In January 2008, Patricia (not her real name) left the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) without any legal travel documents and began her journey southwards to South Africa.

"I was running away from political persecution," says the burly woman in her late twenties. "I used to work as a human rights activist in a non-governmental organization (NGO) that deals with female victims of war and poverty. As part of my job, I disseminated information on the violation of women and children's rights."

Three of her colleagues were killed during their work, prompting her to flee. Trekking and catching buses and trains when she could, Patricia found her way through Burundi, Tanzania and Mozambique, finally entering South Africa three months later through the Komatipoort border.

"I needed to get as far away from DRC as possible," she says with a sigh. "I just wanted to forget those horrific images that had become part of my daily life. I also needed to support my poor family back at home. So I sought asylum in South Africa."

Related Video
Message of Archbishop Desmond Tutu on International Migrants Day

But starting a new life in Primrose township in South Africa's Gauteng province proved tougher than she had envisaged. Barely two months after she arrived, she was caught in a new wave of violence – attacks on foreign nationals across several townships in the country which left 62 people dead and several hundred thousands displaced.
 

"I was coming back from church when I saw a group of people running in different directions. Some were speaking in their local languages, others in English and shouting. Since I could understand neither English nor the local languages, I was confused," she recalls.

In the mayhem, Patricia was pushed to the ground and robbed of her money and mobile phone. When she got home, her flatmate told her that migrants were being attacked by locals who wanted foreigners to leave the country immediately.

Fortunately, Patricia did not suffer the fate of hundreds of thousands of other migrants – no-one came back to chase her from her flat. However, she felt traumatised, hardly speaking, eating or sleeping for two weeks.

"I wished I had stayed home [in the DRC] and died as a heroine rather than to die here where I will not be identified. I missed my life and my family. I could not work. I could not go out anywhere. How would I pay my bills?"  she worried.

Patricia's story gives an insight into the challenging world of the female migrant. Women and unaccompanied minors who have to travel through land borders into South Africa are vulnerable to robbery, rape and abuse, especially if they are being smuggled. The risks are higher if they have to travel to and from their countries repeatedly, as is the case of some cross-border traders. 

Once in South Africa, women migrants often have to care for children and work at the same time in an environment that does not give them access to labour, social and health services. This leaves many of them on the brink of survival and renders them extremely vulnerable to sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and health problems. The vulnerability of these women is heightened by incidents such as the attacks on foreign nationals that erupted in May 2008, and which have made sporadic reappearances since then.

Marivic Garcia-Mall is a senior trauma counsellor at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) and works with women dealing with the consequences of violence and abuse. According to her, many migrant women who experienced the May 2008 attacks suffer symptoms including post-traumatic stress disorder, low self-esteem, self-blame, suicidal tendencies, anxiety, intense feelings of anger and aggression, depression, bodily pain and increased vulnerability to physical illness, identity problems, drug abuse, and a sense of hopelessness.

Their recovery is hindered by the continued difficulty they face in accessing social services and economic opportunities.

A month after the May 2008 attacks, Patricia fell ill. At the hospital, a nurse requested that she pay R100 as consultation fee instead of R20 because she was an asylum-seeker.

"Does your country send medication to South Africa? You foreigners are exploiting us. How can you come here and expect us to give you the medication for free?" the nurse reportedly asked her. 

As a result, Patricia distrusts South African public services, including the police, and chooses to rely on a closely-knit fraternity of compatriots whenever she has a problem. She is scared of being identified as a foreigner, and lives in constant fear, especially when she comes into contact with South Africans.

"When I get into a taxi, I am scared to talk to the driver because I could be recognized as a foreigner. The sound of fireworks brings back memories of the attacks," she explains.

Patricia thinks that migrant women are the least likely to get jobs, especially when they are asylum seekers. This, she says, has led many of her compatriots to resort to prostitution in order to survive.

However, she is determined to remain in Primrose and is optimistic about the future. She believes that one day she will find acceptance in South Africa and looks forward to playing a bigger role in her host community.

