DOCSLIB.ORG

International Migration, Xenophobia and the South African State

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
International Migration, Xenophobia and the South African State International migration, xenophobia and the South African state Catherine Kavata Musuva Dissertation presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Dr. Nicola de Jager January 2015 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Declaration By submitting this dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Date: 14 January 2015 Copyright © 2015 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved i Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Abstract This dissertation seeks to advance the political understanding of xenophobia in South Africa by examining the relationship between the South African state and its African migrant population. It investigates the practices of frontline officials of three state institutions when dealing with African migrants and relates such practices to the prevalence of xenophobia. These institutions are the Department of Home Affairs, the South African Police Service and the City of Cape Town. The state of exception, propounded by Giorgio Agamben, provides a conceptual lens through which to examine the practices of state officials towards African migrants and the place of migrants in South African society. This concept is concerned with the law and the conditions of its application or suspension. It is characterised by the relationship between sovereign power and ‘bare life’– the form of deprived subjectivity produced by and captured in the exercise of sovereign power. The research is guided by a central question: Do the practices of state officials (from the three institutions), as experienced by African migrants, reinforce xenophobia in South Africa? This question is addressed by way of four secondary questions: a) How are the practices of state officials experienced by migrants?; b) To what extent are migrants treated differently by state officials in terms of their legal status or nationality?; c) Is the approach of state officials towards migrants evidence of a state of exception?; and, d) If so, to what extent has a state of exception in dealing with migrants shaped xenophobia in South Africa? In order to answer the research questions, an ethnographic field study was undertaken in Cape Town. The data-collection instruments were semi-structured interviews and observation at selected Home Affairs offices. A total of 40 African migrants, seven key informants from organisations that work on migration issues and two state officials were interviewed. The migrant sample represented 13 African countries and comprised five legal migrant categories. The key findings are that, firstly, migrants’ experiences with state officials were predominantly negative. Secondly, the primary basis for differential treatment of migrants was their foreignness, regardless of their nationality. With regard to the police and municipal officials, migrants’ experiences were further differentiated by other variables such as residential area, socio-economic status, and knowledge of the law or access to human rights organisations. There were also apparent differences in how migrants experienced Home Affairs officials based on their legal status with asylum seekers and refugees experiencing worse treatment than temporary and permanent residents. Thirdly, evidence of the state of exception varied within the three institutions. The main agents of the state of exception were mainly Home Affairs officials followed by the police. In the case of Home Affairs officials, the targets were predominantly illegal foreigners, asylum seekers and refugees, and in the case of the police migrants who are informal traders were targeted. The most evident site for the practice of the ii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za exception was the Refugee Reception Office. Fourthly, both the state of exception and xenophobia have an exclusionary power, which makes them mutually reinforcing. iii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Opsomming Hierdie verhandeling is daarop toegespits om groter politieke begrip van xenofobie (vreemdelingehaat) in Suid-Afrika te bewerkstellig deur die verhouding tussen die Suid-Afrikaanse staat en sy migrantebevolking uit Afrika te verken. Dit ondersoek die praktyke van frontlinie- amptenare by drie staatsinstellings in hul omgang met Afrika-migrante, en lê ’n verband tussen hierdie praktyke en die voorkoms van xenofobie. Hierdie instellings is die Departement van Binnelandse Sake, die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens en die Stad Kaapstad. Die staat van uitsondering, ’n konsep wat deur Giorgio Agamben geskep is, bied ’n konseptuele lens waardeur staatsamptenare se praktyke teenoor Afrika-migrante sowel as migrante se plek in die Suid- Afrikaanse samelewing ondersoek kan word. Hierdie konsep handel oor die reg, en die omstandighede vir die toepassing of opskorting daarvan. Dit word gekenmerk deur die verhouding tussen soewereine mag en ‘blote lewe’ – die vorm van ontblote subjektiwiteit wat geskep word deur