Suchergebnisse

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrant remittances has generated a great deal of confusion and debate. This article aims to test three conflicting global and local narratives about the relationship between the pandemic and remittance flows in the South Africa–Zimbabwe remittance corridor. We refer to these as remittance pessimism, remittance resilience and remittance rerouting narratives. The article presents the pre-pandemic background context of migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa, the evidence for a shift from informal to formal remitting during the pandemic, and the implications of the remittance rerouting narrative for other corridors. We find that many Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa experienced severe economic impacts including unemployment, income loss and lack of access to COVID-19 relief measures. We conclude that there was a significant increase in formal, primarily digital, remittances during the pandemic and a decline in informal remittance conveyance. We highlight the need for more research in other remittance corridors to identify similarities and differences between them in terms of COVID-19 impacts and the shift from informal to formal remittances enabled by digital platforms.

AbstractThe drivers of food insecurity in rapidly‐growing urban areas of the Global South are receiving more research and policy attention, but the precise connections between urbanization and urban food security are still largely unexplored. In particular, the levels and causes of food insecurity amongst new migrants to the city have received little consideration. This is in marked contrast to the literature on the food security experience of new immigrants from the South in European and North American cities. This article aims to contribute to the new literature on South‐South migration and urban food security by focusing on the case of recent Zimbabwean migrants to South African cities. The article presents the results of a household survey of migrants in the South African cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg. The survey showed extremely high levels of food insecurity and low dietary diversity. We attribute these findings, in part, to the difficulties of accessing regular incomes and the other demands on household income. However, most migrants are also members of multi‐spatial households and have obligations to support household members in Zimbabwe. We conclude, therefore, that although migration may improve the food security of the multi‐spatial household as a whole, it is also a factor in explaining the high levels of insecurity of migrants in the city.

Abstract
Xenophobia is becoming an increasingly common response to migration within the Global South, often taking the form of collective violence against migrants and refugees. It has also permeated central and local state structures leading to systemic discrimination, denial of basic rights and constant harassment of migrants and refugees. For a decade or more, South Africa has been plagued by xenophobic violence directed at Zimbabweans living in the country. Botswana is another major destination for Zimbabwean migrants but has not experienced violent attacks motivated by xenophobia. This does not mean that Zimbabweans are welcome in that country. On the contrary, xenophobic attitudes are highly prevalent amongst the citizenry and within government and manifested in a range of negative stereotypes. This article documents the rise of xenophobia in Botswana and provides empirical evidence from research with Zimbabwean migrants in Gaborone and Francistown of how xenophobia is actually experienced by its targets. In order to explain the existence of xenophobia in Botswana, usually considered one of Africa's most stable, economically prosperous and stable countries, the article draws on the literature on new nationalisms in Africa.