16 Stay or return: a qualitative exploration of the experiences of Malawian migrants who returned from South Africa during COVID-19

Abstract PTH 9: Miscellaneous 2, B302 (FCSH), September 5, 2025, 11:30 - 12:24 Covid-19 created unprecedented disruptions on human migration. Business closures and travel bans disproportionately impacted economic migrants who were neither able to support their families nor travel to their home countries. The primary aim of the study was to explore the experiences of Malawian migrants who returned from South Africa during COVID-19. A secondary objective was to explore solutions to the migration-related challenges migrants experienced. A qualitative approach involving 15 in-depth interviews with Malawian migrants living in South Africa who returned home during Covid-19 was used. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Three main themes emerged from the data and revolved around the migration stages namely, the pre-return/departure stage, the travel/transit phase, and the return and reintegration. Within these migration phases, participants reported failure to integrate with host community, fear of dying in a foreign country, financial hardship, corruption, risk of contracting diseases due to limited hygiene, and economic hardships in the home country as some of the main challenges they dealt with. Reintegration with family members was generally very positive as most migrants indicated that their family members were happy to see them alive. To effectively mitigate these challenges at the various phases of the migration cycle there is need for swift and better coordination and policy change at governmental level to take actions that support and protect migrants, as well community and individual level actions such as saving money for emergencies.