én vasgelê word in die uitoefening van soewereine mag. Die navorsing word deur ’n kernvraag gerig: Versterk staatsamptenare (by die drie instellings) se praktyke, soos Afrika-migrante dit ervaar, xenofobie in Suid-Afrika? Hierdie vraag word met behulp van vier sekondêre vrae ondersoek: a) Hoe beleef migrante staatsamptenare se praktyke? b) In watter mate behandel die staatsamptenare migrante verskillend op grond van hul regstatus of nasionaliteit? c) Getuig die staatsamptenare se benadering tot migrante van ’n staat van uitsondering? d) Indien wel, in watter mate dra die staat van uitsondering met betrekking tot migrante tot xenofobie in Suid-Afrika by? Om die navorsingsvrae te beantwoord, is ’n etnografiese veldstudie in Kaapstad onderneem. Die data is met behulp van semigestruktureerde onderhoude en waarneming by gekose kantore van die Departement van Binnelandse Sake ingesamel. Onderhoude is met altesaam 40 Afrika-migrante, sewe sleutelinformante van organisasies wat met migrasiekwessies werk, en twee staatsamptenare gevoer. Die migrante-steekproef het 13 Afrikalande verteenwoordig en uit vyf wettige kategorieë van migrante bestaan. Die belangrikste bevindinge is soos volg: Eerstens ervaar migrante staatsamptenare hoofsaaklik negatief. Tweedens is die vernaamste rede waarom migrante verskillend behandel word, hul vreemdheid, ongeag hul nasionaliteit. Wat die polisie en munisipale amptenare betref, word migrante voorts verskillend hanteer op grond van ander veranderlikes, soos woongebied, sosio-ekonomiese status, en kennis van die reg of toegang tot menseregte-organisasies. Daarbenewens is daar duidelike verskille in migrante se ervaring van amptenare van Binnelandse Sake op grond van die migrante se regstatus, met asielsoekers en vlugtelinge wat swakker behandeling ontvang as diegene met tydelike en permanente verblyfreg. Derdens bestaan daar wisselende bewyse van die staat van uitsondering iv Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za binne die drie instellings. Die hoofagente van die staat van uitsondering blyk die amptenare van Binnelandse Sake te wees, gevolg deur die polisie. In die geval van Binnelandse Sake is die teikens hoofsaaklik onwettige migrante, asielsoekers en vlugtelinge, terwyl die polisie weer meestal informele handelaars in die visier het. Die plek waar die uitsondering die duidelikste in die praktyk beoefen word, is die Vlugtelinge-ontvangskantoor. Vierdens beskik die staat van uitsondering en xenofobie albei oor ’n uitsluitingsmag, wat die een die ander laat versterk. v Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Acknowledgements I hereby acknowledge the funding that was awarded to me by the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences to pursue my doctoral studies full-time at Stellenbosch University. I also acknowledge the research grant awarded to me jointly by the University for Peace Africa Programme and the International Development Research Centre. I extend my sincere gratitude to these two sponsors. I acknowledge and specially appreciate my supervisor, Dr. Nicola de Jager, for her constant support, motivation, guidance and deep commitment. Nicola, I don’t think I can thank you enough for walking this journey with me. I am grateful to all the research respondents for their willingness to share information with me and for making my fieldwork experience in Cape Town the most interesting phase of my research. I also extend my thanks to my family for their support and confidence in me, and to those dear friends who took a keen interest in my research and urged me on. Last, but not least, I thank God for making all things possible. vi Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Table of Contents Declaration ............................................................................................................................................... i Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... ii Opsomming ............................................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ...............................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Transnational Resistance Strategies and Subnational Concessions in Namibia's Police Zone, 1919-1962
    Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2021 “Remov[e] Us From the Bondage of South Africa:” Transnational Resistance Strategies and Subnational Concessions in Namibia's Police Zone, 1919-1962 Michael R. Hogan West Virginia University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Part of the African History Commons Recommended Citation Hogan, Michael R., "“Remov[e] Us From the Bondage of South Africa:” Transnational Resistance Strategies and Subnational Concessions in Namibia's Police Zone, 1919-1962" (2021). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 8264. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/8264 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “Remov[e] Us From the Bondage of South Africa:” Transnational Resistance Strategies and Subnational Concessions in Namibia's Police Zone, 1919-1962 Michael Robert Hogan Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In History Robert M.
