Lauren Payne, FCLC 2025

MAJOR: African and African American Studies and Sociology

BIO: Lauren Payne is a current FCLC Junior from Washington DC double majoring in African and African American Studies and minoring in Urban Studies. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in Humanitarian Studies after completing her Bachelors.

PROJECT TITLE: Access to Education for Migrants in Johannesburg

MENTOR: Ron Nerio, Department of Sociology

ABSTRACT: Asylum is a significant feature of contemporary society, especially when considering how citizens of a country are forced to leave their homes in times of dire need. Many scholars have even proposed "analyzing asylum as a form of life, rather than as bare life." This frame of thinking is essential when considering why asylum seekers need refuge. Moreover, with this frame of thinking, it is essential to unpack how those seeking asylum are offered opportunities to acclimate into society by accessing resources such as education, medical care, and housing. With this in mind, this research aimed to examine how the children of migrants and asylum seekers can access education in Johannesburg.

How is the access to education for migrants and asylum seekers a reflection of a broader government sentiment towards their refugee population? How does access to education help migrants and asylum seekers acclimate into society and obtain upward mobility? These questions provided a framework to facilitate interviews with students, staff members, teachers, and other NGOs in Johannesburg regarding the current migrant/asylum seeker crisis within Johannesburg and how this affects migrants' ability to access essential resources, i.e., education. Movement is an essential component of the global world. Movement in response to oppression, state violence/wars, and economic instability is a human right. With this principle comes a responsibility to facilitate a system that can address the arrivals of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers in a way that does not inhibit their ability to obtain resources deemed to be a human right regardless of status.