Migration is a continuous process in an increasingly globalized world and African migrants have for a long time migrated to Europe mostly for economic reasons. Due to biased reporting of life in Europe by both western and African media as well as half-truths by Africans living in Europe who seldom tell the whole story of their lives abroad; a lot of African migrants arrive in Europe with a very idealistic image. African migrants thereby risk a lot in pursuit of a better life in Europe. When they finally arrive, a lot of their idealistic expectations are not met, forcing them to be filled with regret and the wish that they had known the full truth before migrating. This study examines an online platform (Surprising Europe’s website), that connects African migrants by inviting them to share stories about their migration experiences in an effort to better inform those intending to migrate. The use of interviews of the producers to better understand the project as well as their intentions, and a narrative analysis of all the 30 articles on the website are analysed. The results indicate that the danger of telling one sided stories contribute to the existing narrative of a western idealistic image of “gold lying on the streets”; as well as an illustration of the authors exhibiting a transformation from people who were formerly Surprising Europe’s audience, now constructing narratives in a collaborative way with the producers. The website therefore demonstrates how an online platform for mediated communication can be used to offer fragmented identities as well as a sense of belonging, offering a voice to the previously voiceless despite their migration status.

This thesis acts as an initial attempt to investigate how the relationship between one’s generational belonging, educational level, gender and membership in a variety of organizations on the matter of vertical and horizontal trust vary with one’s primary country of origin. Building on data from Riks-SOM 2014, it is shown that one’s primary country of origin not seem to have a unique effect on several of our selected variables on trust. Despite some variation amongst the variables, the results provide a picture of what in previous literature has been described as prosperous traits for the accumulation of trust amongst individuals still are of relevance within in the contemporary Swedish society. The primary focus is thus to be found at a micro-level. Also, the results show that the effect of one’s primary country of origin on our predictor variables is weaker than initially expected, leading to the rejection of some of our hypotheses. This does not indicate the absence of a trust-gap amongst Swedish citizens, as some results provide strength to such claims. However, the central point this thesis wishes to bring forth concerns that contemporary policy-makers should put its focus on promoting the importance of education post-high school level, and membership in certain organizations if the aim is to increase and promote trust for all within our contemporary Swedish society, as the logistic regression analyses here presented tells us a story of that such traits are beneficial for the accumulation of trust.

Student Number : 9201317D - MA research report - School of Journalism and Media Studies - Faculty of Humanities / Johannesburg has seen a significant increase in its Ethiopian born population since the end of apartheid, which mirrors global patterns of cities being the primary destinations of international migrants. In addition the city is considered instrumental in shaping South Africa’s media landscape. It is this juncture between media and migration which forms the theoretical basis of this study, as they both recognise the work of the imagination. This study explores the local particularities and stylistic features of media consumption patterns of Ethiopian migrants in Johannesburg and the relationship this has with articulating their self-understanding. It argues that South African media informs the bulk of the Ethiopian migrant media experience and as a result it contributes in assisting their integration into Johannesburg society. On the other hand, South African media also plays an active part in enforcing the respondents’ sense of social exclusion, as the media highlights South African behaviours which they find offensive (such as xenophobia). In this way, Ethiopian migrant narratives and the ways in which they consume media serves both to rationalise their choice of leaving ‘home’ and the state of permanent transit in which they live.

