The majority, who are from rural areas of the southern provinces, without formal education and qualifications, enter South Africa illegally and without documentation. In recent years, however, the demand for foreign mining labor has declined, particularly after the end of the apartheid regime. I sought to explore how Mozambicans living in Durban achieve economic and social integration into city life.
I investigated the social and economic mechanisms that facilitate or prevent the integration of Mozambicans into the life of the city. The perceived role of the state in the process of economic and social integration can be linked to the issue of citizenship. Mobility as a survival strategy will be considered in terms of the increase in cross-border mobility between the two countries.
This research, however, was limited to examining the processes Mozambicans in Durban use to achieve a certain level of economic and social integration. One of the paths to economic and social integration is based on the activation of informal networks.
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF MIGRATION LITERATURE SURVEY
The state continues in the twenty-first century to be the most important role player and guardian of political, social and economic interests. Information about the countries to which people intend to migrate is available in the microstructures of communities. In the sub-Saharan region, state influence on migration is exemplified by the policies adopted by South Africa and its neighboring countries.
The acquisition of citizenship by migrant workers can be one of the means towards economic and social integration. All these questions can be used as indicators of the level of economic and social integration, which in many cases has included the informal economic sector. This also explains the fact that many immigrants have sought 'refuge', in many cases successfully, in the informal sector of the economy.
The informal sector can be considered as one of the elements that influence migration processes. Some popular movements in the precolonial phase were associated with slavery and tribal wars (Breytenbach, 1979:1). The state's involvement in the regulation of migrant workers had a huge economic impact on the economies of all countries involved.
In the case of Lesotho, for example, 81 percent of the adult population has been to South Africa.
MOZAMBICAN LABOUR MIGRATION TO SOUTH AFRICA
The second most represented Mozambican province in Durban is Inhambane, with 24% of the total participants. According to this study, Mozambican men living and working in Durban make up 78% of the total participants. The findings of this research show that 22% of the sample of Mozambicans living and working in Durban are women.
7This refers to the Mozambicans who have remained in Durban even after the end of the civil war. It has been found that the majority of Mozambicans living and working in Durban are from rural areas where migration has been perceived as part of the culture. Migration is usually an informed decision, and the majority of respondents in this study aimed for a specific destination.
32% of the total sample entered South Africa with the help of friends and 40% were assisted by relatives who had settled in Durban. As shown in the graph, 58% of the sample noted that they were self-employed. Long-term resident Mozambicans are among the informal sector employers that accommodate some of the new arrivals.
Despite this increase, the majority (62%) of respondents still live and work in Durban as undocumented and illegal migrants. It can be concluded that the majority of respondents in this study do not intend to spend the rest of their lives in South Africa. Although the majority of respondents in this study do not consider South Africa their home and will eventually return to Mozambique, they are reasonably satisfied in Durban.
The majority of the respondents in this research, as I have shown, showed no intention of staying permanently in Durban. A significant 96% of the sample indicated that they stay in contact with their families in Mozambique by telephone. Most of the respondents in this research (60%) indicate that they usually send their money and goods through friends (22%) who travel on cross-border minibus taxis (also know aschapa).
The success of cross-border trade among respondents is based on mutual assistance. Due to the need for survival, most of them are employed in the informal sector of the economy and are mostly self-employed.
CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Nevertheless, the majority of them are involved in the informal sector where they work as street vendors, cross-border traders, itinerant traders, beauticians, barbers, car mechanics and builders. The majority of respondents make use of the networks, which are based on social capital. Despite the fact that economic and social networks among the respondents of this research are highly developed, there is no evidence of strong formal organizations in Mozambican society.
The respondents of this study strongly believe that South Africa currently offers better economic opportunities as a result of the informal sector. The old economic and social ties between the two countries create a firm belief among migrants and would-be migrants that they will eventually succeed in different parts of the host country. During the course of the research, it became apparent that a further dimension of the issue of integration can be found in the activities of cross-border migrants, a group whose activities were not directly considered when the study was framed.
Cross-border movements are part of the survival strategies adopted by some of the respondents in this study. This process is facilitated by corrupt officials at border crossings or access to both sides of the border by bypassing the controls of both countries. The research showed that the mobility of people and goods between South Africa and Mozambique is steadily increasing.
No attempt was made in this study to determine exactly the number of Mozambicans entering Durban, either legally or illegally, but it can be said with some degree of confidence that illegal migrants or those living and working in outskirts of the city, there are more than are there legally. Although the respondents were largely in the city illegally, they earned an honest living, especially in the informal economy where they are mainly active. The informal sector, in which most of the participants in this study are engaged, makes an important contribution to the South African economy.
This number has since increased due to the high mobility characteristic of the 21st century and also because the formal sector has not taken into account undocumented migrants. The number of Mozambicans entering the city illegally as job seekers or as traders is likely to increase further because most of the people involved have no other alternatives. Although the majority of participants lack sufficient skills at the time of their entry, these are acquired along the way.
Some of the areas in Durban where Mozambicans can be found
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