Social Ties and the Dynamics of Integration in the City of Johannesburg among Zimbabwe Migrants

Sibanda, Octavia

doi:10.1080/09766634.2010.11885538

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Ndlovu, 2010;Sibanda, 2010;Worby, 2010), their actions exude agency, and they are notable in how they perfomatively play on constructions of the legitimate body and bodily hexis to disrupt and destabilize what it means to be a kwerekwere, a Shona-speaking migrant and generally a Black African individual in Johannesburg in certain situations and contexts of interaction. Bourdieu (1991, p. 86) asserts that "language is a body technique" and migrants' identity games reveal an intimate understanding of the valued bodily (re)presentations in Johannesburg that they use to negotiate belonging within a matrix of subjugation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Body as a Site for (Un)Making the ‘Other’: Shona Speaking Migrants' Negotiation of Identity Politics in Johannesburg

Siziba

2016

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Body as a Site for (Un)Making the ‘Other’: Shona Speaking Migrants' Negotiation of Identity Politics in Johannesburg

Siziba

2016

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies

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“…Zimbabwean Ndebele forms part of the Nguni language continuum, the largest category of related languages in South Africa (discussed below). It is therefore often argued that Ndebele-speaking migrants tend to assimilate into local Nguni-speaking communities (and notably Zulu-speaking communities), while Shona-speaking migrants are presented as unable to assimilate, except among the Venda-speaking communities of the northern Limpopo province where they are said to have a linguistic advantage over their Ndebele-speaking counterparts (Muzondidya 2010; Ndlovu 2010; Sibanda 2010; Worby 2010). Shona-speaking migrants are therefore presented as the archetypal amakwerekwere , existing on the margins of South African society.…”

Section: A Nation In Motion: Zimbabwe As a Synonym For Migration Diamentioning

confidence: 99%

Language and the geopolitics of (dis)location: A study of Zimbabwean Shona and Ndebele speakers in Johannesburg

Siziba

Hill

2018

Lang. Soc.

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The Zimbabwean diaspora is a well-documented phenomenon. While much research has been done on Zimbabwean migration to South Africa, the role that language plays in this process has not been well researched. This article draws on South African census data and qualitative fieldwork data to explore the manner in which Zimbabwean migrants use languages to appropriate spaces for themselves in the City of Johannesburg. The census data shows that African migrants tend to concentrate in the Johannesburg CBD, and fieldwork in this area reveals that Zimbabwean migrants are particularly well established in two suburbs—Yeoville and Hillbrow. The article explores migrant language repertoires, which include English, Shona, Ndebele, and a variant of Zulu. While many contributions to the migration literature tend to assume a strong association between language and ethnicity, the article shows how this relationship is mediated by geographic location and social positioning within the city. (Language, migration, Johannesburg, South Africa, Zimbabwe)*

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“…This new wave of migration into South Africa covered the whole of Zimbabwe, but in Matabeleland in particular, migration was made easier by social networks (Sibanda 2010; Thebe 2009). Migrants were expatriating their immediate families into South Africa en masse, and omalayisha would openly solicit customers on their return trips from Zimbabwe.…”

Section: Transition In Cross-border Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

From South Africa with love: the malayisha system and Ndebele households' quest for livelihood reconstruction in south-western Zimbabwe

Thebe

2011

J. Mod. Afr. Stud.

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In the 1980s and early 1990s, sending remittances from South Africa posed major challenges for Ndebele migrants. As a result households receiving remittances only did so at irregular intervals. With increased diasporisation into South Africa, it was to be expected that new channels would open up. This article explores what is known as the malayisha system, its role and significance as an informal channel of remittances into Ndebele society. It argues that the system bridged the geographical gap between Matabeleland and Johannesburg, averting food insecurity and poverty for semi-proletarian households in Matabeleland. By facilitating the movement of goods and people between Matabeleland and South Africa, the system became instrumental in the quest of households to reconstruct their livelihoods after the destruction of their rural–urban-based livelihoods in Zimbabwe due to perennial droughts and ESAP. As a result, the services of omalayisha are highly sought-after, by both the migrant community in South Africa and households in Matabeleland.

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Social Ties and the Dynamics of Integration in the City of Johannesburg among Zimbabwe Migrants

Cited by 15 publications

References 3 publications

The Body as a Site for (Un)Making the ‘Other’: Shona Speaking Migrants' Negotiation of Identity Politics in Johannesburg

The Body as a Site for (Un)Making the ‘Other’: Shona Speaking Migrants' Negotiation of Identity Politics in Johannesburg

Language and the geopolitics of (dis)location: A study of Zimbabwean Shona and Ndebele speakers in Johannesburg

From South Africa with love: the malayisha system and Ndebele households' quest for livelihood reconstruction in south-western Zimbabwe

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