A dissertation submitted to the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medicine by research and dissertation. 07 June 2016 / Introduction: Migrant farm workers in South Africa are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection for a multitude of reasons, including a lack of access to health services and to health information. Social norms on the farms, including an acceptance of multiple concurrent sexual partners and transactional sex both for comfort and material gain, tend to worsen women's powerlessness to manage effectively their sexual reproductive health. High levels of stigma also mean that the risks of HIV infection cannot easily be spoken about, further increasing vulnerability. The Hlokomela project sought to use participatory communication processes to empower peer communicators on the farms to engage farm workers in regular, structured discussions on HIV /AIDS and other health and wellness related matters, including difficult conversations around gender inequity. The making of a collective identity for the project was one of these participatory processes. Its novelty in this setting warranted research to answer the question "How does (or does) the collective making of a project identity help to promote health on the farms of Hoedspruit?". Aim: The aim of the research was to describe and analyse the role of collective identitymaking in the Hlokomela project, an intervention to address vulnerability to HIV among migrant and seasonal farm workers in Hoedspruit, Limpopo province, South Africa. The study aimed also to propose and further develop, in the light of Findings, a conceptual framework which would help to explain the effects of the various elements of collective identity-making. Methods: The research is a qualitative study of the collective identity-making component of the Hlokomela health project. Elements of a grounded theory approach were adopted in the three successive data collection site visits, enabling progressive coding of the data as the collection occurred. Data was collected through two Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with Nompilos (farm worker volunteer peer communicators and care givers) and two FGDs with Gingirikani (farm worker volunteer peer communicators chosen by Nompilos and farm workers to be their deputies on the farms, to facilitate purposive dialogues and thus increase reach). There were also 10 individual in-depth interviews with other key stakeholders and three small group interviews (2-3 respondents) with Hlokomela managers and co-ordinators. All interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and where necessary translated into English from Xitsonga and Sepedi. The voices of those most directly affected by the intervention formed the basis for coding and analysis. Findings: The development of the collective identity through participatory processes was found to enhance engagement with and among farm workers. This was due to the project's perceived pertinence and local ownership. The collective identity was seen to be relevant and expressing a farm worker reality. Farm workers generally described feeling affirmed, seeing themselves projected into a public space that had hitherto not been open to them. And also in particular, the agents of the project – the Nompilos and their "deputies" the Gingirikani – described at length how being associated with Hlokomela gave them the authority and credentials to work with farm workers on sensitive matters, including establishing a set of values and norms which would be health-protective but which also involved a shift in what was considered possible and desirable. There was furthermore a sense of belonging to the project, not only on the part of the primary "beneficiaries" – farm workers – but also of other stakeholders, including farm owners/managers, municipal office bearers, and local health workers. This bridging social capital further augmented the project's capacity to reach farm workers by, for example, enabling access in working time on the farms, by donations in money and in kind by the local community, and by making visible and normal what hitherto had been hidden – particularly in terms of gender equity and a softening of hegemonic masculinities. Farm workers could take the lead, and women could take the lead also. Conclusions: The collective identity-making work of Hlokomela had aided the project's agents to nurture a new possible, founded in a slightly altered set of values and norms, which had the potential to reduce vulnerability to HIV infection. The elaboration of a social institution, largely in the symbolic space, had authorised the project's agents, in their own eyes as well as those of their peers, to carry out their often difficult work of facilitating regular dialogues on hitherto rarely broached topics, including gender relations and risky sexual behaviour. The findings indicate a need for further research into the cost effectiveness and replicability of this kind of identity work in similar projects, perhaps with the addition of quantitative assessments of the extent of projects' reach through collective identity work as well as the value of collateral beneficial effects to participants in resource poor settings. / MT2016

Depuis la fin des années 1990, on assiste de plus en plus à l’arrivée en nombre important des enfants étrangers sur le territoire français et européen. Ils viennent de tous les continents et personne ne détient sur eux l’autorité parentale. Un phénomène sans précédent dans l’histoire de l’immigration européenne qui attise des tensions entre les pouvoirs publics et les associations de défense de droits de l’enfant. Le statut de ces mineurs isolés sur le territoire national demeure flou et leur intégration ressemble plus à ce que les associations qualifient de« parcours de combattant ». Relativement protégés par leur minorité, ils ne peuvent sereinement envisager de poursuivre ni un projet scolaire adapté, ni une insertion professionnelle fiable si leur situation administrative n’a pas été régularisée avant d’atteindre l’âge de 18 ans.En suivant le parcours institutionnel d’une dizaine des jeunes pendant près de 5 ans, cette thèse analyse le profil des jeunes migrants, les atouts et écueils de leur prise en charge dans une société d’accueil en pleine mutation législative, institutionnelle et sociétale. L’étude reconstitue, questionne et analyse les enjeux de parcours et de construction de vie pour les mineurs d’une part, les défis d’accompagnement de ce public pour les acteurs sociaux et institutionnels de l’autre. Enfin, cette thèse interroge et analyse également les pratiques belges relatives à l’accueil et à la prise en charge de ces enfants, permettant ainsi une comparaison des réponses apportées par les deux pays à la situation de ce public / Since the end of the 1990’s, we more and more attend to the arrival in huge numbers of foreign children on the French and European territory. They come from all continents and no one detains on them parental authority. An unprecedent phenomenon in the European immigration history which whips up tensions between authorities and defence associations of children’s rights.The status of these isolated minors on the national territory remains fuzzy and their integration is like more of what is qualified as an « obstacle course » by the associations. Relatively protected by their minority, they can’t ensure positively to carry on with neither an appropriate school project, nor a reliable professional insertion if their administrative situation hasn’t been regularised before they turn age 18. By following the institutional path of about ten youths for nearly 5 years, this thesis analyses the profile of young migrants, assets and pitfalls taken care in a society in legislative, institutional and societal transition.The study reconstructs, questions and analyses path’s stakes and life construction for minors on one hand, support challenges of this population for social actors and institutionals on the other hand. In short, this thesis interrogates and analyses too Belgian practices relating to receiving and caring for these children, thus enabling a comparison with answers brought by both countries to the situation of this public.

