4 ms·

Seems nuts to use South Africa as a case study for the potential success of opening borders, when it's in the grip of massive xenophobia against immigrants from

• buyx 11y ago
  South Africa has strict immigration laws. Unfortunately widespread corruption in the Department of Home Affairs (especially in the period 1994-2010 ca.) has meant that these laws were not worth the paper they are printed on. How exactly Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nigerian and Chinese shopkeepers provide rare skills is a mystery, and it is very hard to justify the presence of unskilled labour from countries like Malawi in South Africa, which has 25% unemployment. There are also many Somali "refugees" who manage to bypass 3 countries in East Africa and end up in South Africa, where they also open up small businessss. Of course, anyone who asks these questions in South Africa is labelled a "xenophobe" by the media.
• buyx 11y ago
  South Africa has strict immigration laws. Unfortunately widespread corruption in the Department of Home Affairs (especially in the period 1994-2010 ca.) has meant that these laws were not worth the paper they are printed on. How exactly Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nigerian and Chinese shopkeepers provide rare skills is a mystery, and it is very hard to justify the presence of unskilled labour from countries like Malawi in South Africa, which has 25% unemployment. There are also many Somali "refugees" who manage to bypass 3 countries in East Africa and end up in South Africa, where they also open up small businessss. Of course, anyone who asks these questions in South Africa is labelled a "xenophobe" by the media.