CHAPTER 7: AFRICAN MIGRANTS’ NETWORKS WITH SOUTH AFRICANS
7.6. Spaces of interaction
7.6.4. Friendship ties
The study also explored the existence and nature of friendship ties between Nigerian migrants and South Africans. The respondents were asked if they had mostly, few or no South Africans as friends; the table below shows their responses.
Table 7.5: Migrants’ friendship ties with South Africans
Class
Mostly South African Friends
Few South African Friends
No South African Friends Middle class
females 7 2 0
Middle class
males 6 3 0
Working class
females 4 4 1
Working class
males 2 4 3
The findings show that the majority of the migrants had mostly South Africans as members of their state ties network. Of the 36 migrants sampled, 19 (53%) stated that they had mostly South African friends. As Table 7.2 above shows, the females from both class groups had more South Africans as friends than the males. The females summed up to 11 (31%), more than the eight (22%) males.
When this data was cross-checked against migrants’ duration of stay in South Africa, it was found that those that had been living in the country for a longer period of time had more South Africa friends. Of the group which had mostly South African friends, 18 had resided in
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South Africa for eight years or more. They consisted of three working class females, two working class males, seven middle class females and six middle class males. Only one working class female from this group had resided in South Africa for between four and seven years. Those with few South African friends consisted of eight Nigerians who had resided in South Africa for four to seven years. They included one middle class female, one middle class male, four working class females and two working class males. In addition, four of those with few South African friends, comprising two middle class males and two working class males, had lived in South Africa for eight years or more. Only one middle class female from this group had resided in the country for three years or less. Those with no South African friends comprised three working class males, of who two had resided in South Africa for four to seven years and one for three years or less. One working class female who had been in the country for three years or less reported that she had no South African friends.
Those with few South African friends consisted of two working class males who had been in the country for four to seven years, and a working class male and working class female who had lived in South Africa for three or less years, and four to seven years, respectively. It is clear that the majority (18 out of 19) of those who had more South African friends within their networks had the longest duration of stay. Eight of the 13 migrants that had few South African friends had resided in the country for four to seven years, while those with no South African friends had been in South Africa for four to seven years or less. Thus, in line with Dominguez and Maya-Jariego’s (2008) findings, the current study shows that duration of residence can influence the formation of ties with members of the host community.
Furthermore, the females in both the middle and working class groups reported that the fact that they had mostly South African friends has to do with the nature of their work and the fact that there are more South Africans around them than other nationalities. For example, according to Tracy from the middle class,
there are more South Africans than other nationality and it is only reasonable that I would have more South African friends. My kind of work makes me see the same people over a long time. These people I see are mostly South Africans. We have to work together and travel together. I can say if my analogy is right (laughs) that it is from this environment that most of my friendship networks are created (Interviewed 08/08/14).
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Joan from the working class adds that,
Well, I make friends with most South Africans because I need to understand the lifestyle here. When I came I was so used to Nigerian food and I didn’t even understand the system here. It is my South African friends that helped me settle down and know my way around. See, I sell African attires both South African and Nigerian. My friend Ntombi introduced me to the suppliers of these goods… In a nut shell, I have more South African friends because I need them for my business to survive (Interviewed 10/08/14).
It is also clear that the nature of friendship ties that exist within the migrants’ networks is gendered. This is consistent with Miguel and Tranmer’s (2009: 11) study that found that more host members were present in the social networks of female immigrants than in those of their male counterparts. They argue that this is the case because the environment in which female migrants interact with members of the host community is usually a more relaxed setting compared to the restrictive and formal environment of the males (Miguel and Tranmer 2009). However, irrespective of gender, networks with host communities are paramount to migrants’ integration, whether economically or socially. Joan’s encounter exemplifies this reality. This is in line with Berry’s (1997) work which showed that extending migrants’ networks to include members of the host community enables their successful integration.
