Large numbers of migrants enter South Africa legally and illegally in search of a better life, personal safety and security (Pretorius, 2004:1). The research study explored and described experiences of refugees and asylum seekers in the host country, the challenges they encountered in the process of integration regarding families in their country of origin and their “new” families in the host country, the strategies they employed to get recognition even if it led to being involved in fraudulent activities. The research has also explored the impact of laws in the lives of refugees and asylum seekers for example the Refugee Act (Act 130 of 1998), the Immigration Act (Act 13 of 2002), the 1969 OAU Convention and the 1951 United Nations Convention. A qualitative research approach was used to frame the study, which employed an exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design so as to understand challenges experienced by refugees and asylum seekers. The sample for the study was a purposively selected sample recruited using the snowball sampling technique. As a means of collecting data semi-structured interviews were utilized. The eight steps as stipulated by Tesch (in Creswell, 1994) were used to analyse data. To ensure trustworthiness the four criteria as suggested by Guba (in Krefting, 1991) were applied, namely truth-value, applicability, consistency and neutrality. The findings and recommendations are made available by means of a research report The research findings were centered on the following themes: (1) Refugees and asylum seekers articulate a range of reasons behind the decision to leave their home country. (2) Refugees and asylum seekers express negative experiences regarding leaving their country of origin. (3) Refugees and asylum seekers experience a range of feelings as they enter the host country (4) Refugees and asylum seekers report that they and their families experience a number of challenges as a result of relocation (5) Refugees and asylum seekers employ negative and positive strategies to cope with challenges of relocation (6) Suggestions made by refugees and asylum seekers concerning the involvement of Social Workers (7) Suggestions made by refugees/asylum seekers to Home Affairs in terms of improving services to refugees and asylum seekers Substance findings: the results emerged from the data collected through the themes and sub-themes identified during data analysis. Conclusions and recommendations: Based on the findings conclusions were drawn and recommendations proposed from the findings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:9999 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Sibula, Nontutuzelo Rosemary |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Health Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | ii, 102 leaves ; 31 cm, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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