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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Competitive labour: divisions between Zambian and Zimbabwean workers
Author:Arrington, Andrea L.ISNI
Year:2009
Periodical:African Studies
Volume:68
Issue:1
Pages:163-183
Language:English
Geographic terms:Zambia
Zimbabwe
Subjects:migrant workers
Zimbabweans
gender inequality
social conflicts
tourism
boundaries
informal sector
External link:https://doi.org/10.1080/00020180902827589
Abstract:Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) is one of the most visited sites in Africa. Labour patterns around this site are strongly influenced by developments in the tourism industry. The imbalanced nature of the development of tourism at the border with Zambia affects the working lives of local populations. The Zimbabwean side of the border dominated the tourist market for decades, and Zambians living just across the Zambezi often crossed into Zimbabwe hoping to find employment or customers for their goods. Over the past eight years though, that trend has reversed, and Zimbabweans living in Victoria Falls Town are flooding Zambia's tourist town of Livingstone. The recent economic, political, and social upheavals in Zimbabwe are forcing Africans in this area to search for employment, stability, and resources on the Zambian side of the border. This article focuses on the rather strong tensions between Zimbabweans and Zambians and men and women who are trying to earn money around the Falls, specifically in Victoria Falls Town and Livingstone. It particularly focuses on those who earn money by working in the informal sector. It is clear that gender and nationality are playing an increasing role in the competition among workers, and that the intensity of such tensions are reaching a boiling point. In the tense political landscape of the region, the contemporary divisions between (and among) Zimbabweans and Zambians serve as a reminder that the problems in Zimbabwe are clearly not contained within that country's borders. The article also contributes to a growing literature on Zimbabwean migrants living and working outside of Zimbabwe. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract, edited]
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