ETD Collection

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/104


Please note: Digitised content is made available at the best possible quality range, taking into consideration file size and the condition of the original item. These restrictions may sometimes affect the quality of the final published item. For queries regarding content of ETD collection please contact IR specialists by email : IR specialists or Tel : 011 717 4652 / 1954

Follow the link below for important information about Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Library Guide about ETD

Browse

Filters

2010 - 20112

Settings

Subject: search.filters.subject.migrant

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Zimbabweans in Moletsi: a rural alternative
    (2011-12-22) Wilkin, Richard Lee
    The thesis investigates the reasons for the decision made by many Zimbabweans to self-settle in remote villages in Limpopo. It shows that while significant literature exists on Zimbabweans in border and urban areas, there are several inter-related factors that are drawing Zimbabweans to rural areas. Thus, this study challenges many common assumptions about cross-border migration while supporting the idea that migrants settle in areas where economic stability can be achieved. This study also shows that the existence of parallel government structures and policy frameworks plays a major role in the ability of Zimbabweans to settle in these areas. This is a case study of Zimbabweans settling in a rural area where there are no pre-existing ethnic or kinship ties. Utilizing empirical qualitative data, this study outlines how Zimbabweans have achieved a degree of stability in one area of Limpopo through a series of rights procurements and access to parallel government structures. This has legitimized their presence within the village while their presence in South Africa outside of this village is precarious at denizenship within the village as Zimbabweans have access to services that are not accessible to them outside best. The legitimacy created by accessing these parallel structures has created de facto of the village. This denizenship, and the security it bestows, is an instrumental factor in the decision making process that had led many Zimbabweans to self-settle in rural areas.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Whose identity [document] is it? documentation and the negotiation of meaning among Zimbabwean migrants in Johannesburg
    (2010-07-29T11:08:07Z) Takabvirwa, Kathryn
    ABSTRACT From the moment a person enters a state, whether by birth or migration, the individual-state interaction is often mediated by some form of (supposedly) official state-issued document. This is particularly the case in cross-border migration. Documentation is often viewed as an instrument of the state, with passports containing declarations within them stipulating to them being “the property” of the government issuing them. Yet, documentation is borne by individuals whose use of it in the context of migration indicates incongruence between their view of documentation and that of the state. This research examines migrants‟ perceptions of documentation, what informs those views, and the ways in which those perceptions inform migrants‟ views of and interaction with the nation-state, citizenship, identity and state control. It explores contestation over the ownership of and rights over documents. In an effort to explore the levels of connection and disconnection, the study contrasts migrants‟ perceptions against those of the state. It moves away from the functionalist, policy-directed approach to the study of documentation that often characterises migration literature. It is informed by post-positivist, relativist commitments to examining the perspectives of individuals while adopting the constructivist recognition that meaning is created, as informed by history, context and experience. Focusing on Zimbabwean migrants resident in Johannesburg, this study draws on information gathered through in-depth interviews and group discussions, examined through discourse analysis and thematic content analysis.