I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the stories we tell—and the ones we don’t. In South Africa, there’s a recurring narrative: foreign nationals are taking jobs, stretching resources, and burdening our economy. It’s a narrative that shows up in headlines, in government crackdowns on informal traders, and even in casual conversations on the street.
But when you step back, the picture is more complicated—and more human.
I spoke with Sharon Ekambaram, who studies migration in South Africa, to understand what’s really happening. What she described wasn’t just statistics—it was a rhythm of life.
“Circular migration can refer to both local movement of people and international migrants coming into South Africa,” Sharon told me. “With respect to internal labour migration, these patterns are of rural residents, notably from places like Limpopo, that spend extended periods of time in Gauteng and other centres and then return home periodically, and this is largely for work-related purposes.”
It struck me how much movement there is, and how much unseen effort keeps this country—and others—turning. People aren’t just moving themselves—they’re moving money, goods, and opportunities. Zimbabwean traders buy groceries, electronics, furniture, and clothing in South African towns like Messina, and then resell these goods back home. They run warehouses, transport networks, and small businesses along the way.
“Studies document large numbers of Zimbabwean shoppers and informal traders purchasing goods in Messina, and then reselling and carrying these goods back as hawkers or transporters and servicing warehouses,” Sharon explained.
The numbers are almost staggering when you think about them. Each trader spends roughly R35,000 a month at wholesalers—or R420,000 a year. Multiply that by dozens of traders, and millions of rands quietly flow into the economy. And yet, how often do we pause to notice this invisible force?
“According to the OECD and International Labour Organization study, immigrant workers contributed approximately 9% to South Africa's GDP, and increased national income per capita by up to 5%,” Sharon notes.
But it’s not just money. Remittances sent back home—estimated to reach almost US$927 million by 2025—help families access food, healthcare, and education. Migration isn’t a drain; it’s a lifeline.
And yet, despite all of this, there’s no clear system to track who’s moving, who’s contributing, or how much.
“None of the countries, including South Africa, can agree to a mechanism that documents disaggregated data on movement of people, both international migrants, whether they are circular migrants, or whether they are internal movement,” Sharon says.
Millions of people quietly shaping economies, living lives we rarely see. And the history matters, too. The policing of black bodies under apartheid disrupted these patterns—and some of those echoes still linger today.
“The interruption of this process is linked to the way in which black bodies have been policed under apartheid, and those patterns continue today, particularly in our region,” Sharon explains.
So next time someone tells you foreign nationals are a burden, I want you to think about the traders in Messina, the families receiving remittances, the movement and effort that rarely makes the headlines. Migration is messy, complicated, and deeply human—but it’s also vital.
Foreign nationals aren’t just present—they are integral to the economy, to families, to life as we know it.
And that is exactly why we fact check.
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