A Mixed Reception

This research paper introduction reviews the literature on two distinct waves of forced migration to South Africa: Mozambicans fleeing civil war in the 1980s and people from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) arriving from the early 1990s onwards. The author contrasts the social profiles and legal contexts of these two groups while highlighting a persistent pattern of xenophobia and a gap between formal legal rights and social practice in South Africa.

• The migration of Mozambicans to South Africa in the 1980s primarily involved the rural peasantry who fled due to the violent disruption of human settlement in their home districts. These refugees typically settled in South Africa's poorest rural areas.
• Migration from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to South Africa, beginning in the early 1990s, consists mainly of young, urban, middle-class individuals. Nearly 50% have tertiary education, and the majority have settled in large metropolitan inner-city areas, driven by persecution, instability, and the collapse of the DRC's educational and vocational systems.
• The legal status of refugees shifted significantly between the two migratory waves. Mozambicans in the late apartheid era were denied formal refugee status and lived in a 'juridical twilight zone' in Gazankulu and KaNgwane, facing arrest and deportation. In contrast, DRC migrants arriving from the late 1990s entered a constitutional democracy where the 1998 Refugee Act granted them rights similar to citizens, including the right to work, study, and self-settle.
• Despite the improvement in legal protections, there is a consistent history of inhospitable reception and xenophobia toward foreigners in South Africa. A significant gap exists between de jure legal rights and de facto social practice, where state officials, employers, and neighbors continue to treat migrants as 'illegal'.

APA

Steinberg, J. (2005). A Mixed Reception. 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/introduction

Chicago

Steinberg, Jonny. A Mixed Reception. 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/introduction.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Steinberg |first1=Jonny |title=A Mixed Reception |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/introduction |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{steinberg2005mixed, author = {Steinberg, Jonny}, title = {{A Mixed Reception}}, 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/introduction}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }