Abstract
This study sought to explore and describe the lived experiences of migrant youths in South Africa by using Musina as a case study. Several studies reveal that Southern Africa is faced with an increased number of international population movements. Upon their arrival in the host countries, immigrants encounter a vast number of challenges. The new economic theory of migration was used to pursue the aim of this study. This study was qualitative wherein case study and phenomenological designs were triangulated to purposively select 18 migrant youths in Musina. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and was analysed thematically with the assistance of Nvivo software. Findings reveal that most migrant youths due to problems around documentation are being hated by local citizens and exploited by employers that they end up performing impractical jobs without any benefits and job security. Stigmatisation was also found to be a challenge that migrant youths deal with in South Africa. There should be stringent security at the Beit-Bridge border post to mitigate illegal cross-bordering to South Africa. Integrative programmes should be developed to accommodate legal immigrants into the welfare of South Africa. Immigration laws should have a clause on the monitoring of any job done by immigrants in the host countries. Further research is also recommended in other provinces of South Africa and with significant others such as local citizens and government officials.
Highlights
AND BACKGROUNDMigration is an international issue that affects various disciplines to address it
A large number of migrant youths lamented about hatred by local citizens as one of the problems they encounter in South Africa
Immigration, the migration of youths is a global problem that requires academics, practitioners, and communities to collaborate their efforts in addressing this socio-economic-political phenomenon. It can be noted from this paper that immigrants, young migrants encounter a vast number of challenges upon their entry into the host countries
Summary
It is estimated that about 3% (roughly 258 million) of people in the world have lived in a foreign country (United Nations [UN] 2017; International Organization for Migration [IOM] 2017). The rise of young people globally contributes towards a large number of migrant youths. There has been a rise in the number of youth migrants from 1990 to 2013, with the number stemming from 23.2 million to 28.2 million (United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF] 2014). Southern Africa encounters a vast number of international population movements (McDonald, 2000). This was established from a study by IOM (2017) that South Africa has accommodated about four million migrants.
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