A Mixed Reception: Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa

The document examines two distinct waves of forced migration to South Africa. Mozambican refugees of the 1980s faced a complex legal status, initially remaining illegal despite support from the Gazankulu homeland, and continue to face a gap between their legal residency and social practice. In contrast, Congolese refugees are characterized as a predominantly young, urban, middle-class group with higher education levels who have experienced significant socio-economic decline, with high unemployment and a reliance on unskilled informal work, while remaining socially isolated within defensive ethnic networks.

• Mozambican refugees fleeing civil war in the 1980s (estimated between 250,000 and 350,000 people) occupied an ambivalent legal position; they were de facto legal within the Gazankulu homeland but risked arrest and deportation if they entered South Africa proper.
• Despite gaining permanent residence status by mid-2000 and access to social grants by the end of 2004, Mozambican refugees face a persistent gap where state officials often refuse to recognize their identity documents and local governments deny their villages infrastructure.
• Congolese refugees in South Africa are predominantly young, urban, and middle-class, with nearly 50% possessing tertiary education, yet they have suffered a severe reversal of status: unemployment rose from 4% in the DRC to 29% in South Africa.
• The majority of Congolese refugees are engaged in unskilled work, such as street vending and car guarding, with a mean monthly income of R618 and a median of R500, while remaining socially isolated in defensive ethnic networks.

APA

Steinberg, J. (2005). A Mixed Reception: Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/01-jun-2005-monograph-no-117-a-mixed-reception-mozambican-and-congolese-refugees-in-south-africa-jonny-steinberg/executive-summary

Chicago

Steinberg, Jonny. A Mixed Reception: Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa. Institute for Security Studies, 2005. https://issafrica.org/01-jun-2005-monograph-no-117-a-mixed-reception-mozambican-and-congolese-refugees-in-south-africa-jonny-steinberg/executive-summary.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Steinberg |first1=Jonny |title=A Mixed Reception: Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=1 June 2005 |url=https://issafrica.org/01-jun-2005-monograph-no-117-a-mixed-reception-mozambican-and-congolese-refugees-in-south-africa-jonny-steinberg/executive-summary |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{steinberg2005mixed, author = {Steinberg, Jonny}, title = {{A Mixed Reception: Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2005}, month = jun, url = {https://issafrica.org/01-jun-2005-monograph-no-117-a-mixed-reception-mozambican-and-congolese-refugees-in-south-africa-jonny-steinberg/executive-summary}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }