Abstract
This research report examines the relationship between legal status
and national identity formation. It is based on a qualitative
research of former refugees from Mozambique who have lived
and settled in the Northern Province of South Africa now called
Limpopo province in the border areas with Mozambique for over
twenty years. The report compares the narratives of former
Mozambican refugees in South Africa who have acquired
permanent residence and citizenship with those that are
undocumented. The distinction between undocumented and
documented former refugees allows me to look at the role of
access to services in identity formation, since most government
services in South Africa, as elsewhere, are not accessible without
legal documentation. Since most services are, however, accessible
for both permanent residents and citizens, the distinction between
these two statuses allow me to explore whether there is a more
symbolic meaning attached to citizenship. Drawing from
citizenship theory, variations in the attachment to South Africa or
Mozambique that emerged in the research data are analysed in
terms of the refugees’ experience of social inclusion or social
exclusion norms. The benefits of social inclusion and how it
shapes positive attitudes towards attaching to South Africa is
discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/4836 |
| Date | 16 May 2008 |
| Creators | Ng'andu, Brian Mutale |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 394374 bytes, 48491 bytes, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
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