Gender and Sexuality Studies

Abstract

Human mobility and the refugee crisis have been and are increasingly becoming a thorny issue worldwide. An unprecedented 65.6 million people are forced to leave their countries of origin, some as labour (economic) migrants and nearly 22.5 million refugees (UNHCR). Not even the tragedies of capsizing boats, crocodile-infested rivers, long walking hours, corrupt border officials, nor any global pandemic can deter migrants and asylum seekers from reaching their destination. The dangerously vulnerable groups in this are women and children. This paper explores the untold stories of toils and troubles that refugee women and women of economic migrants go through in their determination to get to the host countries. It also seeks to highlight the issues of integration that refugee women face as mothers, and mostly single mothers in the receiving country. As vulnerable groups, women would likely seek protection from the men that they meet in the host country, which in some cases would be detrimental to their independence and even their safety. Thedriving force behind emigration (pushing forces) and beyond popular belief that it is mostly about chasing a better lifestyle, will also be highlighted. The potential hazards and dangers to lives that these groups go through as they navigate their way to their "safe haven," as articulated first-hand, would perhaps shed some light. It would possibly change people's perceptions of migration's driving forces within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. This paper highlights the importance of integrating women asylum seekers and refugees to ease their psychological burden. The paper uses primary data collected from focus group interviews of asylum seekers and refugees affiliated to Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Faith-based Organizations (FBOs) which are involved in integrating these groups, as well as desktop review of published journals and articles.
Keywords: refugees, asylum seekers, labour migrants, cross-border migrants, deterrents, xenophobia, grit and determination.

Biography

Dr Zilungile Pearl Mbatha is a lecturer in the Department of Community Development, School of Built Environment and Development Studies (SOBEDS) in the University of KwaZulu-Natal(UKZN). She is also a Registered Counsellor in Psychology in private practice, registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) respectively. Dr Mbatha has extensive experience in teaching, both in Basic Education and Academic environments. She worked mostly with previously disadvantaged students in rural and township schools for 27 years prior to accepting a position as a lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She holds a four-year Diploma in Education, a Bachelor of Arts degree, and an Honours degree in Psychology from the University of South Africa, a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from UKZN. Her PhD thesis in Community and Development Studies from UKZN is titled “Evaluating the effectiveness of refugees integration strategies in South African urban communities in EThekwini and Mbombela.” As a researcher, she has published and is in the process of publishing articles in journals and has presented a paper in an international conference on Safer Cities in 2021. Dr Mbatha teaches modules from first level to third level of study in the department of Community Development and supervises postgraduate students in the same discipline. She is a member of various committees within the school of Built Environment representing her department, among others the Teaching and Learning committee and Community Engagement for Project Renewal.