Mediation, Migration and Xenophobia: Critical Reflections on the Crisis of Representing the Other in an Increasingly Intolerant World

Migration has become a contentious topic around the world, bringing with it difficult debates on belonging, citizenship, basic human rights and dignity. This chapter sketches the global terrain of these debates and zeros in on the African context. It brings to the fore debates surrounding mediation, migration and xenophobia in an increasingly interconnected world where, ironically, being a migrant is equivalent to being a problem. Migration, in some contexts, is conflated with being a vector of disease, crime and the spoiling of neighbourhoods. Xenophobia is the response by locals as they try to cleanse their communities of these vectors. The chapter also introduces the book and the diverse chapters that compose this volume, addressing topical issues in migration, identity and xenophobia in complex African settings.