Seeking asylum in South Africa : the experiences of migrants from the central African economic and monetary region (CEMAC)

Abstract

This study examined the experiences of migrants from the Central Africa region during the process of seeking asylum in South Africa. The process creates social insecurities, which are referred to as inadequate access to social services. The objectives of this study were to establish the connection between asylum seeking and the deprivation of social services concerned (creation of social insecurities). This study was based on a qualitative research method and a descriptive case study of the migrants from the Central Africa region. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with 21 asylum seekers interviewed and four lawyers from the nongovernmental organization, Lawyers for Human Rights. Participant observation on the experiences of asylum seekers at the Marabastad refugee reception centre in Pretoria also formed part of the primary data sources for the research. To the best of the researcher?s knowledge, no research on asylum-seekers? social wellbeing in South Africa has been conducted with a specific focus on the Central Africa region. Therefore, this provided the motivation for the study. The study also aimed to add to existing literature on research concerning refugees and asylum seekers and asylum-seeking processes. The study shows that protracted delays in processing asylum applications by the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa, the prioritization of national security by the South African state, the closures of refugee reception centres and the requirement of identification documents by social service providers create extensive human insecurities against asylum seekers by depriving them of access to social services. The study concludes that the process of seeking asylum in South Africa is a machinery that produces human insecurities (social insecurities) against asylum seekers, despite being a process that is meant to protect them.