‘All That Glitters Is Not Gold’: Johannesburg and Migrant Access to Social Services

South Africa is the economic powerhouse of Africa. Consequently the country has attracted large numbers of forced migrants particularly in the post-1994 period when the new democratically-elected government took over the reins of power. By 2003, an estimated 85,000 refugees and asylum seekers had found their way into the country, and the figures have continued to swell. While on paper the South African Constitution is inclusive in terms of access to social services, it would appear forced migrants residing in that country have been short-changed as the country seems to be sinking into the quick-sands of a new brand of “apartheid” — inequitable access to social services. Indeed while the pre-1994 apartheid system played out in the form of “ (white) citizen against fellow (non-white) citizen”, the post-1994 form of ‘apartheid’ appears to be presenting in the form of “nationals versus non-nationals” often (irrespective of the citizenship status of the non-nation¬als) with the latter on the receiving end. Research has shown that the situation appears particularly desperate in the city of gold — Johannesburg. Many migrants that had been lured to this city by tales of abundant opportunities, have upon arrival in Johannesburg, to their disappointment, discovered that “all that glitters is not gold”. Indeed the forced migrants have quickly learnt that while Johannesburg may on the surface appear a glittering, cosmopolitan city full of opportunities for self improvement, there are, in fact, no easy “gold deposits” (in the form of greater employment and related opportunities) for the picking on the part of the average migrant. Indeed, all that is available — the forced migrants have belatedly discov¬ered — are extremely difficult lifestyles predicated on the notion of “survival of the fittest”. Social services including health facilities, housing, education and social welfare, are not readily accessible. The paper examines the challenges associated with migrant access to social services in the city of Johannesburg in South Africa.