Border Jumping and Migration Control in Southern Africa (EPUB) von Francis Musoni

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

Introduction: A Site of Contestations: The Zimbabwe-South Africa Border and Illegal[ized] Movements Across it

1. Colonial Statecraft and the Rise of Border Jumping

2. Promoting Illegality: South Africa's Ban on "Tropical Natives"

3. Border Jumping and the Politics of Labor

4. Apartheid, African Liberation Struggles and the Securitization of Cross-Limpopo Mobility

5. Crossing the Boundary Fence: The Zimbabwe Crisis and the Surge in Border Jumping

Conclusion: The Past in the Present: Border Jumping as a Legacy of the European Partition of Africa

Bibliography

Index

With the end of apartheid rule in South Africa and the ongoing economic crisis in Zimbabwe, the border between these Southern African countries has become one of the busiest inland ports of entry in the world. As border crossers wait for clearance, crime, violence, and illegal entries have become rampant. Francis Musoni observes that border jumping has become a way of life for many of those who live on both sides of the Limpopo River and he explores the reasons for this, including searches for better paying jobs and access to food and clothing at affordable prices. Musoni sets these actions into a framework of illegality. He considers how countries have failed to secure their borders, why passports are denied to travelers, and how border jumping has become a phenomenon with a long history, especially in Africa. Musoni emphasizes cross-border travelers' active participation in the making of this history and how clandestine mobility has presented opportunity and creative possibilities for those who are willing to take the risk.

Francis Musoni is Associate Professor of History at the University of Kentucky