However, South Africans did not dominate all the migrant respondents’ friendship ties.
Thirteen (36%) of these migrants reported that, while they had South African friends, they were outnumbered by their Nigerian friends. Nedu, a working class male, responded that
I think the reason why I have very few South African friends is because they find it difficult trusting me. Once they know that I’m a Nigerian they immediately change their attitude towards me… But this does not mean the few ones I have are not important. They are very important. My best friend is among the lot; my girlfriend is also one of them. I just have more Nigerian friends maybe too many (Interviewed 29/12/14).
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In addition, four (11%) of the migrants, all from the working class, stated that they have no South African friends. Asked why this was the case, they cited cultural differences and South Africans’ stereotypes of Nigerians. Musa asks,
how can we be friends to (with) people that do not love us? They see us as criminals and backward people because we cannot click our tongue or speak their language. My friends are people from other countries, like Congo, Rwanda and Cameroon. Because they understand we are brothers, we are Africans. South Africans are only brothers to those who speak their language (Interviewed 15/05/14).
Both Nedu and Musa’s contact with South Africans influenced the nature of their friendship ties. Nedu had few South Africans friends and Musa had none because of the stereotypes held by both groups. These stereotypes made them perceive the other as inferior, thereby propagating the “us” and “them” divide. This clearly shows that when equal status is lacking in intergroup contact, prejudice tends to evolve (Pettigrew and Tropp 2006).
The study also explored whether migrants that had friendship ties with South Africans obtained any form of support from their friends within their networks and investigated if this support enabled their integration. It found that the migrants received various forms of support from their South African friends. These were classified as financial and emotional support.
Only two (6%) migrants with South African friends within their network stated that they had not received support from them. The other 30 (83%) stated that they had received either financial or emotional support and in some cases both. The figure below illustrates the type of support received by the migrants.
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Figure 7.9: Nature of support from South African friendship ties
The middle class group received more emotional than financial support. This took the form of advice, care, consolation and friendly gestures to make them feel comfortable.
According to Wale from the working class,
My South African friends are like my backbone in this country. They have become family. Most decisions that I make are a reflection of their various views on the subject (Interviewed 16/08/14).
Those in the middle class who stated that they received financial support described this as loans for businesses, jobs and information regarding their various investments or careers.
Conversely, among the working class group, financial support was rated higher than emotional support. However, the difference between emotional and financial support was quite minimal. Migrants among this group described financial assistance as shelter, jobs, money, food and clothing. Emotional assistance was described as advice, concern, affection and warmth. It is evident that although the level of support among those with South African friends differed, irrespective of class, the majority of the migrants gained some form of social capital from members of the host community. As it is an on-going process, such support promotes their economic and social integration into the host community. This is consistent with Dominguez and Maya-Jariego’s (2008) study that found that the heterogeneity of migrants’ networks due to the presence of members of the host community not only leads to the development of support relationships that foster their integration but also promotes
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
middle class male
middle class female
working class male
working class female
Emotional support 6 9 6 9
Financial support 2 3 8 8
number of migrants
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acculturation. By implication, friendship ties led to acculturation which blurs social boundaries. Similarly as Macy et al’s (2003) study shows, the more diversity there is amongst people who interact, the more similar they perceive themselves to be and this leads to the development of homophily amongst them. The current study’s findings show the presence of homophily in the friendship ties between these different groups of different nationalities. Despite their nationalities, through frequent and sustained interaction, these groups soon discover that they are sufficiently similar to sustain a relationship and this takes homophily in a new direction. This point is linked to the notion of the unboundedness of culture. As noted earlier, it is not feasible to contain culture in order to maintain homogeneity (Bhabha 2009). This implies that culture is an ever-developing plane, and it is possible that cultural differences among diverse groups can dissolve into a broader sense of similarity. As Bostanci (2009: 2) puts it, “culture is a continually developing performance and cannot, as such, be seen as an absolute or essential entity…”