'They treat us like dogs': demographic claustrophobia and the Zimbabwean struggle for space on the streets of Gaborone, Botswana

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Periodical article

Title:	'They treat us like dogs': demographic claustrophobia and the Zimbabwean struggle for space on the streets of Gaborone, Botswana
Author:	Marr, Stephen
Year:	2012
Periodical:	African historical review (ISSN 1753-2531)
Volume:	44
Issue:	1
Pages:	80-108
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Botswana
Subjects:	immigrants Zimbabweans attitudes urban life
Link:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17532523.2012.714161
Abstract:	Over the course of the past decade the outflow of Zimbabwean migrants into neighbouring Southern African countries has prompted widespread attention in academic circles and international media. Narratives of xenophobia, violence and conflicts over access to jobs and resources have been widely disseminated, especially in South Africa. This essay, however, places the emphasis on Botswana. It emphasizes the everyday experiences and encounters of Zimbabweans and Batswana on the streets of Gaborone. First, the author historicizes the tensions between Tswana and immigrants and explores the current contours of the conflict from the Tswana perspective. Second, he presents a depiction of the daily life of Zimbabwean job seekers who frequent the street corners of the White City neighbourhood. Through the use of ethnographic data and interviews, he offers a means to explore broader theoretical issues of biopolitics, securitization and citizenship. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]