    [Show full text]
  • Constitutional Authority and Its Limitations: the Politics of Sexuality in South Africa
    South Africa Constitutional Authority and its Limitations: The Politics of Sexuality in South Africa Belinda Beresford Helen Schneider Robert Sember Vagner Almeida “While the newly enfranchised have much to gain by supporting their government, they also have much to lose.” Adebe Zegeye (2001) A history of the future: Constitutional rights South Africa’s Constitutional Court is housed in an architecturally innovative complex on Constitution Hill, a 100-acre site in central Johannesburg. The site is adjacent to Hillbrow, a neighborhood of high-rise apartment buildings into which are crowded thousands of mi- grants from across the country and the continent. This is one of the country’s most densely populated, cosmopolitan and severely blighted urban areas. From its position atop Constitu- tion Hill, the Court offers views of Hillbrow’s high-rises and the distant northern suburbs where the established white elite and increasing numbers of newly affluent non-white South Africans live. Thus, while the light-filled, colorful and contemporary Constitutional Court buildings reflect the progressive and optimistic vision of post-apartheid South Africa the lo- cation is a reminder of the deeply entrenched inequalities that continue to define the rights of the majority of people in the country and the continent. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY AND ITS LIMITATIONS: THE POLITICS OF SEXUALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA 197 From the late 1800s to 1983 Constitution Hill was the location of Johannesburg’s central prison, the remains of which now lie in the shadow of the new court buildings. Former prison buildings include a fort built by the Boers (descendents of Dutch settlers) in the late 1800s to defend themselves against the thousands of men and women who arrived following the discovery of the area’s expansive gold deposits.
    [Show full text]
  • CCS Anti-Xenophobia Research and Community Outreach
    CCS Anti-Xenophobia research and community outreach Documentation, 2010 CCS anti-xenophobia research workshop, 27 February 2010 ANTI-XENOPHOBIA RESEARCH/ACTION WORKSHOP CENTRE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY, STRATEGY&TACTICS and DURBAN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS DATE: 27 FEBRUARY 2010 TIME: 9AM-3:30PM VENUE: MEMORIAL TOWER BUILDING L2 (in tallest building at Howard College) Research papers Xenophobia in Bottlebrush: An investigation into the reasons behind the attacks on African immigrants in an informal settlement in Durban. Xenophobia and Civil Society: Durban’s Structured Social Divisions Agenda 9:00-09:30 Tea with muffin + film screening 9:30-09:45 Welcome: Patrick Bond, Introduction to Durban Case Study: Baruti Amisi, Faith ka Manzi, Sheperd Zvavanhu, Orlean Naidoo, Nokuthula Cele, Trevor Ngwane 9:40-10:30 Presentation of Durban Case Study (1) Patrick Bond: Overview of Durban Case Study (2) Trevor Ngwane: Bottlebrush (3) Baruti Amisi: Migrant Voices 10:30-11:00 Presentation by Nobi Dube, Ramaphosa Case study and Summary of recommendations from national case studies by Jenny Parsley 11:00-12:00 Discussion 12:00-12:15 Presentation of themes from research and ways forward, with Trevor 12:15-13:00 Breakaway Groups (geographic areas and interests) with Amisi and Trevor 13:00-14:00 Lunch 14:00-14:30 Presentations by Breakaway Groups 14:30-15:00 Discussion and anti-xenophobia strategies facilitated by Amisi and Trevor 15:00-15:15 Concluding Remarks: Patrick Bond 15:15 Vote of thanks: Baruti Amisi Workshop Themes: 1) Civil society, social movements,
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Ascendance Is/As Moral Rightness: the New Religious Political Right in Post-Apartheid South Africa Part
    Economic Ascendance is/as Moral Rightness: The New Religious Political Right in Post-apartheid South Africa Part One: The Political Introduction If one were to go by the paucity of academic scholarship on the broad New Right in the post-apartheid South African context, one would not be remiss for thinking that the country is immune from this global phenomenon. I say broad because there is some academic scholarship that deals only with the existence of right wing organisations at the end of the apartheid era (du Toit 1991, Grobbelaar et al. 1989, Schönteich 2004, Schönteich and Boshoff 2003, van Rooyen 1994, Visser 2007, Welsh 1988, 1989,1995, Zille 1988). In this older context, this work focuses on a number of white Right organisations, including their ideas of nationalism, the role of Christianity in their ideologies, as well as their opposition to reform in South Africa, especially the significance of the idea of partition in these organisations. Helen Zille’s list, for example, includes the Herstigte Nasionale Party, Conservative Party, Afrikaner People’s Guard, South African Bureau of Racial Affairs (SABRA), Society of Orange Workers, Forum for the Future, Stallard Foundation, Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB), and the White Liberation Movement (BBB). There is also literature that deals with New Right ideology and its impact on South African education in the transition era by drawing on the broader literature on how the New Right was using education as a primary battleground globally (Fataar 1997, Kallaway 1989). Moreover, another narrow and newer literature exists that continues the focus on primarily extreme right organisations in South Africa that have found resonance in the global context of the rise of the so-called Alternative Right that rejects mainstream conservatism.
