from both sides of the border. In some cases, individuals ran away from home and left people looking for them while in others they arrived to unprepared relatives. Those that stole money made it a point that their departure was kept a secret especially from the victim of the theft, but there was always somebody whom they shared the secret with and who approved of their decision to go. In some cases, mothers would know while in others, some brothers and sisters knew about the migrants’ plans to leave for South Africa.

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At the mercy of malayitsha

Throughout their journey migrants were at every stage at the mercy of malayitsha. At departure point the malayitsha would charge unreasonable transportation fees and demand half or the full amount depending on whether the migrant had a trustworthy story about having relatives in Johannesburg. At the border the malayitsha would change his story about crossing the border using the bridge and the normal border post. At that stage it would be too late for the potential migrant to demand their money back since their agreement would have been based on the belief that they will not use dabulapu. The potential migrant is forced to accept the new terms set by malayitsha.

TABLE OF CONTENTS :

DECLARATION
ABSTRACT
KEY WORDS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DEDICATION
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
ACRONYMS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
- 1.1. Introduction
- 1.2. Background of the study
- 1.3. Problem statement and study objectives
- 1.4. Rationale of the study
- 1.5. Thesis overview
- 1.6. Chapter summary
CHAPTER TWO: UNDERSTANDING MIGRATION REGIONALLY AND GLOBALLY
- 2.1. Introduction
- 2.2. A historical perspective of Southern African migration to South Africa since the early 1900s
- 2.3. Regional migration to South Africa from the late 1990s to the present
- 2.4. The policy of the Zimbabwean government towards emigrants
- 2.5. The international and the South African legal framework for the protection of migrants
- 2.6. The migration state
- 2.7. Conclusion
CHAPTER THREE: CONCEPTUALISING SOCIAL EXCLUSION IN SOUTH AFRICA
- 3.1. Introduction
- 3.2. Defining social exclusion
- 3.3. A critique of the concept of social exclusion
- 3.4. Coping mechanisms for dealing with social exclusion
- 3.5. A proposed framework for analysing migrant social exclusion in the South African context
- 3.6. Conclusion
CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
- 4.1. Introduction
- 4.2. Research approach
- 4.3. Delimitations/ scope of the study
- 4.4. Negotiating entry: the insider/outsider debate
- 4.5. Data collection techniques
- 4.6. Sources of data
- 4.7. Sampling methods
- 4.8. Method of analysis
- 4.9. Validity issues
- 4.10. Ethical issues
- 4.11. Conclusion
CHAPTER FIVE: PROFILES OF ZIMBABWEAN MIGRANTS IN TEMBISA AND KEMPTON PARK
- 5.1. Introduction
- 5.2. The current distribution of Zimbabwean migrants in Tembisa and Kempton Park
- 5.3. Age, gender and ethnicity characteristics
- 5.4. Level of education of migrants
- 5.5. Last place of residence in Zimbabwe
- 5.6. Length of stay of migrants in Tembisa and Kempton Park
- 5.7. Step migration
- 5.8. Migrant families in Johannesburg
- 5.9. How did they come?
CHAPTER SIX: PARTICIPATION OF ZIMBABWEAN MIGRANTS IN THE LABOUR MARKET
CHAPTER SEVEN: COPING MECHANISMS FOR GAINING SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE AND ENSURING SURVIVAL
CHAPTER EIGHT: SOCIAL NETWORKS AND AGENTS OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION
CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS