Of fenced playgrounds, happy places, and contained spaces Of fenced playgrounds, happy places, and contained spaces is a reflection from a recent field trip part of the GRABS team did to eThekwini / Durban and eGoli / Johannesburg in South Africa, in early May 2025. I wrote about this influenced by my position and experiences…
On 20 May 2025, the GRABS team presented our project to the Asylum and Refugee Research Group at the University of Manchester. The presentation was followed by a discussion and questions. We were delighted to engage with other researchers working on similar topics and exchange about our research in progress. Thanks to Manchester colleagues for…
Borders Crafted with Care: Biscuits, Trains and Little Ships The title of this piece is inspired by the packaging of the biscuits provided to our team while staying in Dover during a scoping trip in the UK. The biscuits were called “Borders” with the tagline: “crafted with care”. Besides the irony of biscuits in Dover…
Veils of Silence : The Hidden Stories of Young Refugee Women in South Africa I have been a refugee in South Africa since 2013. As an activist for refugee rights I have participated in different platforms and events that exposed me to traumatic experiences of refugees and women in particular. What struck me as different in…
Polaris 14 is a non-profit organisation working to improve the reception and integration conditions of refugees in France. Founded in 2018, under the name « Light Towards Future » and then « Association LTF » it will become Polaris 14 in September 2023. Polaris stands for “POur l’Accueil des Réfugiés et leur Insertion Socioprofessionnelle” (For the Reception of Refugees…
The Refugee Children’s Project (RCP) is a homegrown humanitarian organization, established in 2002 by a dedicated group of refugees in Johannesburg-South Africa. RCP initially aimed to ease the integration of refugee children and unaccompanied minors into South African society. However, the organization’s mission has broadened over time. Today, RCP extends its reach to a wider…
Refugee Social Services (RSS) is a Durban based registered NPO (not for profit organization). The organization provides social services primarily for refugees and asylum seekers in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province. Services are mainly located in Durban and Pietermaritzburg as these two cities are the largest in Kwa-Zulu Natal and host the majority of refugee communities.…
Velos Youth is a non profit-organisation founded in 2017, to support children and young people on the move to re-start and re-build their lives. Their work centres around a safe space in central Athens for young people aged 16-30 years old, which offers a range of services as well as support to access services delivered…
Melissa Network of Migrant Women in Greece was envisioned as an open beehive of communication, creativity and exchange and was founded in 2014 with the participation of migrant and refugee women leaders. Based in Athens, it provides a safe space of support, learning and creativity, promoting women’s rights, advocacy, integration and active citizenship. It supports…
In collaboration with the HEARD team from Kwazulu-Natal University and Refugee Social Services (RSS), the GRABS team conducted focus group discussions with young people.