    [Show full text]
  • Re-Membering Queer Africa in Literature and Film Matthew Ap Trick Durkin
    Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 1-1-2017 "Unorthodox Conduct": Re-membering Queer Africa in Literature and Film Matthew aP trick Durkin Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Durkin, M. P. (2017). "Unorthodox Conduct": Re-membering Queer Africa in Literature and Film (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/126 This One-year Embargo is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. "UNORTHODOX CONDUCT": RE-MEMBERING QUEER AFRICA IN LITERATURE AND FILM A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Matthew Durkin May 2017 Copyright by Matthew P. Durkin 2017 "UNORTHODOX CONDUCT": RE-MEMBERING QUEER AFRICA IN LITERATURE AND FILM By Matthew P. Durkin Approved April 7, 2017 ________________________________ ________________________________ Emad Mirmotahari, Ph.D. Laura Engel, Ph.D. Associate Professor of English Professor of English (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ James Holstun, Ph.D. Professor of English, University at Buffalo (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________
    [Show full text]
  • South Africa and the African Renaissance
    South Africa and the African Renaissance PETER VALE* AND SIPHO MASEKO On May , immediately prior to the adoption of South Africa’s new con- stitution,Thabo Mbeki, Nelson Mandela’s chosen successor, opened his address to the country’s Constitutional Assembly with the words ‘I am an African!’. In an inclusionary speech, symptomatic of post-apartheid South Africa, Mbeki drew strands of the country’s many histories together. His words evoked great emotion within the assembly chamber, and later throughout the country: across the political spectrum, South Africans strongly associated themselves with the spirit of reconciliation and outreach caught in his words. South Africa’s reunification with the rest of the continent had been a significant sub-narrative within the processes which led to negotiation over the ending of apartheid. That South Africa would become part of the African community was, of course, beyond doubt; what was at issue was both the sequence of events by which this would happen and the conditionalities attached to its happening.The continent’s enthusiasm for the peace process in South Africa was initially uneven: the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in June decided to retain sanctions against South Africa although the Nigerian leader, General Ibrahim Babingida, expressed an interest in meet- ing South Africa’s then President, F.W.de Klerk, if such an occasion ‘would help bring about majority rule.’ The political prize attached to uniting South Africa with the rest of the continent explains why South Africa’s outgoing minority government, despite energetic and expensive diplomatic effort, was unable to deliver its own version of South Africa in Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • Some Personal Reflections on the Road to Armed Struggle
    POLITICAL organise a National Convention of representatives of all our people to Some Personal Reflections work out a new democratic, non- racial and non-sexist Constitution. © Shutterstock.com Conference further resolved that if the on the Road to Armed regime failed to call such a conference a three-day strike would commence on Struggle the 29th May, the day that apartheid South Africa was to become a Republic. The apartheid regime mobilised the army, the police and intelligence services to arrest thousands of activists and carry out a reign of terror. Mandela responded that “if the government’s response is to crush by naked force our non-violent struggle, …in my mind we are closing a chapter …on non-violent policy”. In December 1961 SA was rocked by sabotage actions by MK units in the major cities. Its manifesto declared “We of Umkhonto we Sizwe …carried out the sabotage activities to achieve liberation without bloodshed and civil clashes… Our actions are against the Nationalist’s preparations for civil war and military rule… We are working in the interests of all our people, black, brown and white, whose future and wellbeing cannot be attained without the overthrow of the Nationalists …the Military action at every stage had to be guided people’s patience is not endless. The time comes in the life of any nation and determined by the need to generate and when there only remain two choices: submit or fight. That time has now promote political action, organisation and come to South Africa.” resistance. By 1962 the leadership concluded that the sabotage campaign had not been as effective as they had expected By Aziz Pahad largely because of lack of quality equipment and training.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Contestations Within South African Migration Governance
