The Forced Migration Studies Programme announces the release of its newest Migration Policy Brief: Violence, Labour and the Displacement of Zimbabweans in De Doorns, Western Cape
The Migration Policy Brief series is a resource for practitioners and intends to facilitate informed discussion on current issues in relation to migration in Southern Africa.
From 14-17 November 2009, De Doorns, a farming area in Breede Valley Municipality, Western Cape Province, was the scene of violence that resulted in the forceful displacement of an estimated 3000 Zimbabweans and the destruction and looting of their dwellings by their South African neighbours. Thousands of Zimbabweans are still living in a shelter and there is an ongoing process to find solutions to the situation.
This policy brief provides a summarised analysis of causal factors, police responses and solutions adopted and/or proposed in relation to this violence. Our research suggests that many current analyses miss critical causal factors behind the violence and that therefore proposed responses and solutions may be neither appropriate nor durable. Beyond helping to find immediate solutions, this report suggests that the De Doorns violence has broader significance in terms of national patterns of violence against foreign nationals.
Download the Migration Policy Brief here: www.migration.org.za
For further information, contact Jean Pierre Misago, jean.misago@wits.ac.za, 084 258 4992 or Tara Polzer, tara.polzer@wits.ac.za