Patterns of Giving in South Africa

This paper reflects on the results of a national quantitative survey on giving in South Africa. It explores the extent and character of giving; who gives, to whom, with what intention

The struggle for the Warwick Market in Durban

Picture 1 – Protest of the Early Morning Market Support Group in May-June 2009 Author : Roy Chetty, Mai-June 2009. The Warwick Avenue Triangle (WAT), an inner city community, and one of the oldest mixed residential areas in Durban, defied the apartheid state's strategies to destroy it. Slum clearance laws, the Group Areas Act, and urban renewal programmes were used to try to destroy the community. It would appear that in the post-apartheid era, the Durban Metro is attempting to succeed where..

Globalizacija i transnacionalni učitelji: migracija učitelja iz Južnoafričke Republike u Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo

The globalisation of the world markets has paved the way for the movement of people with scarce skills such as teachers across national boundaries with relative ease. This paper focuses on the migration of teachers from South Africa to the UK using a qualitative, ethnographic approach. It argues that there are socio-cultural complexities in the transnational migration of SA teachers. It begins by identifying the reasons for teachers exiting the SA teaching fraternity to work in schools in London in the UK. Teachers’ experiences in the UK schools are then explored. The study revealed that teachers leaving SA had multiple reasons for going abroad. The migration of teachers from SA to the UK was influenced by the declining economic status of teaching as a profession in SA, and global labour market conditions. The majority of the migrant teachers who were interviewed had an existing social network in the UK, either friends or relatives. However, the gravity of teaching in a foreign country without next of kin took its toll and teachers spoke at length of the loneliness of being apart from immediate family. An overwhelming majority of migrant teachers experienced a culture shock in UK classrooms, especially discipline problems. Migrant teachers felt powerless, as UK policies tend to protect children, even if they misbehaved in the classroom. The paper concludes by highlighting the commodification of teachers; those who are able to trade their skills in a global market in return for socio-economic and career gains. The arrival of this breed of teacher is also facilitated by what D. Harvey terms the “time-space compression” of global society.Globalizacija svjetskih tržišta omogućila je razmjerno lako kretanje ljudi s rijetkim vještinama, kao što su učitelji, preko nacionalnih granica. Ovaj se rad usredotočuje na migraciju učitelja iz Južnoafričke Republike u Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo koristeći se pritom kvalitativnim, etnografskim pristupom. U radu se dokazuje postojanje društveno-kulturne kompleksnosti u transnacionalnoj migraciji južnoafričkih učitelja. Na početku se identificiraju razlozi odlaska učitelja iz južnoafričke učiteljske zajednice na rad u londonske škole, a zatim se istražuju njihova iskustva u školama Ujedinjenoga Kraljevstva. Istraživanje je pokazalo da su razlozi odlaska učitelja iz Južnoafričke Republike u inozemstvo mnogobrojni. Na migraciju južnoafričkih učitelja u Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo utjecao je pad plaća u nastavničkom poslu kao profesiji u Južnoafričkoj Republici, kao i uvjeti na globalnome tržištu rada. Većina intervjuiranih učitelja migranata već je imala društvenu mrežu u Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu (prijatelje ili rođake). Ipak, težina učiteljskoga posla u stranoj zemlji bez blizine uže obitelji ostavila je trag te su učitelji opširno govorili o osamljenosti zbog razdvojenosti od bliske obitelji. Golema većina učitelja migranata doživjela je kulturni šok u tamošnjim učionicama, a posebno su istaknuli probleme s disciplinom. Učitelji migranti osjećali su se bespomoćno jer je politika Ujedinjenoga Kraljevstva sklona zaštiti djece čak i kad je riječ o doista neprimjerenu ponašanju u razredu. U zaključku rada ističe se činjenica da učitelji postaju roba; na dobitku su oni koji mogu trgovati svojim vještinama na globalnome tržištu u zamjenu za društveno-ekonomsku dobit i karijeru. Dolazak te vrste učitelja olakšan je i onime što D. Harvey naziva »vremensko-prostornom kompresijom« globalnoga društva

Poverty, inequality and violence : a case study of Cato Manor

This research examines how apartheid legislation and history have shaped poverty and inequality in Cato Manor (part of the municipality of Durban, South Africa); it assesses the impact of post-apartheid reconstruction and development strategies in Cato Manor; and identifies the different forms of violence experienced such as crime, gender-based violence and service delivery protests. Forced evictions, housing shortages, conflicts over land, municipal corruption, police brutality, poor service delivery, repression, xenophobia, poverty and inequality have sparked many acts of violence. Needs of residents must be satisfactorily addressed. Recommendations are made

Odavanje priznanja dvostrukim obvezama – strategije slanja novčanih doznaka ganskih migranata u Amsterdamu

