‘I miss working’: migrants speak about life after leaving South Africa
Migrants who recently left South Africa following social unrest and repatriation efforts share their struggles with unemployment and loss of financial independence. Many express a desire to return to South Africa if they can secure legal status and safety.
Why it matters
This highlights the human impact of migration policies and xenophobic tensions on regional labor markets and individual livelihoods.
It has been a little over a month since thousands of foreigners were forced out of South Africa, causing disruptions to their lives.
Many were forced to remove their children from school mid-year and abandon their sources of income.
Sunday Times caught up with three foreigners from different countries, who share their daily struggles.
Enock Msiska, a 24-year-old Malawian who lived for just under three years in Pretoria, said he is happy to be with his family, but misses having the financial independence that allowed him to provide for his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
Although he had no formal employment in South Africa as he was in the country illegally, he said the little he made from gardening and washing cars enabled him to provide for his family and gave them financial security.
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