Paper short abstract:

Based on fieldwork among Zimbabwean migrants in Botswana this paper considers deportation as involving sets of tensions, anxieties, strategies and risks that arise from the rational behind state policies on migration and the expereinces of individual migrants

Paper long abstract:

Over the past decade Zimbabweans nationals have migrated to neighbouring countries within the Southern African region in particular to South Africa and Botswana. In response to this migratory movement the Government of Botswana has and continues to deport significant numbers of Zimbabweans on a regular basis. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among Zimbabweans who have been deported from Botswana, this paper examines the deportation of migrants as a process that involves the rational for deportation on the part of the state and the experience of migrants before, during and after deportation. In particular the deportation of Zimbabwean migrants from Botswana is treated here as a process whose key characteristics are tensions, anxieties, strategies and risks.

At the outset this paper outlines the manner in which the deportation of Zimbabwean migrants is inherently linked to the tensions and anxieties that surround the issue of migration in Botswana society. The paper then examines the specific fears and anxieties experienced by migrants at risk of deportation on a daily basis. The paper then considers the process of deportation in Botswana, the manner in which it has changed over time and the risks and anxieties that arise for migrants as a consequence of the practical reality of the deportation process. Finally, this paper examines the range of issues that emerge for migrants after they have been deported, the risks associated with their strategies to deal with the aftermath of deportation and its consequences for their livelihoods as migrants.