Running Ahead

Thelma Nyarhi

Description

This book reviews the possibilities for livelihoods to emerge through the acts of 'trying'. It centres itself in the Johannesburg CBD and shares stories of Zimbabwean migrants residing within the metropolis. These stories were collated through the female Joburg runners. Additional respondents were sought through the runner network systems which included wrappers, and transporters. Literature has largely focused on male migrants. However, the trend of feminised migration continues to rise. This invites the telling of stories of the lived experiences of these women in a place where they are considered as vulnerable 'soft targets'.Hence the present study traces the nimble footedness of the female migrant in knowing when to cross, recross and crisscross borders and boundaries. The research contributes an added perspective to the conventional migration narrative, within which women are frequently portrayed as the inaudible voices and passive actors and frequently appear as accompanying social actors who moved to join their spouses or merely remain at home and await remittances. Through the prism of the Joburg runners, this study invites conversations around (im)mobility, reimagination of belonging and identity.

Sujets

• Ethnic Studies
• Social Science
• Sociologie, société et politique

Informations

• Publié par: Langaa RPCIG
• Date de parution: 23 janvier 2024
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789956553204
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

“NYARHI’S BOOK SHOWS tHAt FOR EVERY SHORtAGE In ZIMBABWE tHERE IS A SURVIVAL OPPORtUnItY FOR tHOSE WHO DARE tO IMAGInE, tO CROSS RIVERS, tO nEtWORK AnD ASPIRE tO LIVE. THE StUDY BREAKS nEW GROUnD In DOCUMEntInG InVISIBLE SURVIVAL StRAtEGIES EnACtED BY InVISIBLE ACtORS AnD BY WOMEn.”

Running Ahead

:

Running  Ahead

Zimbabwean Women Navigating Precarity in Johannesburg

THELMA N. NYARHI

- THELMA N. NYARHI -

Running Ahead: Zimbabwean Women Navigating Precarity in Johannesburg Thelma N. Nyarhi L a ng a a R esea rch & P u blishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda

Publisher: LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon [e-mail] www.langaa-rpcig.net Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective [e-mail] www.africanbookscollective.com

ISBN-10: 9956-553-55-7

ISBN-13: 978-9956-553-55-6

©Thelma N. Nyarhi 2023 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or be stored in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher

Dedication I dedicate this book to my late mother, late grandfather, and grandmother whose irreplaceable support in my academics, prayers, wisdom, and advice have guided me this far. I also dedicate this work to my siblings and cousins Trish Nyarhi, Terrence Mudavanhu, Florence Tsuro-Mudavanhu, Leroy Nyarhi, Corrine Monga and Debney Nyarhi for their continued moral support and random check-in calls that kept me afloat. Moreover, I dedicate this piece to all Zimbabwean migrants residing in South Africa who are trying to make ends meet in their own capacities. Qinisela mntakaBaba kuzolunga.

Acknowledgements To start off I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my creator and Father, Jehovah Jireh who continues to connect me to my destiny helpers. I am also grateful to my funders: Harry Crossley Foundation, UK Alumni Bursary and UCT Financial Aid for having believed and supported me financially during this degree. I am humbled by your generosity. I would like to express my special thanks to my mentor and supervisor Prof. Francis Nyamnjoh for his time and unwavering support and confidence. Our conversations around sociopolitical issues, useful advice and suggestions were really helpful in the framing of this work. I am forever grateful for growing under your wing. This endeavour would not have been possible without my second family, the Ndokanga’s for their contributions and support throughout this project. You loved and accepted me as your own, and for that I will forever be grateful. I am also extremely grateful to my friends Keratiloe Dube, Londiwe Nobanda, Rufaro Ndokanga, Sabelo Mpisi, Sedzani Mafela, Tafadzwa Dzingwe, Tamuka Chekero, Tyla Cloete and everyone I have not mentioned, whom in their different capacities contributed one way or another in the completion of this work. Thank you so much for your love, care, and advice. Words cannot express my gratitude to the Johannesburg runner networks who through our varied encounters contributed immensely to framing of this entire project. Thank you for accepting and allowing me into your circles. I learnt so much from all of you. I could not have undertaken this journey without you. A special thanks to Mai Chenai – ‘Mama’ for loving and treating me as your daughter and Mupositori for being my big brother in the field. You both made my fieldwork days bearable. I am also grateful to the Department of Anthropology whose support, hallway and seminar conversations provoked

my thinking and helped in the framing of some of my arguments. A special thanks to Chris Machelm-Peters for always being open to helping us at the department. My gratitude also goes to the insightful comments and suggestions of the external examiners, Dr Dereje Feyissa Dori and Prof. Owen Sichone who assessed this work. Their efforts have led to the generation of this book. A special thanks to Rekopantswe Mate for your generous writing input of the Foreword. Lastly, to all my Zimbabweans Mwari achatigonera, uNkulunkulu uzosenzela, God will make a way!

Table of Contents Acknowledgements.................................................. v List of Figures.......................................................... ix Foreword.................................................................. xi Chapter 1: Introduction and background ................ 1 Migration of Zimbabwe ....................................................... 6 Gendered Migration............................................................. 8 Conceptual framework: Incompleteness and Trying................ 10 Organization of the book ..................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Becoming the “runner”.......................... 17 Introduction ......................................................................... 17 Playing in the shadows: Shadowing as a methodology ............ 18 The Field of Study: Benoni – Johannesburg CBD, Gauteng Province................................. 21 Plunging in: Entering the field.............................................. 23 Being the subject: Ethical dilemmas in the field ..................... 30 Summary Conclusion ........................................................... 33 Chapter 3: Chasing dreams amid nightmares ......... 35 Introduction ......................................................................... 35 Making sense of space: Common strangers in the city ............ 37 Telling her story: Vulnerabilities of migrant women .............. 40 Motherhood amidst uncertainty............................................. 47 Summary Conclusion ........................................................... 48 Chapter 4: Navigating borders and boundaries ...... 51 Introduction ......................................................................... 51 Readjustment: Living outside nostalgia ................................. 53 Navigating spatiotemporalities.............................................. 56 “Ngwarisa mwan waMai” – (Be clever my kin) .................. 59 Fluidity in spatiotemporalities .............................................. 59 Summary Conclusion ........................................................... 71

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Chapter 5: Looming dangers – the invisible and visible pains.................................. 73 Introduction ......................................................................... 73 Tracking shadows ................................................................ 75 The Mirrored self ................................................................. 77 The violence’s within............................................................. 80 The invisible and visible scars ............................................... 83 Fear as a constant................................................................ 85 Anxiety as a constant .......................................................... 87

Summary Conclusion ........................................................... 89 Chapter 6: Conclusion – An Orb of possibilities ..... 91 Bibliography ............................................................ 97

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List of Figures Figure 2.1: Map showing distance from Benoni to Johannesburg, p.22 Figure 2.2 (a-c): Screenshot images from Mai Chenai’s WhatsApp Runner Group, pp.24, 25 & 26. Figure 4.1: Newton Bus Terminus, Newton, Johannesburg, p.67 Figure 4.2: Packing of goods by wrapper, p.68. Figure 4.3: Labelled customer’s parcel, p. 71 Figure 5.1: Operation Dudula anti-migrant protest in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, p.78.

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