This manuscript focuses on six children of Somali, Congolese and South African nationality who ranged between the ages of 11 and 14, over a one-year period from October 2010 to October 2011. The stories reflect their experiences of living in temporary relocation areas in Cape Town, South Africa. Exploring pathways and patterns of identity, the research explores how children embody their surroundings, mapping out how the past sustains itself on their ideas of safety, home and belonging. The research presented in this book is rooted within sites of transition because of the author’s particular interest in understanding the experiences of children living in temporary relocation camps. These interests were founded on the assumption that the combination of violence and frequent forced removals resulted in a compelling life experience of children in contemporary South Africa. 

What is presented in the book adds to an already vibrant discussion about childhood agency and meaning-making in the everyday. Data reveals a battlefield within which children navigate safety and survival. This book calls to attention the need for a more considered and participatory response to the housing crisis in South Africa. Taking into account the consequences of forced removals that continue to mar South Africa’s social and economic landscape, this book makes an essential contribution to future housing policy design and implementation. For children living in Symphony Way Temporary Relocation Area, these meanings are suffused with violent experiences that follow them across the changing landscapes generated by frequent mobility. 

Efua Tembisa Prah is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at the University of Stellenbosch. Her research reflects her interests in anthropological theorisations in intercontinental African migration politics, refugee studies, adolescent and childhood studies, and studies of the embodiment of sexuality, pregnancy, and birthing.

Abstract; Abbreviations; Acknowledgements; Picture Profiles of the Children; Chapter One – Moving Beyond; Chapter Two – Meeting the Children; Chapter Three – Identity; Chapter Four – Displacement; Chapter Five – Body Talk; Chapter Six – Theatre on the Move; Chapter Seven – Gevaarlik! (dangerous!).