Seeking Refuge in the Rainbow Nation

While South Africa has become one of the largest recipients of asylum seeker applications in the world, it remains a country confronted by the legacy of a traumatic past. This monograph offers an overview of the socio-economic and political context of South Africa in relation to migration and refugee issues. It reviews existing literature on human mobility in both the historical and contemporary context of South Africa, and presents findings from a limited, exploratory, qualitative study undertaken in Cape Town that focused on Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) rendering services to refugees and asylum seekers. Restricted access to documentation, sluggish administration and perceived corruption at the Department of Home Affairs; the closure of the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office; abuse and discrimination, are some major challenges facing refugees and asylum seekers. The main constraints of local NPOs in addressing the needs of their beneficiaries, and strategies to overcome such obstacles are discussed. This shows the sterling work undertaken by NPOs with limited resources to play their part in helping foreign nationals to integrate in, and contribute to the Rainbow Nation.