Emotions of belonging and playing families across borders in sub-saharan Africa

Abstract

Intra-migration between South Africa and other African countries has been an emotional investment dating back to 1886 when gold was found in what was to later become Johannesburg forcing husbands to abandon their homes and families to seek work in the colonial mines. The growth of new media and social media technologies has brought to our attention how migrants connect with relatives and friends to create a sense that home and family are both, “here”, in South Africa, and “there”, the country of origin. As a result of rising xenophobia, belonging has become an emotion that conditions how migrants embrace or are alienated from the idea of South Africa as home. Through discussing four case studies of African migrants living in Johannesburg, this chapter contribution considers ways in which emotions manifest themselves in the African Diaspora in post-apartheid South Africa. The four cases emerge out of ethnographic qualitative interviews conducted in Johannesburg among African migrants between July and December 2018.