Immigration practitioners, brokers, agents: investigating the immigration industry in South Africa

Research report for Master of Arts (MA) in Migration and Displacement (AC000) African Centre for Migration and Society School of Social Science Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, February 2015Most research in the field of migration studies focuses on providing either a sociology of migrants or a political analysis of the regulations which govern immigration. In this research project I have taken a different, structural approach to the field by studying the immigration industry in South Africa through the lens provided by immigration intermediaries. This research examines who immigration intermediaries are; the role they play in and around immigration structures; and the relationship between the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), immigration intermediaries, and immigrants. By using data collected in 16 qualitative, in-depth interviews with actors in the industry, primarily immigration practitioners, the primary aim of this research is to document and analyse the role of immigration intermediaries within the South African immigration industry and the role they have in shaping emerging structures around immigration. With intermediaries as the focus of enquiry, this research has three primary results: the first is a typology of immigration intermediaries; the second is an analysis of the relationship between the DHA and intermediaries which understands the role played by intermediaries as essentially a function that the DHA has outsourced as a result of their inability to effectively manage migration; and the third is an argument that South Africa’s immigration regulations have always, and continue to, ensure the reproduction of a precarious migrant class to the benefit of the South African economy. Research in migration studies tends to focus on either migrants or immigration policy. This research focuses instead on neglected actors and structures, the intermediaries and the institutions they operate within, and brings to the attention of the field the importance of the actors and structures that facilitate immigration in South Africa

Exploring The Migration Profiles of Primary Healthcare Users in South Africa.

South Africa's public healthcare system responses seldom engage with migration. Our exploratory study investigates migration profiles and experiences of primary healthcare (PHC) users. A cross-sectional survey involving non-probability sampling was conducted with 229 PHC users at six purposively selected PHC clinics in three districts of SA. The survey captured socio-demographic information, migration histories, and PHC experiences. Chi square and Fischer's exact tests were used to compare categorical variables, whilst Mann-Whitney U tests compared continuous variables between groups. Most PHC users were migrants (22% internal South African; 45% cross-border) who generally move for reasons other than healthcare seeking. Length of time accessing services at a specific clinic was shown to be key in describing experiences of PHC use. Understanding population movement is central to PHC strengthening in SA and requires improved understanding of mobility dynamics in regard to not just nationality, but also internal mobility and length of stay

Using WhatsApp messenger for health systems research: a scoping review of available literature.

Globally, the use of mobile phones for improving access to healthcare and conducting health research has gained traction in recent years as rates of ownership increase, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Mobile instant messaging applications, including WhatsApp Messenger, provide new and affordable opportunities for health research across time and place, potentially addressing the challenges of maintaining contact and participation involved in research with migrant and mobile populations, for example. However, little is known about the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of WhatsApp as a tool for health research. To inform our study, we conducted a scoping review of published health research that uses WhatsApp as a data collection tool. A key reason for focusing on WhatsApp is the ability to retain contact with participants when they cross international borders. Five key public health databases were searched for articles containing the words ‘WhatsApp’ and ‘health research’ in their titles and abstracts. We identified 69 articles, 16 of which met our inclusion criteria for review. We extracted data pertaining to the characteristics of the research. Across the 16 studies—11 of which were based in LMICs—WhatsApp was primarily used in one of two ways. In the eight quantitative studies identified, seven used WhatsApp to send hyperlinks to online surveys. With one exception, the eight studies that employed a qualitative (n = 6) or mixed-method (n = 2) design analysed the WhatsApp content generated through a WhatsApp-based programmatic intervention. We found a lack of attention paid to research ethics across the studies, which is concerning given the controversies WhatsApp has faced with regard to data protection in relation to end-to-end encryption. We provide recommendations to address these issues for researchers considering using WhatsApp as a data collection tool over time and place