This paper seeks to understand the rationale behind the practice of remittances and to examine its impact on the living standards and conditions of Ghanaian remitters living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This study investigates how remitters are able to sustain their lifestyles in a foreign country, and the sacrifices and compromises made in terms of their dual commitment to support families in Ghana and in the Netherlands. A qualitative approach using in-depth interviews was adopted in order to give research participants an opportunity to talk broadly about their lived experiences as Ghanaians residing in a foreign country and the challenges associated with sending remittances. Push factors such as political unrest, poverty, low income, and unemployment influenced movement out of Ghana. A better quality of life (better paying jobs, improved qualifications) was the major pull factor that attracted migrants to the Netherlands. Remittances from migrants in the Netherlands supported the welfare of many households in Ghana, especially in terms of improved standards of living and better access to health care and education. Sending remittances is not “a feel good gesture” only, but an obligation to the family members back in Ghana. This study shows that there were major compromises and trade-offs in terms of migrant lifestyles because of their dual commitments.U radu se nastoji shvatiti zašto Ganci koji žive u Amsterdamu šalju novčane doznake te ispitati kako takva praksa utječe na njihov standard i životne uvjete u Amsterdamu u Nizozemskoj. Autori istražuju kako pošiljatelji snoseći žrtve i praveći kompromise, s obzirom na dvostruku odgovornost koju imaju – podupiranje obitelji u Gani i u Nizozemskoj, mogu održavati svoj životni stil u stranoj zemlji. U istraživanju je primijenjen kvalitativni pristup uz uporabu dubinskih intervjua kako bi se ispitanicima omogućilo da kao Ganci koji žive u stranoj zemlji otvoreno govore o svojim životnim iskustvima i izazovima povezanima sa slanjem novčanih doznaka. Na iseljavanje iz Gane utjecali su potisni čimbenici kao što su politički nemiri, siromaštvo, mali prihodi i nezaposlenost. Glavni privlačni čimbenik za dolazak u Nizozemsku bila je bolja kvaliteta života (bolje plaćeni poslovi i veće kvalifikacije). Doznake migranata iz Nizozemske pridonose boljitku mnogih kućanstava u Gani, osobito u pogledu poboljšanoga životnog standarda i lakšeg pristupa zdravstvenoj zaštiti i obrazovanju. Slanje novca nije samo »izraz dobre volje« nego i obveza prema članovima obitelji u Gani. Nalazi ove studije pokazuju da u načinu života ganskih migranata postoje veliki kompromisi s obzirom na njihovu dvostruku odgovornost

South Africa’s race to return to global sport : results and prospects on home-ground – the case of Cricket

Abstract: The collapse of apartheid in the 1990s saw the rapid re-entry of South Africa into international sporting fields. This move, backed by the African National Congress (ANC) and given Nelson Mandela’s endorsement, was seen as a strategy to attain two objectives; to cut off the White right wing threat by placating the fears of the White population, and to bring in revenue that would be used to redress the legacy of apartheid sport. This article seeks, through a case study of cricket, to assess the effects of this strategy, especially in relation to the latter goal of redressing inherited socio-spatial inequalities. A key contention of this article is that spatial apartheid and inherited racial boundaries has remained in play, and this has influenced who could be selected to place professional cricket and who is excluded. Two and a half decades since cricketing unity, race is still with us, but so is class

Durban : between Apartheid and neoliberalism, and its discontents

In the post-apartheid climate, policy makers and urban planners struggled to desegregate urban spaces for inclusive growth and social transformation. Research shows that with the adoption of neo-liberal approaches to economic policy these efforts were curtailed dramatically. This study focuses on cuts to welfare and social spending, and reliance on trickle-down benefits that never materialized. This detailed investigation of municipal and state intervention, or lack thereof, concludes that neo-liberal economic policies cause the violent contestations that Durban has seen. Xenophobia "thrives where economic deprivation and hardships are acute." There are limits to what poor communities can achieve without government intervention

India and its diaspora: making sense of Hindu identity in South Africa.

Indian immigrants to South Africa in the late nineteenth century differed in terms of their origins, motivations, belief systems, customs, and practices from the indigenous African population as well as from the ruling white settler elite. It is within this context that this paper interrogates some of the ways in which several generations of (Indian) Hindus constructed and continue to (re)construct their religious identities in South Africa. Data for this study were achieved by administering face-to-face questionnaires to 66 individuals in the Metropolitan Area of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The sample (selected through snowball sampling) comprised third to fifth generation Indians belonging to the four major language groups (Tamil, Telegu, Gujarati, and Hindi) residing in South Africa. Following the questionnaire responses, interviews were conducted with a selected number of respondents from the same sample. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS while analysis of qualitative data followed a thematic model

Air pollution perception in ten countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

NTNU Norwegian University of Science and TechnologypublishedVersionPaid Open AccessUNIT agreemen

Giving and solidarity: resource flows for poverty alleviation and development in South Africa

This study representers an excavation of patterns of giving in South Africa through an interrogation of this phenomenon in the worlds of rich and poor, the mobilisation of resources within religious communities and the distribution thereof, the extent and nature of caring and support within extended family networks, the character of corporate social responsibility initiatives, the scale of official development assistance (ODA) and foreign private foundation support, the changing philosophies and practices of the processes of giving and, finally their impact on development, poverty alleviation and democratic consolidation. The research process was structured to address the macro-character of, and the thematic issues to be addressed in, the study