Migrant Networks, Food Remittances, and Zimbabweans in Cape Town: A Social Media Perspective

This study examines the evolving connection between migrant networking on social media and cross-border food remittances in Southern Africa. Emerging research and academic debates have shown that social media platforms transform migration networks. But the role and link between migrant remittances and social media are generally overlooked and neglected. This paper contributes to the ongoing debates by examining the role of social media as a valuable networking tool for food-remitting Zimbabwean migrants. The research is founded on a mixed-methods approach, thus utilizing both questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town, South Africa. The research findings uncover the role of social media in facilitating a regular flow of food remittances back to urban and rural areas of Zimbabwe. A related result is how social media enabled information pathways associated with cross-border food remitting when the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions limited face-to-face contact. This research can provide valuable insights for academics, researchers, and development practitioners interested in the evolving migration, remittances, and food security nexus in the global South. © 2023, University of the Western Cape. All rights reserved.

Social Media Networking as a Coping Strategy Amid the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Case of Migrant Women in Limpopo, South Africa

The article explores the use of social media networking as a coping strategy among migrant women during the national lockdown in Limpopo, South Africa. This followed the government’s implementation of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, which enforced strict regulations including closure of businesses, restricted movement, banning of informal trade and a wide range of social activities to curb the spread of the virus. While these actions were necessary to deal with the imminent threat of the pandemic, they had unintended effects on the livelihood of vulnerable groups such as migrant women who rely on informal work such as street vending, hair dressing and other menial jobs to fend for their families. Beyond disruption of their mode of economic survival, this was compounded by migrants’ non-eligibility to access social grants or benefits from the Disaster Relief Fund. This yielded unprecedented psychosocial uncertainties with increased potential for distress resulting from food insecurity, unstable accommodation, and isolation due to closed borders. Qualitative data were collected based on snowballed in-depth interviews with migrant women to saturation levels. Inference to the social presence and media richness theories was made to explicate the relationship between social media utilities and participants’ actions. The findings reveal that, migrant women relied on social media networking, particularly WhatsApp to receive updates on lockdown regulations;facilitate psychosocial support and empathise with fellow migrants elsewhere in the country;share survival strategies, and mobilise donations to mitigate the socioeconomic impact of the lockdown among migrant women in the province. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of South African Review of Sociology is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)