Experiences of southern-African skilled migrants in rural and regional NSW, Australia

This chapter presents the findings of a research on opportunities and challenges relating to migrants who move from developing to developed countries. The authors have analysed migrant experiences of seventeen (17) participants based on in-depth interviews. The migrants in this research were from the Southern African countries of Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe and resided in rural New South Wales, Australia.
The research identified economic and social benefits motivating migrants to move from their original countries to new countries such as better wages, better employment and educational opportunities, stable and safe political conditions, and a better lifestyle. Major reasons for leaving Africa were found to include unfavorable prevailing social conditions such as high unemployment rates, prevailing unstable economic and political environments and limited educational opportunities. The research also established that migration was not unproblematic and came with challenges related to the adaptation to the social and economic environment. There are implications on how the countries of origin could retain their skilled labour and how the countries of destination can support the new migrants and benefit from their skills.