The price of going home: Christmas boxes and the final return from South Africa to Zimbabwe

By Saana Hansen, Postdoctoral Researcher in Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Helsinki

Each December, long-distance buses, minibus taxis and private cars stream northwards from South Africa as Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second biggest city, prepares for its annual ritual: the seasonal homecoming of “injiva” – migrants returning for Christmas.

The old industrial city, where businesses have declined and shops and restaurants struggle to survive, fills temporarily with cars with South African number plates and people dressed in trendy clothes signalling urban South African lifestyles. Trailers are loaded with remittances known as “Christmas boxes” containing cooking oil, soap…

Read complete article

~	Why can someone in suburban Sydney own 6 guns legally? New laws might change that

~	National cabinet agrees to sweeping overhaul of Australia’s gun laws in response to Bondi massacre

~	View from The Hill: regardless of whether massacre was preventable, Albanese has been found wanting in meeting antisemitism crisis

~	Lebanon: Israel Unlawfully Destroying Reconstruction Equipment

~	Azerbaijan’s Surveillance Platform Risks Sweeping Privacy Violations

~	DR Congo: Fall of Eastern City Puts Civilians at Risk

~	Good News for Children in 2025

~	ICC Sentences Former Sudanese Militia Leader to 20 Years

~	What is Hanukkah and how is it celebrated?

~	How can parents talk to their kids about the Bondi terror attack?