    Political Contestations within South African Migration Governance Khangelani Moyo & Franzisca Zanker December 2020 KEY POINTS South African migration governance has adopted an increasingly securitised approach which also blurs the boundaries between refugees and migrants. Refugee protection is increasingly fragmented, enveloped by an exclusive immigration system and a weak regional approach in terms of free movement. There are a number of political stakes related to refugee and migration governance: o Migration governance is used as leverage in domestic politics. Xenophobic violence against migrant and refugee communities continues routinely. The exclusionary approach works particularly well as a form of leverage in scapegoating the governments failures to address poverty and job creation. A focus on securitisation further concretises an anti-refugee and anti-migrant stance in policy. o The exclusionary approach contrasts to visions of free movement and Pan-Africanism as well as the benefits of “skilled” migration. In practice however, domestic imperatives are still more important and are often strengthened by the approach to foreign policy, such as quiet diplomacy in neighbouring Zimbabwe. More recently, they have resulted in diplomatic tensions with other African countries. o The Department of Home Affairs has a performative relationship with civil society who try to keep them in check. Refugee activists are side-lined where possible and given a negative portrayal. Social xenophobic rhetoric is based on the premises of identity-construction through othering as well as being linked to economic deprivation. These discourses are reinforced both through rhetoric by politicians and the media. o The border town of Musina shows that such rhetoric is not ubiquitous and a more proactive role for political and community leaders to change the public discourse on the contributions made by migrants to communities is possible.
    [Show full text]
  • Designing the South African Nation from Nature to Culture
    CHAPTER 3 Designing the South African Nation From Nature to Culture Jacques Lange and Jeanne van Eeden There is to date very little published research and writing about South African design history. One of the main obstacles has been dealing with the legacy of forty years of apartheid censorship (1950 to 1990) that banned and destroyed a vast array of visual culture in the interests of propaganda and national security, according to the Beacon for Freedom of Expression (http://search.beaconforfreedom.org/about_database/south%20africa.html). This paucity of material is aggravated by the general lack of archival and doc- umentary evidence, not just of the struggle against apartheid, but also of the wider domain of design in South Africa. Even mainstream designed mate- rial for the British imperialist and later apartheid government has been lost or neglected in the inadequate archival facilities of the State and influential organizations such as the South African Railways. Efforts to redress this are now appearing as scholars start to piece together fragments, not in order to write a definitive history of South African design, but rather to write histories of design in South Africa that recuperate neglected narratives or revise earlier historiographies. This chapter is accordingly an attempt to document a number of key moments in the creation of South African nationhood between 1910 and 2013 in which communication design played a part. Our point of departure is rooted in Zukin’s (1991: 16) belief that symbolic and material manifestations of power harbour the ideological needs of powerful institutions to manipulate class, gender and race relations, ultimately to serve the needs of capital (and governance).