Poles comprise the largest group of migrants in Scotland. The Scottish Government’s plan has been to attract and retain them to counter the issues of Scotland’s aging population and insufficient labour force, as well as to promote cultural diversity and tolerance (Scottish Government, 2013). However, research on Polish migrants’ experiences suggests that there is a discrepancy between the rhetoric of retaining migrants in a tolerant and inclusive society and the reality, in which Poles tend not to integrate with the local communities and to work below their skill-set and education level (Kobialka, 2016). This is clearly detrimental to the aforementioned government goal of ensuring their emotional and financial well-being and sense of belonging. The existing, and predominantly sociolinguistic, research attributes these issues almost exclusively to the migrants’ “little knowledge of English” (Weishaar, 2008: 1252), whilst overlooking findings from social psychology that suggest that there is more to a person’s ‘relationship’ with the language than just proficiency. These findings suggest that one’s self-concept, or the sum of beliefs about him/herself, is strongly connected to language and may influence his/her everyday decisions and behaviour (Rubio, 2014). Thus, this current study investigated the experiences of Polish migrants in Scotland from this under-researched perspective, focusing on the relationship between the migrants’ self-concept and the English language, referred to as English Language Identity (ELI), as a concept potentially playing a central part in the migrants’ experiences. Gaining an understanding of the migrants’ ELI was believed to be crucial, in order to determine ways of preparing future learners of English to face their potential migration experience with confidence and high self-esteem. In this longitudinal mixed methods study, 20 Polish migrants were interviewed twice and they each submitted electronic journals, in which they reflected on their language-related experiences. Additionally, the findings were validated through a structured questionnaire completed by 378 respondents in the final stage of the study. The data analysis revealed that the participants’ ELI was a dynamic relationship manifested during social encounters in which they made evaluations of how successfully they managed to express their ‘desired self’, or self-concept, and based these evaluations on their perceptions of the ‘ascribed selves’. The perceived communication failure or success, resulting respectively from discrepancy or match between these selves, influenced the participants’ self-esteem, which, in turn, had an impact on their future behaviour and a range of decisions, including the decision of whether or not to remain in Scotland. This dynamic interplay between the desired and ascribed selves that essentially defined the participants’ ELI was influenced by their self-assessed English competence, beliefs about other people’s perceptions of migrants and their general beliefs about the language and its speakers. The latter, based on the assumption that Native English Speakers (NESs) are linguistic experts and ‘owners’ of the language, influenced the participants’ understanding of communication success/failure and of linguistic ‘correctness’, as well as their self-assessed English competence. These findings, coupled with findings from the fields of social psychology, sociolinguistics and English Language Teaching (ELT), were used to make suggestions for English language classrooms and for general pedagogy in Poland and Scotland to reconsider its content, in order to foster the learners’ self-growth, build their self-esteem and prepare them to recognise and address various forms of prejudice and stereotyping.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / This thesis is an exploratory study of how African international students at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa experience xenophobic attitudes and behaviours, and how they make sense of it. In post-apartheid South Africa, the xenophobia phenomenon has become an intensely debated issue. While numerous researchers have attempted to investigate the forms of xenophobia and the underlying reasons of aggressive behaviour towards foreign migrants in South Africa, very few studies have been done thus far on xenophobia at South African Higher learning institutions. In this research I am interested in finding out whether international students particularly African international students at UWC, encounter xenophobia on campus and outside the academic environment. An Ethnographic study was conducted on and off the UWC campus, which involved participant observation, in-depth one on one interviews, focus group and diaries which were kept by key informants to record their daily experiences. The research participants were ten UWC African international students, who stay on and off campus, from different levels and field of study. The strategy to analyse the data was framed on basis of inductive approach. Moreover, informal discussions were used as a source of data to this study and I also made use of my own experiences as of one of African international students at UWC. The findings pinpoint that xenophobic experiences of African international students inside and outside the university include exclusion, discrimination, verbal abuse, blames and harassments, as well as stereotypes. The findings also show that xenophobic violence is experienced off campus. Although the violence experience was reported by one student out of the research participants, this issue is still pertinent enough to be considered. The central argument of the thesis is that while no violence against foreign African students has been reported from UWC, this does not mean that there would be no instances of xenophobia there. Instead, this research shows that because at higher learning institutions we find mostly people of the social middle classes, xenophobia is expressed in subtle ways through negative attitudes and behaviours towards foreign students.