"South Africa is a good country.  Some people commit violence against us as migrants because of ignorance. They feel we are here to hurt them and to take away their jobs. We are here because of circumstances and would like them to know that we consider them as our brothers and sisters," Patricia says. 

According to Garcia-Mall, being a woman migrant in South Africa is challenging, not least because of poverty and violence.  This is aggravated by ongoing violence. During the May 2008 attacks, many migrant families lost all their belongings and sources of livelihood. The end result is that a disproportionate burden has been placed on many, already vulnerable, women.

"They have to labour on a day-to-day basis for food – which is quite a challenge because they have children to take care of – in cases where husbands can no longer provide. Many have tried to rebuild relationships and to earn an income through creative strategies.  But in the end, it makes them even more vulnerable to violence and sexual exploitation," says Garcia-Mall.

Another migrant woman, Lindiwe (real name withheld), arrived in May 2007 in South Africa from Zimbabwe. She was pregnant. She travelled irregularly through the Beitbridge border with her husband, and upon entry in South Africa, her husband was deported, forcing her to seek shelter at a church in Johannesburg. She later moved to Pumula, near Johannesburg and started a petty business producing and selling shampoo and dishwashing liquid. With that she managed to pay the bills and to send some money back home to support her family.

Shortly afterwards, in May 2008, the attacks on migrants started. She was forced to abandon her business and all her property and flee to another township, Honeydew. There she met a property owner who promised her accommodation and in the process, raped her. He threatened to kill her if she reported him to the police. Three days later, she summoned the courage to go to the police, but they turned her away, taking no action against her rapist.  To make matters worse, she was then raped by the landlord's cousin.   This time she did not approach the police. She later tested HIV-positive.

Lindiwe has been struggling to survive since then. After giving birth to a baby girl, she managed to find employment as an HIV/AIDS coordinator for an NGO which subsequently ran out of funds. She now survives by distributing flyers on the streets with her daughter strapped to her back.

Despite these experiences, Lindiwe remains hopeful.

"I know it is difficult to live as a migrant woman in a foreign country," she says with mixed emotions. "I used to make dishwashing liquid and shampoo but I lost everything  in  the attacks.  I have a 22-month-old baby to feed. I distribute flyers on the street just to make ends meet. I know things will be better in the coming days because I have ideas and I know can make a difference if given the opportunity," she says.  

Although many migrant women such as Lindiwe remain resilient, the physical and emotional burden of their experiences is daunting. It is, therefore, critically important to highlight their vulnerability to violence and abuse  while taking measures to empower them by ensuring they are economically independent and able to contribute even more to their families and communities.

As Marivic Garcia-Mall explains, "Migrant women are not a threat. They are a very valuable resource.  The women are strong and resilient. They care for everybody else even to their own detriment. The abuse they suffer doesn't only come from their partners but also from the system because it does not provide them with the necessary assistance they need."

For IOM, addressing the vulnerability of migrants the world over is at the core of its operations.  In South Africa, the Organization plays a key role in trying to diminish the abuse and exploitation of migrants, including women, through initiatives such as the Southern African Counter-trafficking Assistance Programme (SACTAP) and health programmes.

In a bid to counter the growing xenophobia in the country, IOM's ONE Movement has been working to promote integration, equality and respect for the human rights of migrants, while building the capacity of public services to understand and uphold migrants' constitutional rights.

"The fact that xenophobic attacks continue to occur makes it imperative that we continue to work hard at the issue because the consequences of such attacks go beyond the actual act of violence. The tragedy is that lives are ruined in some shape or form through ignorance and intolerance. We have to turn that around," says Bernardo Mariano, IOM's Regional Representative for Southern Africa.

For more information, please contact:

Maureen Lifongo
IOM Pretoria
E-mail: mlifongo@iom.int

or

Dixon Gaone
Telephone, 0027 (012) 324 2789
E-mail: dgaone@iom.int