Navigating changing cultural landscapes : a quest for identity and belonging among migrant adolescents in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

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.