Abstract:
The United Nations estimated in 2016 that there were about 244 million
international migrants and 740 million internally displaced (intra-national)
people, including children (UN 2016). Despite these substantial numbers, child
and youth migration - although closely connected to injustices such as
xenophobia, poverty, exploitation, social discrimination, and human trafficking – this has received little scholarly attention in Africa. This article first
highlights the different approaches and a range of disciplinary perspectives,
objectives, methods and theoretical underpinnings which characterise the
discipline of children and youth migration studies and then draws from
participatory observations as an embedded case study to explore the identity
navigation experiences of five young migrants, two of them (Lisa and Joshua)1
engaged, through symbols/artefacts of cultural development for migrant
children and youth in their quest for identity and belonging in new
communities. In the last section, the paper employs the bi-acculturation theory
to highlight formation processes for migrant adolescents as embodied in
fashion and hairstyling practices, language/accent/naming, food cultures, and
religious association and music. The article concludes that these symbolic practices are intricately interwoven with the lived experiences of young
migrants, and their quest for identity and belonging in South Africa.
