Cape Town Reflections on Migration Rhoda

Three insights on migration: Rhoda, our English School Manager

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The Scalabrini team works with migrants and refugees every day. With such deep expertise at hand, we take the opportunity to reflect on migration with them. This month we speak to Rhoda, manager of the English School, who finds enormous joy in being able to teach as well as learn from our clients.

1. Education can be a second chance for migrants in a new country
Rhoda did not specifically choose to work with migrants. She wants to work with a community for whom education is a second bridge in life. ‘When the first bridge is burned’, she says, ‘education helps you to build another one.’ Rhoda’s students are not the only ones that are learning. ‘I am learning, I am seeing so many different shades in my own reality,’ she describes. Being able to teach these adults helps her to redefine what teaching really is, and what it can be.

2. We must respect those who have the courage to take a new journey
Hundreds of stories have passed through the English School. For Rhoda, there was one that she will never forget. When she was still a volunteer at Scalabrini, she was filtering people into the correct classes and had to get a conversation going. ‘I looked at somebody and I said to her: ‘How did you get to Cape Town?’ She looked me in the eye, and she said: ‘I walked here’.
Rhoda admires and respects the work it takes to be a migrant. For her, the refugees and migrants that come to Scalabrini are the people that have gotten up and decided to start a journey. She says: ‘I am a worker, I respect work. And I respect someone who says: ‘Now I am going to change the present.’

3. Negative connotations around migration are misled: migration is a multi-coloured, rich picture
Rhoda is humbled by the fact that at this moment, in the beginner’s English class, there is a woman who is busy writing her doctorate. The arena that she works in is deeply diverse. ‘There is a woman who is a diplomat. There are lawyers. You name it – there is one of them in our classes. I wish that people would spell ‘migrants’, ‘refugees’, ‘foreigners’, differently.’
These words have negative connotations – and it is easy to judge that connotation, says Rhoda. She believes that you cannot blame the public for such negative connotations, because people are highly influenced by the media. But Rhoda has been given a rare opportunity: ‘I have seen so many textures in the migrant population. For me it is a rich picture. You could not really blame it on someone that they see it in monochrome.’

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cape town volunteer emiel advocacy

Emiel – Advocacy volunteer

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Emiel came to South Africa wanting to put his theoretical knowledge into practise. His time at Scalabrini has not only enhanced his skills and personal development, but it has also opened his eyes. He spent six months volunteering in the Advocacy Programme. Read about his time at Scalabrini below. 

As a volunteer, Emiel would spend most of his day providing supervised paralegal advice, practical assistance and referrals to vulnerable individuals and groups from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker communities. The clients that he would deal with came from many different countries around Africa, some have spent many years living here and others are new to the country. 

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“He says that his time here has awakened him to take notice of the problems South Africa faces regarding migrant and refugee rights. It has been a big reality check for him. One reads about refugees and migrants in different parts of the world in a newspaper, but it is very different when sitting across from a person with real problems, asking for help.”

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Being able to speak French would often be very useful as many clients come from countries where French is their first language and Emiel was able to step in and help his colleagues when there was a language barrier. 

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He says that his time here has awakened him to take notice of the problems South Africa faces regarding migrant and refugee rights. It has been a big reality check for him. One reads about refugees and migrants in different parts of the world in a newspaper, but it is very different when sitting across from a person with real problems, asking for help.

Emiel realised that when you look at the impact that you are making on a daily basis volunteering in an area like advocacy, it can sometimes feel relatively small and on a micro level, but when you hear that your effort made things work out, it gives you a feeling of satisfaction. He acknowledges that making an impact on a micro level is already very valuable for the individual client. 

He has learned a great deal while volunteering at Scalabrini, including information about the ins and outs of South Africa’s asylum system and the practical everyday barriers that many asylum seekers, migrants and refugees face in South Africa. Emiel has been able to put his theoretical skills and knowledge into practise, making it possible to make a difference for Scalabrini’s clients. 

Having had to return home to Belgium, Emiel says he might not be there for too long. He would like to work abroad , preferably somewhere where he can be involved with the protection and rights of refugees.” 

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cape town volunteer beza eap

Beza – EAP volunteer

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“I was born in Canada but grew up in Colorado, and ended up going out-of-state for college in North Carolina! I am currently a junior at Duke University, pursuing a double-major in African American Studies and Political Science. I ended up at Scalabrini through my study abroad program, and currently serve as an EAP intern. I chose this program specifically because I was drawn to the idea of having a hands-on internship experience, and I’ve definitely gotten that. 

