For the umpteenth time, organisations of the ilk of Operation Dudula have, over the past days, mounted fresh campaigns to deny access by undocumented foreigners to health and education facilities. This despite the fact that they know very well that the targeted groups have a right to such access. One reason for the persistence is […]
Over the past few weeks across the globe, governments have ramped up their responses to issues of migration as anti-immigration forces have gained the centre stage of politics and forced such responses. There are some who are calling it the era of ‘Enforcement Above All Else.’ Refugee Digest 96 – Migrants, Refugees and Displaced Persons […]
In recent weeks we have witnessed yet another spike in xenophobic activity, especially with regard to what is now called medical xenophobia. Simply put, certain groups organise around the prevention of access to health services by foreign nationals, irrespective of status. This is happening despite court orders, clarification of provisions in the Constitution, and political […]
Even as this Digest was being compiled, in the streets of Los Angeles tensions around the arrests and heavy handed treatment of suspected undocumented migrants continued to make headlines. A close reading of the situation reveals the myriad of dynamics that have made the issue of immigration such a contentious one in our times. We […]
A close look at the various links in this Digest makes an obvious point. The very diversity of situations and spheres of life which they deal with is a sign of the far reach of migrant and refugee experiences, and of how narratives, particularly negative narratives, spread into all areas of life. Thus for mobile […]
The clouds of xenophobia and the ongoing dynamic of exclusion of foreign nationals, along with the scapegoating of such communities, continue to hang very low over the sad realities of mobile people in South Africa. The politics of recent years, and specifically over the past months, have witnessed a marked shift towards ‘blame shifting.’ Refugee […]
The very disturbing events in recent weeks at Stilfontein, around the contested issues of illegal mining and the various abuses that have emerged with regard to those activities, also have a very prominent ‘migration thread’ running through them. Indeed, this has been the case since the very start of the mining industry. The Leon Commission […]
As 2025 unfolds a sense of ‘new beginnings’ underlines all of our realities. It has a special impact for the mobile communities as other nationals return to or seek entry into South Africa to explore opportunities as a new work year begins, or children of foreign nationals seek access to educational institutions. A new year […]