    [Show full text]
  • Sitting(Link Is External)
    1 THURSDAY, 10 MAY 2018 PROCEEDINGS OF THE WESTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT The sign † indicates the original language and [ ] directly thereafter indicates a translation. The House met at 14:15 The Deputy Speaker took the Chair and read the prayer. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: You may be seated. [Interjections.] Order! I see the Chief Whip first. (Notice of Motion) Mr M G E WILEY: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I give notice that I shall move: That, notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 198, precedence be given to the Subject for Discussion. Thank you. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you. No objection to that? Agreed to. 2 We will then start with the Subject for Discussion in the name of the hon member Gillion. I see the hon Gillion. †Mnr Q R DYANTYI: Hoor-hoor! [Mr Q R DYANTYI: Hear-hear!] Ms M N GILLION: Mr Deputy Speaker, 2018 marks the tail -end of this administration’s term and the DA’s decade of misrule is representative of a period of regression in service delivery for the poor. Reality is that th is protracted period of disservice to our people has been marked by the deteriorating living conditions for the poor and marginalised, which forced thousands of people to take to the streets on Freedom Day, calling on the DA Government to break with the past and focus on service delivery. The most pressing challenges faced by the people in this province include inadequate living conditions, crime, poverty, dread diseases and unemployment. These challenges seem to be colour -conscious as they affect the black majority, while the minority is well taken care of.
    [Show full text]
  • Hate Crimes Against Black Lesbian South Africans: Where Race, Sexual Orientation and Gender Collide (Part Ii)
    HATE CRIMES AGAINST BLACK LESBIAN SOUTH AFRICANS: WHERE RACE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER COLLIDE (PART II) Kamban Naidoo BA LLB LLM Senior Lecturer, Criminal and Procedural Law University of South Africa (UNISA) Michelle Karels LLB LLM Senior Lecturer, Criminal and Procedural Law University of South Africa (UNISA) SUMMARY This article, which is the second of a two-part submission, examines the South African legal position pertaining to sexual offences and murder as a continuation of the theme introduced in Part One. The authors then examine the concept of motive before providing a brief overview of hate crime legislation and/or policy in the United States of America and Germany. The core of the article examines three possible routes for South Africa to curb hate crime. Firstly, the creation of substantive hate crime law in the form of legislation, secondly, the amendment of current legislation to incorporate protection against this form of crime and thirdly, the retention of the current status quo coupled with the roll-out of civil society initiatives to curb hate- motivated crime. The conclusion of the article provides recommendations from a civil society and criminal justice perspective. A INTRODUCTION This article seeks to extend the foundational framework laid in Part I within the context of criminal legal doctrine generally and the potential for hate- crime legislation in South Africa specifically. At the time of writing, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development had appointed a task team to investigate hate-crime legislation and to submit proposals with regard to such legislation in South Africa. 1 The research is, however, still in 1 Anonymous “Speech by Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Andries Nel, MP, on the occasion of the official opening of the first networking session of the national task team on LGTBI Crime-related issues” October 2011 http://www.info.
    [Show full text]
  • South Africa February 2013
    Blind Alleys PART II Country Findings: South Africa February 2013 The Unseen Struggles of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Urban Refugees in Mexico, Uganda and South Africa Acknowledgements This project was conceived and directed by Neil Grungras and was brought to completion by Cara Hughes and Kevin Lo. Editing, and project management were provided by Steven Heller, Kori Weinberger, Peter Stark, Eunice Lee, Ian Renner, and Max Niedzwiecki. In South Africa, we thank Liesl Theron of Gender DynamiX, Father Russell Pollitt and Dumisani Dube of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh of Lawyers for Human Rights, and Braam Hanekom and Guillain KoKo of PASSOP (People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty) who gave us advice and essential access to its cli- ents. We thank Charmaine Hedding, Sibusiso Kheswa, Siobhan McGuirk, Tara Ngwato Polzer, Sanjula Weerasinghe, and Rachel Levitan for their work coordinating and conducting the field research. Expert feedback and editing was provided by Libby Johnston and Melanie Nathan. We are particularly grateful to Anahid Bazarjani, Nicholas Hersh, Lucie Leblond, Minjae Lee, Darren Miller, John Odle, Odessa Powers, Peter Stark, and Anna von Herrmann. These dedi- cated interns and volunteers conducted significant amounts of desk research and pored over thou- sands of pages of interview transcripts over the course of months, assuring that every word and every comment by interviewees were meticulously taken into account in this report. These pages would be blank but for the refugees who bravely recounted their sagas seeking pro- tection, as well as the dedicated UNHCR, NGO, and government staff who so earnestly shared their experiences and understandings of the refugees we all seek to protect.
    [Show full text]