Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Between a Rock and a hard Place Exploring Xenophobia and Voluntary Refugee Repatriation in South Africa
In October 2019, thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers took the streets in Cape Town and Pretoria to publicly express their dissatisfaction with their living and protection conditions in South Africa. The protests erupted one month after a series of xenophobic incidents in several urban...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Political Studies
2022
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613149430022145 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Görgmeier, Anne Juliane Ulrike |
| author2 | Scanlon, Helen |
| author_browse | Görgmeier, Anne Juliane Ulrike Scanlon, Helen |
| author_facet | Scanlon, Helen Görgmeier, Anne Juliane Ulrike |
| author_sort | Görgmeier, Anne Juliane Ulrike |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | In October 2019, thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers took the streets in Cape Town and Pretoria to publicly express their dissatisfaction with their living and protection conditions in South Africa. The protests erupted one month after a series of xenophobic incidents in several urban areas. While Pretoria protests dissolved quickly, the Cape Town sit-in protests were only cleared in early 2020. In both cities, protesters claimed that poor living conditions, a lack of access to services and a constant fear of xenophobic violence and harassment had made it unbearable for them to sustain their lives in South Africa. Refugees and asylum-seekers therefore demanded improved protection and the resettlement to a safer third country. Third country resettlement forms one of the three durable solutions for refugee situation as defined by the UNHCR, besides local integration and voluntary repatriation. The South African government and the UNHCR, however, made it clear that third country resettlement could not be considered a solution for a majority of South Africa's refugees and asylum-seekers. With local integration equally failing the forced migrants in South Africa, voluntary repatriation may by default be their only option left. This study aims to explore the relation between xenophobia and voluntary refugee repatriation in a South African context. The fear of xenophobic violence that was expressed by the 2019 protesters raises doubt about South Africa's ability to meet the UNHCR's standards of refugee protection. At the same time, it compromises the protection measure of temporary local integration as outlined in the South African 1998 Refugee Act. This study will therefore explore he connection between conditions of asylum in South Africa and the decision-making process on repatriation by refugees and asylum-seekers. This study aims to contribute to better the understanding of conditions and dynamics that lead to spontaneous voluntary repatriation in refugee situations. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/35782 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:31.816Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | Department of Political Studies |
| publisherStr | Department of Political Studies |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/35782 Between a Rock and a hard Place Exploring Xenophobia and Voluntary Refugee Repatriation in South Africa Görgmeier, Anne Juliane Ulrike Scanlon, Helen Forced Migration Refugee Protection Xenophobia Durable Solutions Voluntary Refugee Repatriation South Africa In October 2019, thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers took the streets in Cape Town and Pretoria to publicly express their dissatisfaction with their living and protection conditions in South Africa. The protests erupted one month after a series of xenophobic incidents in several urban areas. While Pretoria protests dissolved quickly, the Cape Town sit-in protests were only cleared in early 2020. In both cities, protesters claimed that poor living conditions, a lack of access to services and a constant fear of xenophobic violence and harassment had made it unbearable for them to sustain their lives in South Africa. Refugees and asylum-seekers therefore demanded improved protection and the resettlement to a safer third country. Third country resettlement forms one of the three durable solutions for refugee situation as defined by the UNHCR, besides local integration and voluntary repatriation. The South African government and the UNHCR, however, made it clear that third country resettlement could not be considered a solution for a majority of South Africa's refugees and asylum-seekers. With local integration equally failing the forced migrants in South Africa, voluntary repatriation may by default be their only option left. This study aims to explore the relation between xenophobia and voluntary refugee repatriation in a South African context. The fear of xenophobic violence that was expressed by the 2019 protesters raises doubt about South Africa's ability to meet the UNHCR's standards of refugee protection. At the same time, it compromises the protection measure of temporary local integration as outlined in the South African 1998 Refugee Act. This study will therefore explore he connection between conditions of asylum in South Africa and the decision-making process on repatriation by refugees and asylum-seekers. This study aims to contribute to better the understanding of conditions and dynamics that lead to spontaneous voluntary repatriation in refugee situations. 2022-02-21T07:46:35Z 2022-02-21T07:46:35Z 2021 2022-02-15T12:25:39Z Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35782 eng application/pdf Department of Political Studies Faculty of Humanities |
| spellingShingle | Forced Migration Refugee Protection Xenophobia Durable Solutions Voluntary Refugee Repatriation South Africa Görgmeier, Anne Juliane Ulrike Between a Rock and a hard Place Exploring Xenophobia and Voluntary Refugee Repatriation in South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Between a Rock and a hard Place Exploring Xenophobia and Voluntary Refugee Repatriation in South Africa |
| title_full | Between a Rock and a hard Place Exploring Xenophobia and Voluntary Refugee Repatriation in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Between a Rock and a hard Place Exploring Xenophobia and Voluntary Refugee Repatriation in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Between a Rock and a hard Place Exploring Xenophobia and Voluntary Refugee Repatriation in South Africa |
| title_short | Between a Rock and a hard Place Exploring Xenophobia and Voluntary Refugee Repatriation in South Africa |
| title_sort | between a rock and a hard place exploring xenophobia and voluntary refugee repatriation in south africa |
| topic | Forced Migration Refugee Protection Xenophobia Durable Solutions Voluntary Refugee Repatriation South Africa |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35782 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gorgmeierannejulianeulrike betweenarockandahardplaceexploringxenophobiaandvoluntaryrefugeerepatriationinsouthafrica |