The uses of social capital among Zimbabwean migrants in Johannesburg

Abstract

This paper analyses the role of family and church networks as sources of social capital in aiding migration, settlement and social integration of Zimbabwean migrants. It also shows how these networks sometimes inhibit migrant integration into the host community. The study was carried out among Zimbabwean migrants in Tembisa and Kempton Park in Johannesburg. This study adds to the growing literature on bonding and bridging social capital while at the same time revealing how social capital is both a blessing and blight to Zimbabwean migrants. This paper makes an important contribution to the literature by arguing that while sometimes migrant social integration is hindered by the activities of the host population (e.g. xenophobic attitudes among South African locals), in some cases, the migrants themselves could hinder their own social integration through their migrant social networks. I argue that this is an unintended consequence of migrant family and religious networks.