No time to relax: waithood and work of young migrant street traders in Durban, South Africa

Mbatha, Nomkhosi Amanda; Koskimaki, Leah

doi:10.1080/02533952.2021.1996693

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…While attuned to Bunnell and Kathiravelu's (2016) critique of narratives regarding migrants working to merely make life "bearable, " we fi nd "liveable" to be a term that demonstrates how marginalized migrant groups can choose to navigate Durban's possibilities. Liveability in the informal place of street trading involves waiting while hoping for the future (Mbatha and Koskimaki 2021), as well as fi nding a space "less brutal" through hanging out, aff ective and reciprocal interactions, care and cooperation. Despite the presence of xenophobia, in such informal spaces in Durban one can locate convivial friendships not only among migrants but with South Africans as well.…”

Section: Conclusion: Friendship Infrastructures Make Life Liveablementioning

confidence: 99%

Making Life Liveable in an Informal Market

Mbatha¹,

Koskimaki²

2023

Migration and Society

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African migrants working in street trading business in Durban, South Africa often face xenophobia and must navigate policies regulating the informal economy. However, they sustain livelihoods in urban markets through building friendships while maintaining transnational connections back home. Based on qualitative research conducted in 2019 and 2021 with thirty street traders from Senegal, The Gambia, Nigeria, and Malawi at the Workshop Flea Market in Durban, the article interrogates the way in which friendship and conviviality emerge in informal market spaces. Building on AbdouMaliq Simone's concept of “people as infrastructure,” we show how migrant street traders in the Workshop Market invest in the urban collective, while locally and transnationally connected through economic and affective exchanges.

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Section: Conclusion: Friendship Infrastructures Make Life Liveablementioning

confidence: 99%

Making Life Liveable in an Informal Market

Mbatha¹,

Koskimaki²

2023

Migration and Society

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Hustling to Survive: Livelihood Strategies of Migrants

Sewpersad

Maharaj²

2023

Sustainable Development Goals Series

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Mismanagement and misinterpretations in asylum interviews: Perspectives from South Africa and Sweden

Ottosson,

Angu,

Gustafsson

2024

Journal of Refugee Studies

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This article explores the interactions between key actors in asylum interviews in South Africa and Sweden. It is based on forty-one interviews with asylum seekers, interpreters, state officials, and legal representatives. The analysis is guided by theories on professional encounters, bureaucratic violence, and interdependence. The result is presented in two themes: the emergence of mismanagement due to repressive policies and cost-cutting measures, and misinterpretation due to poor interpretation services and failure to recognize the hermeneutic aspects of asylum seekers’ claims. These issues lead to mistrust in the asylum system and in each other’s capacities, as key actors fail to take joint responsibility for the interview act and its outcome. The conclusion is that all key actors operate within a destructive process of mistrust, reinforced by an increasingly repressive political framework as its strongest driving force.

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No time to relax: waithood and work of young migrant street traders in Durban, South Africa

Cited by 3 publications

References 56 publications

Making Life Liveable in an Informal Market

Making Life Liveable in an Informal Market

Hustling to Survive: Livelihood Strategies of Migrants

Mismanagement and misinterpretations in asylum interviews: Perspectives from South Africa and Sweden

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