Forgotten Ones: Rhetoric of Migration and Tourism Governance in South Africa in the Sedentary Epoch of COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19-imposed restriction on movement, lockdown measures and closure of the border impacted migrants and cross-border migrants in South Africa who struggle to survive and eke out their livelihood. Border walls were used as an externalizing means to stop irregular immigrants during COVID-19. With this in view, the chapter discusses to what extent South Africa COVID-19 policies and lockdown measures either alleviated or amplified the challenges of migrants and cross-border migrants in South Africa. The chapter also highlights how the lockdown impacted the survival of migrants. Second, the chapter unpacks how the pandemic has altered migration and tourism governance in South Africa, as well as South Africa’s controversial Border Management Authority Bill implemented in 2020 during COVID-19 to tighten border management. The research is based on several data sources through triangulation of media reports, interviews, observations and policy documents.