Somali refugees living in South Africa are the most recent targets of xenophobic attacks in African townships across the country. However, who are these new immigrant entrepreneurs? This report presents material from research on Somalis living and working in small shops in Mayfair, Gauteng. From their various reasons for leaving Somalia, the report explored their experiences of settling into the host country. The study looked at the experiences and challenges they meet while in Johannesburg. The study considered also the reasons why Somali refugees seem to be the primary target of xenophobia in South Africa. The research was based on interviews that were conducted with Somali refugees. The study considered the livelihoods of Somalis living in Mayfair. It explored the issue of clans that divide the Somali community. It also explored how these refugees access their legal documentation, health care and education in the country of asylum. The Somali community seems to be united however due to different clans that are found here in Johannesburg the study showed that they are not homogeneous. Somali refugees experience so many challenges in trying to make a living. They come to South Africa for safety and protection only to find that their lives are in danger just as it is in Somalia. They mostly involve in informal sector and this has made them become primary target of crime especially in poverty stricken areas. Somali refugees work and live in informal settlements where they face a lot of hardships. Moreover, Somali refugees experience a host of challenges because they lack integration in the local community. The study also looked into the Refugee Act that stipulates that safety and basic services should be provided to all including refugees; however, in reality this has not been implemented because Somali refugees face a host of constraints in accessing those services.

A dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree at the African Centre for Migration and Society, Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, February 2017 / In Johannesburg, the Somali migrant community has set up businesses in Mayfair. Mayfair is a suburb situated on the western side of Johannesburg’s original central business district, and has gradually witnessed a process of urban change and transformation outside the regulations of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan. Based on the regulations of the area, 8th Avenue is zoned for residential use. However, at the moment, the area has witnessed radical changes, which have seen people engage in many unplanned activities. Such developments have not gone unnoticed by the City of Johannesburg’s Urban Planning officials, who argue that the area is zoned for residential purposes and laws have to be adhered to before the space is altered from residential to business use. However, the Somali business migrants in the area continue change the residential component of the area, despite the laws against such construction. The research report looks at how Somalis in Mayfair continue to change the 8th Avenue area, despite the City of Johannesburg’s restrictions around the use of space as business. Engaging in this concept of human-non-human interaction, derived from Actor Network Theory (ANT), the research explains how materials and artefacts of the city, in this case, land use regulatory tools, assist in regulating social and spatial conduct, and human activities. In what then follows, the research traces how Somali migrants of Mayfair interact with the City of Johannesburg’s urban management and planning practices through the movement of written materials that challenge urban management and usage. The research also illustrates, using de Certau’s theory on strategies and tactics, how bureaucratic actions (through written documents) divide the city residents as well as city planners to create certain alliances, as well as tactics in the development of Mayfair. The research finally shows, using Lefebvre’s theory of the right to the city, how Somalis migrants take possession of space and use the concept of the right to the city, as urban inhabitants, instead of relying on their right as refugees or asylum seekers. Keywords: Migration, Somalis, Mayfair, City of Johannesburg, Urban space, appropriation, negotiation, written documents / GR2018