Exploring Nigerian migrants/foreign nationals’ experiences of violence, safety and security in Durban, South Africa

Abstract (English)

The security and safety problems of migrants and or foreign nationals (hereafter referred to as foreign nationals) in South Africa in the twenty-first century can be traced back to the 2008 xenophobic violence that made global headlines. It was a time of extreme fear and uncertainty for foreign nationals especially those living in informal settlements and less resourced neighborhoods. The extreme nature of the xenophobic violence and concomitant consequences spurred a small cohort of scholars to undertake some xenophobic related research. However, their research does not focus on inter-ethnic violence between foreign nationals. Thus, the current study aims to contribute to the existing body of research through exploring inter-ethnic nuances among Nigerian foreign nationals living in Durban and how it provides a catalyst for violent confrontations, subsequently undermining their rights to a safe and secure climate. The study adopted Semi-Structured Interviews (SI) to generate data from 10 participants. The generated data demonstrates that nuances between Nigerians along the lines of ethnicity instigates various forms of violence. This violence manifests in the form of

physical torture involving the use of machetes and knives to stab or hack victims; physical beating with objects like stones and iron strings; and death through shooting or dismemberment. Data also showed that, Nigerian foreign nationals involved in altercations often take advantage of the economic vulnerability of South African street urchins commonly referred to as “izigebengu” or “Paras” who accept small amounts of money to carry out most of the violent confrontations. The data also showed that, the lack of response and the discriminatory attitudes posed by law enforcement officers in attending to the internal safety and security of Nigerian foreign nationals’ act against international humanitarian best practices and lends credence to other prevailing odds such as underreported violent experiences. The study recommends a large scale quantitative study to understand safety needs of foreign nationals in general and Nigerians in particular.