The impact of government migration policies on foreigners known as "Amakwerekwere" in South Africa.

Abstract

The actual research focuses on foreign migrants dwelling in the Point area of Durban. This work is aiming at determining whether migration policies negatively impact on foreigners in South Africa; assessing the positive contribution made by foreigners on both the formal and the informal economy of South Africa; and recommending progressive policy and corrective measures of resolving foreign influx in South Africa. The qualitative approach adopted in this study facilitates the examination of the respondents' experiences as migrants in the Point Area. The findings of this study show that fear of foreigners has reached a new level in South Africa and with the transition to democracy; South Africa has become a destination for a number of documented and undocumented immigrants and migrants who, looking for a better life, have found instead, a country in which xenophobia is rife. As a democratic country, South Africa finds its self facing a dilemma: on one hand it promotes democracy, human rights and African integration, on the other; it faces an increase in xenophobia. Within this context, this study evaluates the extent to which the ANC government's im/migration policy and the implementation thereof contribute to xenophobia. Migration systems theory is used to develop a theoretical framework for the analysis. This study also discusses the context of immigration in South Africa on three angles; the international, the regional and the national angle.