SA is a destination for ‘children on the move’

Africa has the largest share of children migrants and more than one in four of migrants are children who are often uprooted to go through a harrowing journey to reach South Africa, where most of these displaced children find themselves sometimes abandoned, lost and with no place to go.

Like Joseph, a 19-year-old Ugandan who was convinced by his elder brother to leave their home three years ago to South Africa to try and get their large family back home out of poverty.

He was convinced, and in February 2018, he and his brother, 25, boarded a bus to Zimbabwe. But his brother got captured by the Zimbabwean police.

“It wasn’t an easy adventure … I got lucky that day because I was not with him. I then had to cross the Limpopo River. I was lost and worried about how my life would be.

“I decided to keep going without my brother. I didn’t have any documents. I ended up in Pretoria where I slept in the streets. I met someone who I told my story to and they advised me to report myself to the department of social development.”

This was one of several letters written by undocumented and abandoned children and read out during a panel discussion hosted by the department of social development on Monday, with a host of panelists – including the department of home affairs, Save our Children and Unicef and the department of basic education.

Nearly 33 million children worldwide had been forcibly displaced by the end of 2019, with many forced out, displaced or uprooted from their homes due to violence, war, poverty, persecution and effects of climate change.

But Africa’s children shared a large portion of that number and South Africa was a major destination for “children on the move”, said Unicef’s Hellen Nyangoya.

While the latest exact numbers of migrant children is impossible to determine, Unicef’s data snapshot of migrant and displaced children in Africa released in 2019 indicates that Africa has the largest share of children among its migrant population, she said.

“Over one in four immigrants in Africa is a child. This is more than twice the global average. The largest number of child migrants are estimated to be living in South Africa,” said Nyangoya.

While the home affairs department assists in documenting and investigating each case and the education department ensures such children receive education, it appears those who are over 18 struggle with asylum seeking permits.

While the migrants have expressed gratitude for being able to complete their basic education, migrants like Rose, 20, who matriculated with a bachelor’s entry to university, are studying further.

She came to South Africa in 2009 with her mother and sister, but her mother passed away in 2013.

“I would like to extend many thanks to everyone who is advocating for us to be documented.”

• Not their real names