This thesis examines the complex power structures that underscore the migration and employment of Indonesian women as foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Singapore. The main objective is to highlight the power of individual Indonesian FDWs and the collective power of these women in negotiating these structures of power in the context of a migration study as well as a `resistance' study. I argue that Indonesian FDWs are active agents who exercise individual agency and collective `resistance' in the migration system. As labour migrants they exert power in shaping the nature of the migrant institution. One of the means in which they do so is by perpetuating the informal networks of migration. Individual Indonesian FDWs are also capable of exerting power in circumventing elements of exploitation and domination they encounter during their migration process and employment in Singapore. Crucial to this capability is the ability to have access to a network of agents within the migrant institution. Some Indonesian FDWs are also active in exerting power as a group to present a collective resistance against negative stereotyping of their identities as the immigrant other in Singapore. They do so via a formal religious based social group. This group encourages other Indonesian FDWs to portray the image of the disciplined worker couched within the moralising discourse of Islam by participating in productive activities on rest days. The aim of this is so that Indonesian FDWs can be treated with respect and dignity in Singapore. In general, my data show that Indonesian FDWs as active agents of the migration system do not attempt to challenge the overall structures that underscore their subordination and domination as overseas contract workers (OCWs) in Singapore. / The power exerted by individual Indonesian FDWs is focused at ensuring their continued employment as FDWs under more desirable employment conditions. Their individual agency aimed at improving their work conditions is at a personal level and is based on personal goals that are thus too fragmented to challenge the institutionalised structures of employment. Moreover, my case studies reveal that some Indonesian FDWs endure more restrictive work conditions in order to achieve desirable aspects of working in Singapore. Their collective `resistance' against condescending treatment by the host society project an image of the disciplined FDWs desired by employers, maid agents and Singaporeans. Their subjective ambivalence and the ambivalence in their individual and collective acts of `resistance' in challenging aspects of subordination and domination show the complexity of the power relationships in which they are caught. I draw upon two bodies of theory to provide a framework for my analysis and argument. First, I draw upon the `migrant institution' framework espoused by Goss and Lindquist (1995) that is based on Giddens' structuration theory to illustrate the power exerted by individual Indonesian FDWs within the field of migration studies. I also draw upon Foucault's notion of power as a framework to examine collective ,resistance' displayed by Indonesian FDWs in Singapore. The data presented in the thesis are drawn from two sources, ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Singapore as well as relevant newspaper and other media accounts.

The employment experiences of Tongan women migrants have received little attention in the literature. This study therefore, sought to shed light on the dynamics of their social and economic experiences at paid work in New Zealand. It was guided by the theories of population geographies, feminist geography and postcolonialism. The inter-relationships of these theories provided insights into the influence of migration on these women's identities, ethnicity and gender relations and also how these influence these women's experiences at paid work in New Zealand. The data were drawn from two major sources: i) the New Zealand 2006 population census and ii) in-depth interviews held in Tonga and New Zealand, with greater focus on the interviews. This study revealed that the Tongan women's decisions for migrating to New Zealand were influenced by social rather than economic incentives. Migration has challenged these women's traditional roles and reconstructed their gender relations. Many are breadwinners yet Tongan born men in New Zealand still predominantly engage in the labour force and have higher personal income. Their experiences at paid work also differ from the New Zealand born Tongan women in New Zealand. These differences reflect the availability of their social networks and their familiarity with the socio-economic systems in New Zealand. They experienced successes and failures at paid work on their way to improving their lives in New Zealand.

This research examines the experiences, expectations and concerns of post-war Greek migrants in an interview and focus group setting. The central question of inquiry is whether Australia has been -the lucky country- for Greek migrants after approximately fifty years of living in Australia. Overall, of the total number of Greek migrants who participated in the research, 78% believe Australia is the lucky country, whereas 22% did not. Some of the overall reasons why Greeks believe Australia is not the lucky country include racism, qualifications were not initially recognised, and Greece is now perceived as being economically superior to Australia. Some of the main limitations of the present study include : the small number of subjects recruited, advertisement design, ambiguous definition of the lucky country, and the study was only concentrated in one geographical section of Sydney. Recommendations are included to assist future researchers alleviate some of the problem areas. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)