Over the past days and weeks, the Department of Home Affairs has been at the centre of much activity with regard to mobile populations, especially in the area of documentation and in many cases the lack thereof; and indeed the lack of political will to deal timeously with issuing documents. It goes without saying that where there is […]

Policy insecurity, the vulnerability of the mobile community, and anti-migrant narratives and actions continue to hold sway in the political domain and, most particularly, in the policy realm. It is increasingly clear that the various strands come together around a common idea or understanding of exclusion. We need to keep in mind that, as national elections draw near, […]

The tragic fire that engulfed a block of flats in Central Johannesburg in August and left 48 dead, many of them foreign nationals with various degrees of documentation, has again become an issue where blame has been laid at the door of undocumented foreigners and civil society organisations. The scapegoating of foreigners has become one of the most […]

The horrific fire in a Johannesburg building that killed 76 people at the end of August, and which was widely understood to be the worst residential fire in South African history, also provided the trigger for a torrent of xenophobic sentiment. The dominant narrative revolved around illegal foreign nationals being in different ways responsible for the fire. Thus […]

Issues pertaining to immigrants of various status continue to be at the foreground of the South African political landscape and remain deeply contentious. In this Digest we look again at the multiple dysfunctions in the Department of Home Affairs, which the Minister has acknowledged; we look at the way anti-immigrant sentiment is strengthened by rooting it in particular […]

Over the past few weeks, countries which have the power to influence international narratives, policies and practices around issues relating to mobile people have robustly engaged in activities that have emphasised the politics of exclusion. We should be under no illusion that these trends will have an adverse influence on the security and wellbeing of this community. They […]

Any survey of mobile people’s issues will show just how important the issue of documentation is. We know that correct documentation, and the political will to issue it, is a key indicator of security for mobile people. On the other hand, the failure to supply such documentation increases vulnerability at all levels. Various recent court […]

The Department of Home Affairs has acknowledged that there is an increase in the backlog of visa applications waiting to be processed. The overall backlog goes back as far as 2016. It blames the delays on the closure of the workplace during COVID, lack of staff and the length of the process. At present any application has to […]

We live in an era of worsening setbacks for mobile people, especially in terms of their basic human rights. This is evidenced very clearly in many parts of the world. Increasingly, experts point to what they call ‘the primary and secondary barriers’ to the exercise of human rights. Refugee Digest 73 – Migrants, Refugees and […]