No time to relax: waithood and work of young migrant street traders in Durban, South Africa

ABSTRACT

Young migrant street traders are often pulled to the informal economy in South African cities in pursuit of work opportunities and financial independence. However, they often have to work long hours and endure periods of uncertainty as they hope for better futures. This article highlights the way the concept of waithood emerges in the narratives of street trading work of seven migrant youth from The Gambia, Senegal, Nigeria and Malawi in Durban, South Africa. This paper focuses on the way in which “dual waithood” – the period of uncertainty that characterises both migrant and youthful life – intersect to orient these young migrant street traders to continually strategise and pass their time. The narratives shed light on the way hope emerges in the overlapping urban spaces of work in the informal economy.

KEYWORDS:

• Youth
• migration
• waithood
• informal economy
• street trading
• South Africa

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Sharon Penderis, Razack Karriem, Mvuselelo Ngcoya, Adam Cooper, and our colleagues at the Institute for Social Development at the University of the Western Cape for their insights that helped shape this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. A brotherhood,e.g., the Senegalese Mourides, are social networks which have their own power structures that govern how individuals are placed within the social strata.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nomkhosi Mbatha

Nomkhosi Mbatha completed her master’s degree at the Institute for Social Development at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa. Her thesis is titled The Role of Street Trading in Sustaining Livelihoods: A Case of Migrant Street Traders in Durban, South Africa and focuses on the role of aspirations and networks within the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. Her research interests include migration, youth issues, the informal economy and sustainable livelihoods.

Leah Koskimaki

Leah Koskimaki is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Social Development at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa, as well as the Coordinator for “Migration and Mobilities UWC” in the Office of the DVC-Academic. She received her PhD in Sociocultural Anthropology at the University of Washington, and previously worked as a Research Fellow at the National Institute for Advanced Studies in Bengaluru, India.