Irregular repeat migration among unaccompanied children in Plumtree

Abstract

The number of repeat irregular child migrants has been on the increase since the turn of the century. These children leave their homes to migrate into neighboring Botswana without legal travel documents through undesignated crossing points some of which are dangerous. When deported, these children still go back to Botswana without legal travel documents. This study sought to investigate the challenges that these children face. This area has in the past not received adequate attention in the academia as it was overshadowed by child labor migration, child trafficking and child refugee migration among other popular areas. This study makes significant contribution to literature in terms of the irregular repeat migration among children. Qualitative methodology was employed to highlight these issues and in-depth interviews were used as the main data collection tool so as to obtain rich descriptions on the lived experiences of these children. The respondents in the study were selected through purposive sampling technique. The study was informed the new sociology of childhood, which argues that contrary to structural theories which emphasize the domineering of structures on peoples’ lives, children are not passive recipients of stimuli, they are not persons ‘in waiting’ or half adults, but they are actually complete persons who have the agency to recreate their own social worlds. This study showed that while the children have agency in challenging the structure, putting measures to redefine their life worlds through engaging in irregular migration, caution must be exercised so that this agency is not overdrawn because some children is this study faced some structural challenges due to their age.