Iriann
Freemantle

I am a researcher, consultant, lecturer, and project manager with a particular focus on racism, white supremacy and the political economies of African migration. My work in South Africa and beyond has a strong emphasis on racial and social justice. In particular, I focus on the systematic curtailment of migrants’ rights in practice, policy and law; the racialisation of migrants and its effects, as well on hostility and recurrent violence against those considered ‘illegal’ foreigners.

Migration Reasearch Hub ID: 4420

Expertise

Migration processes

Migration governance

Roles

African Centre for Migration & Society

University, Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa
Associate Researcher

Research

"Your life doesn’t matter” : Towards strategic and thoughtful action: an audit of responses to counter health xenophobia in the South African public health system

Authors	Iriann Freemantle, Rebecca Walker, African Centre for Migration & Society
Description	With a particular focus on the health sector, this report documents responses to xenophobia in South Africa (SA) from 2000-2022. The overall aim of the research is to determine what has been effective in challenging xenophobia and how to foster solidarity to inform strategic and thoughtful future action, while identifying different forms and modes of responses to xenophobia, including xenophobic violence during this period. Over 80% of the population in SA rely on state-funded access to health. While almost everyone faces challenges in accessing treatment in the country’s failing public healthcare system, specific categories of the population – including asylum seekers, refugees and migrants without documents – face heightened risks, intersectional violence and discrimination when doing so. With rising inequality, unemployment and a public health system crippled by underfunding, corruption and systemic weaknesses, discrimination and violence against foreign nationals and others perceived as “outsiders” such as South Africans from other provinces or naturalised citizens is increasing. The Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the risks and vulnerabilities for many of the country’s most marginalised populations. Drawing from an audit of key civil society actions and strategies that have resisted (health) xenophobia in SA over the past two decades, the report explores the following main questions: what kinds of responses have emerged to tackle multiple forms of health xenophobia? What initiatives, strategies and actions were taken in the past and are taken now – whether organised or informal, by coalitions, organisations, groups or individuals – and how can an understanding of these responses help to mobilise more successfully in the future? The key findings show that there are persistent civil society responses that aim to address the immediate needs of foreign nationals while simultaneously fighting for more awareness, longterm systemic change and recognition of the core structural issues that have led to the crisis within the public healthcare system. To do this, civil society has utilised a variety of advocacy tools: engaging with Parliamentary mechanisms, community mobilisation, protest action, statements, public education, lodging complaints with statutory bodies, embarking on litigation and engaging community networks to mobilise on a local clinic level. The findings of this research also show that within an increasingly challenging context, diverse collaborations and partnerships can be particularly valuable. They draw on the experiences of social justice organisations and their connections with groups and individuals embedded in communities through their histories of local level networking and activism. Highlighting the small, less visible responses which, often have more sustainable impact, this report offers a starting point from which to plan and strategise for the future. However, considering continued and increasingly more emboldened and explicit xenophobia, and the failure (or refusal) of the South African government to take consistent and unequivocal action against xenophobia, it is evident that civil society responses have not been sufficient to quell and address this prejudice. While building on the strategies of the past, new strategies, alliances and energy are urgently needed to continue the struggle to ensure the Freedom Charter vision that “South Africa belongs to all who live in it” – including its public healthcare system. Read More
Year	2023
Taxonomy	View Taxonomy Associations

1 Report

Migration and the African Timespace Trap: More Europe for the World, Less World for Europe

Authors	Loren B Landau, Iriann Freemantle
Year	2022
Journal Name	Geopolitics
Taxonomy	View Taxonomy Associations

2 Journal Article

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Iriann
Freemantle

Expertise

Migration processes

Migration drivers

Migration forms

Migration infrastructures

Migration governance

Governance actors

Immigrant policy and law

Migration policy and law

Governance processes

Disciplines

Disciplines

Subject Areas

Methods

Either/Mixed

Other

Qualitative research

Types of study

Geographies

Scope

UN Countries