Fleeing, arriving and settling in : home-making among Undocumented Immigrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers (UIRAS)

Abstract: This research aims to examine the process of homemaking of undocumented immigrants refugees and asylum seekers in Cape Town, South Africa. Homemaking practices are examined in both spatial policy and everyday life. The thesis argues that an improved understanding of homemaking practices amongst migrants and refugees offers a valuable addition to the discussion on displacement and addresses homemaking in three key ways: fleeing, arrival and settling in. As a whole, the thesis suggests that to fully grasp the concept of ‘home’ we need to examine and understand homemaking in juxtaposition with home unmaking, and to see the latter as a process that starts before migration or displacement. The first part of the thesis comprises a literature review covering theoretical approaches to understanding homemaking. The subsequent chapters are structured according to an expanded temporality of homemaking and decreasing spatial scales – from the continental to the local, urban scale. They provide an important overview of the processes before arrival and the process of arriving, which indicates that homemaking and home unmaking occur at different points of displacement. The literature review looks at literature on homemaking both in South Africa and globally. To summarise, Chapter One of this research project introduces the thesis and briefly contextualises the South African context and refugee policy. Chapter Two situates the thesis within a larger body of literature on homemaking both locally and internationally. Chapter Three speaks to home unmaking practices through refugee narratives of fleeing. Chapter Four discusses refugee narratives on homemaking practices upon arrival in South Africa through a discussion on the importance of community and invisibility. This chapter reveals that the negotiation of space and identity assists urban refugees in building safe, reliable communities that provide support and guidance for 3 navigating the city. Lastly, Chapter Five studies access to housing for refugee populations in urban areas and discusses the implications of inadequate housing on homemaking practices. The thesis as a whole therefore draws on existing oral histories and interviews as a means to contribute to a more complex understanding of homemaking among migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa. Throughout the research phase, several issues emerged as important: first, the thesis points to how home is defined and redefined by refugees during the process of displacement and emplacement; second, how ideas of home and labour of home evolve over time and space; and third, the importance of understanding the unmaking of home as central to homemaking.M.Tech. (Architectural Technology