On a typical day, I spend 8:30-12:30 helping at the EAP desk. For the first half hour, I search and update job postings in the area, and at 9am we start seeing clients and helping them create CV’s. I spend the afternoons either teaching a digital literacy class until 4, or calling clients to follow-up with them and see whether they  have found employment. I also grade tests, look up internships for specific clients, and deal with other paperwork. 

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“My favourite thing about being here is the clients, hands-down. I remember once having a bad day of classwork and just being really frustrated, and then checking my email and seeing that a client had sent me this really sweet and thankful email in response to the CV I’d made for him. Another client brought me a sweet gift and thank you note one time, and these little gestures of gratitude are really heartwarming and uplifting.”

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This is my first time in South Africa, and honestly, I’ve loved it. I still feel like there’s so much left to learn in terms of politics, though. I came in knowing it was going to be nuanced, but there’s so much to discover. I just feel like I’m going to get home and keep reading books on South Africa to try to better understand all these nuances. 

It feels like Cape Town has it all; beautiful, amazing people, beaches, vineyards, and although I’ve enjoyed my experience, Cape Town is so different from the rest of South Africa. I find myself wondering how authentically “South African” my time here has been. It’s not always realistic to explore and understand spaces like townships first-hand, and the extremes here are just so extreme. These crazy, massive mansions are 20-30 minutes from slums. I come from places of inequality, but the divides here are so much more shocking and apparent, and these inconsistent demonstrations of wealth  make me very critical of my role here. People are still very clearly oppressed and facing the consequences of apartheid.

My intern role has been really impactful, and my clients’ resilience and ability to create roots, home and stability in places that don’t want them or can’t have them is incredible. They are faced with challenges like xenophobia and oppressive government structures, but I am consistently impressed by their determination and persistence in times where I couldn’t imagine myself doing the same. I have also gained a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities since coming here. It’s so validating to feel like my work is seen and appreciated; back home and in university, everything is so competitive and can make you feel like you aren’t good enough, but being here has given me the opposite feeling which is so invigorating.

My favourite thing about being here is the clients, hands-down. I remember once having a bad day of classwork and just being really frustrated, and then checking my email and seeing that a client had sent me this really sweet and thankful email in response to the CV I’d made for him. Another client brought me a sweet gift and thank you note one time, and these little gestures of gratitude are really heartwarming and uplifting.

After I leave Scalabrini, I’m going to finish my last year and a half of college and apply for the Peace Corps. I’ve always known I wanted an English teaching position in francophone Africa, and this internship has made me feel more capable of succeeding in a role like that. 

My advice for future interns is to come in a position of humility and compassion every day, and when you’re at your most frustrated, to take a second and return to that place, remember why you’re here. My hope for future clients is that they feel as capable and empowered as they truly are, and to know that even in seemingly-hopeless situations, they are capable of achievement.”

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cape town volunteer laura eap

Laura Hickson – EAP volunteer

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“I was born and raised in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and graduated from the University of Mississippi last May. During my university experience, I studied abroad in Barcelona for a semester and then in Cape Town for a year. I loved my experiences in both, but knew I had to return to Cape Town before I’d even left. I remember sitting in a cafe not too far from Scalabrini and researching potential NGO’s. When I came across Scalabrini, I was really impressed with the work they do and wanted to contribute however I could.

I studied history and sociology while at school, and although I was passionate about my courses and found the content fascinating, I knew I wanted to keep traveling after graduation. I’m interested in the fields of human rights and social equality, so my placement with the Employment Access Programme has gone so well.

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“A lot of my motivation stems from my students and their eagerness to learn. My advice for future interns is to embrace these challenges that might be thrown at you, because they could shape some great relationships and opportunities for growth.”

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On a daily basis, I help clients make or update their CV’s, apply for jobs, and I also teach a Microsoft Excel course on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Recently, I’ve started working with the Women’s Platform, and I enjoy interacting with clients face-to-face and getting to understand issues of migration first-hand, instead of just as numbers and statistics. 

My favourite memory at Scalabrini has been teaching the Excel class, because it was such a challenge for me at first but has turned into something to look forward to. A lot of my motivation stems from my students and their eagerness to learn. My advice for future interns is to embrace these challenges that might be thrown at you, because they could shape some great relationships and opportunities for growth.

I plan on going to law school eventually, and want to specialize in human rights or immigration law. I’m especially passionate about the inequality of the criminal justice system, so long-term, I see myself doing work in that field.”

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