We Are All Migrants

South Africa is defined by migration. Beginning with the earliest humans, people walked across its lands in pursuit of stability and more recently monetary wealth. The Dutch arrived in 1652 and established farms in areas previously occupied by South African blacks. With George Harrison’s discovery of gold in 1886, people from across the world rushed to Johannesburg. The promise of wealth triggered mass migration across Southern Africa. This movement was recreated in the theater production entitled “Songs of Migration”. My class went to this performance last Thursday and gained more perspective regarding migration in South Africa. The show portrayed immigrants’ journeys to the city and the hardships that followed on the railroads. People from Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Swaziland, and other African countries left their families behind to work in the mines. These decisions were further influenced by war, famine, or natural disaster around the migrants’ homelands. Their native communities were replaced by shebeens which offered an escape to immigrants far from home. Migration was not a silent event but rather characterized by music that attested to the immigrants’ suffering and hope for a better life.

Mining companies benefitted from cheap labor, but the workers were separated from their families and cultural roots. Migrants worked sixteen hour days and they returned to poor housing conditions. Male workers lived in hostels such as the one pictured below in Soweto. Families were not allowed to live in these buildings which perpetuated unhealthy sexual practices that contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS. Yet the idea of wealth and supporting families pushed more migrant workers into the area. As of 1999, approximately 60% of mine workers are non-South African migrants. Whenever their dreams of wealth were not fulfilled, the workers rarely returned home because they were ashamed that they could not provide for their families. Nonetheless more Africans are moving from rural areas to urban cities. According to a 2005 National Geographic article, “within two decades, more than half of Africans will live in the cities”.

Xenophobia is another consequence of immigrants in South Africa. Following the first democratic elections in 1994, the government focused on rebuilding its nation identity and reconciling differences between racial groups. Immigrants posed an external threat to this process because it added more divisions amongst native groups. More restrictions were put into place in order to alleviate immigration. For example, mining companies had more difficulty in accessing and securing work contracts for foreigners. In comparison to the 60% rate in 1999, 38% of current mining workers are non-South African. This decrease was evident of South Africa’s selectivity in accepting immigrants. The 2002 Immigration Act emphasized that skilled laborers were more valuable and would have higher rates of acceptance because since they were already equipped to serve in the work force. The government feared that untrained workers will only burden the government and take away jobs from unemployed South Africans. Job competition has already led to increased xenophobia and even violence. With the current unemployment rate at 24.3%, unskilled foreign workers would further burden the job market (CIA Factbook). However some foreigners, particularly Zimbabwean, found construction jobs as a result of the FIFA World Cup. With huge crowds arriving in June, soccer stadiums and other structures were built within a short time frame. This cheap labor helped South Africa, but it drained Zimbabwe’s economy of a work force. In other words, South Africa’s temporary solution created a long term problem in neighboring Zimbabwe.

However, these statistics do not humanize an immigrant’s story. After Dr. Layne suggested that we ask street vendors where they were from, I found myself asking taxi drivers, hotel workers, merchants, and everyone in between. I met a street vendor at Hout Bay from Cameroon. He was ecstatic to know that I had actually heard of Cameroon and known where it was located (thank you Dr. Frontani and Periclean Scholars!) I believe that my background knowledge enabled him to share more of his personal story. He was trained as an electrical engineer, but there were few opportunities in Cameroon. South Africa’s booming economy, particularly in tourism, encouraged the gentleman to come here. He was selling manufactured paintings and animal statues to support himself.

This anecdote is one of many stories I heard over the course. Most of the immigrants that I spoke with were refugees from Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These refugees escaped economic and political strife. Continual violence has plagued the Democratic Republic of Congo which produced refugees in search of stability. Between 1994 and 2004, the majority of refugee applications came from the Congolese. Although South Africa’s immigration policies are strict on admitting foreigners, the refugee crisis in neighboring countries cannot be ignored. The 1998 Refugee Act requires that applicants complete significant paperwork and must be interviewed before gaining legal status in South Africa. Yet the work was worthwhile according to one person I met from Democratic Republic of Congo. We actually met on his one year anniversary in coming to South Africa. He said that the political unrest destroyed employment opportunities so he desperately searched elsewhere. South Africa was his only chance to make a stable living.

I have always been fascinated with immigration because of its cultural implications. People adapt to their new surroundings in order to survive. They accept separation from their family and native culture. They will also deal with stigma that results from being an immigrant. Despite these unfortunate consequences, the story of migration must be heard. All governments, including South Africa, must acknowledge the benefits resulting from immigration. These groups not only provide cultural enrichment, but they are energetic work forces. South Africa’s economy must integrate native and immigrant populations in order to alleviate xenophobia. I strongly believe that the FIFA World Cup can unite these groups, provide additional work opportunities, and spur economic growth. This event could serve as the unifying point where South Africa truly illustrates itself as a rainbow nation. Since South Africa started as an origin of human migration, the government and its people should recognize the importance and necessity of this phenomenon. Immigration may pose difficulties, but it also provides opportunities for cultural exchange that improves humanity. Just remember: we are all migrants temporarily moving around the world. The question is whether we will treat one another with respect along our journey.