Research on the move: exploring WhatsApp as a tool for understanding the intersections between migration, mobility, health and gender in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Reflecting global norms, South Africa is associated with high levels of cross-border and internal population mobility, yet migration-aware health system responses are lacking. Existing literature highlights three methodological challenges limiting the development of evidence-informed responses to migration and health: (1) lack of engagement with the process of migration; (2) exclusion of internal migrants; and (3) lack of methodologies that are able to capture 'real-time' data about health needs and healthcare seeking experiences over both time and place. In this paper, we reflect on a four-month pilot project which explored the use of WhatsApp Messenger - a popular mobile phone application used widely in sub-Saharan Africa - and assessed its feasibility as a research tool with migrant and mobile populations in order to inform a larger study that would address these challenges. METHOD: A four-month pilot was undertaken with eleven participants between October 2019 and January 2020. Using Survey Node, an online platform that allows for the automatic administration of surveys through WhatsApp, monthly surveys were administered. The GPS coordinates of participants were also obtained. Recruited through civil society partners in Gauteng, participants were over the age of 18, comfortable engaging in English, and owned WhatsApp compatible cell phones. Enrolment involved an administered survey and training participants in the study protocol. Participants received reimbursement for their travel costs and monthly cell phone data. RESULTS: Out of a possible eighty eight survey and location responses, sixty one were received. In general, participants responded consistently to the monthly surveys and shared their location when prompted. Survey Node proved an efficient and effective way to administer surveys through WhatsApp. Location sharing via WhatsApp proved cumbersome and led to the development of a secure platform through which participants could share their location. Ethical concerns about data sharing over WhatsApp were addressed. CONCLUSIONS: The success of the pilot indicates that WhatsApp can be used as a tool for data collection with migrant and mobile populations, and has informed the finalisation of the main study. Key lessons learnt included the importance of research design and processes for participant enrolment, and ensuring that the ethical concerns associated with WhatsApp are addressed

Framing Migration During the Covid-19 Pandemic in South Africa: A 12-Month Media Monitoring Project.

Assumptions surrounding the origins of Covid-19, the relationship between human mobility and the spread of the virus, and the pressure that the pandemic has placed on communities, have exacerbated xenophobic tensions globally, including in South Africa, a country long-associated with xenophobia. Previous research exploring how the South African media frames migration, and research investigating the framing of migration during Covid-19 in other contexts, has found that the media tends to frame migrants in terms of (un)deservingness and blame them for the spread of disease. Our findings, however, identify different concerns. This article discusses findings from a 12-month study exploring how migrant and mobile populations in South Africa were framed in the media as the pandemic developed during 2020. A news aggregator—Meltwater—was used to scrape the internet for English language text-based media published globally in 2020 that met a search with key terms Migration, Covid-19, and South Africa. A total of 12,068 articles were identified and descriptively analysed. Informed by previous approaches, a framing analysis was then undertaken of a sample of 561 articles. Findings illustrate how articles published by outlets based in the US and UK have a far greater reach than locally or regionally produced articles, despite local and regional outlets publishing far more consistently on the topic. Consistent and sympathetic engagement with issues of migration by South African publications was seen across 2020 and suggests that those writing from the region are aware of the realities of migration and mobility. Findings show that rather than centring migrants as the locus of blame for failures of the South African state—as has been done in the past—the state and its failure to adequately respond to both Covid-19 and migration are now being clearly articulated by media

The Globalisation of Trafficking and its Impact on the South African Counter-Trafficking Legislation

This article was prompted by emerging and highly politicised debates in South Africa over the role of 'foreign influence' in policy-making. Whilst popular debates on this issue are often over simplified, it nevertheless seemed a relevant topic for migration policy-making given its cross-national focus. In this article, we therefore consider what influenced the development of South Africa's 2013 Prevention and Combatting of Trafficking in Persons Act (TiP Act) as just one example of migration policy-making. Using qualitative methods, we map the influences on the South African TiP Act, and highlight how these shaped the passing of the Act, as well as the form that it took. We describe three pathways of international influence that shaped and constrained the possibilities for the Act: the global system for the governance of trafficking, the globalisation of knowledge around trafficking, and the nature of diplomatic relations. Exploring these pathways, we interrogate and unpack the idea that policy-making takes place in isolation and exclusively at a national level. Instead, this article illustrates how policy-making around issues of trafficking, and migration, takes place amidst complex and unequal global relationships