Anthony Minnaar and Mike Hough, Who Goes There? Perspectives on Clandestine Migration and Illegal Aliens in Southern Africa, HSRC Publishers, Pretoria, 1996, 293 pp.

This is one of the best books on the subject of undocumented population movements in Southern Africa. The authors provide a thorough analysis of the causes and impact of illegal aliens in the region, particularly focusing on South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

The reader is provided with an excellent overview of the various international conventions relating to migrants and, importantly, the distinction between refugees and illegal aliens. This latter point holds special significance in the South African context where such terms as `economic refugee' and `environmental refugee' have found their way into the debate. In addition, a useful overview of national legislation regarding undocumented migrants is given for each of the countries listed above. This is especially important if one wishes to create a regional mechanism to stem such clandestine population flows, as any regional endeavour needs to build on the compatibility of national legislation in each of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.

The reader is also provided with a detailed account of how illegal immigrants enter South Africa. Such knowledge is a necessary precondition for effective border control. The authors portray the negative socio-economic impact that undocumented migration holds for the country and how this has aided growing xenophobia. This impact, the authors note, must not only be seen in terms of economic costs, which are estimated at millions of rand, but also needs to be seen as contributing to South Africa's spiralling crime rates.

If there is any criticism to be levelled against the authors, it is at the level of what they term `preventive measures' to regulate population displacements. Here the authors propagate such measures as stringent selection criteria for prospective legal immigrants; forge-proof identity and travel documents; employer sanctions; and improved border controls. While these are important measures, they are inadequate in themselves. South Africa cannot unilaterally hope to prevent illegal immigrants, and especially with declining budgets for border control. By the same token, no other country can effectively deal with the issue in isolation. Thus, there is a need for SADC member states to develop a regional migration regime. Already, SADC's Inter-state Defence and Security Committee (ISDSC) is reviewing the issue.

Such a regional migration regime, in my view, requires collective action in the following six areas:

compatible border control and entry policies;



harmonisation of asylum policies;



efficient re-admission and return policies;



information as a means to deter irregular population movements;



labour agreements as a migration alternative; and



preventive action of a comprehensive character (this includes addressing the root causes of such population displacement, including political instability, poverty and environmental degradation).

It is only in approaching the problem holistically and from a synthesis of national and regional responses that the issue of illegal migration can be resolved.

Despite this weakness, Minnaar and Hough have provided the lay person and the policy-maker with a well-researched, well-written book clearly exposing the magnitude of the problem we face in controlling undocumented migration.

Hussein Solomon
Africa Programme
Institute for Security Studies

Michael Renner, Small Arms, Big Impact: The Next Challenge of Disarmament, Paper 137, Worldwatch Institute, Washington, DC, 1997, 77 pp.

While gaining the attention of the international community in the past three years, the available literature on small arms has been relatively small. With this book, Michael Renner adds an important source of information. Written as an overview of the situation, and strongly making the point that small arms and their widespread sale, recirculation and use deserve greater attention by policy-makers, Renner presents a clear picture of the widespread availability of small arms globally.

He identifies the main sources of these weapons: supply of new stocks, recirculation of existing stocks that were not collected and destroyed at the end of conflicts, and weapons stolen from government storage facilities and defence force armouries. Often these weapons, especially those left uncollected after conflicts, move into new areas, for example from Central America to Colombia or Mozambique to South Africa. He illustrates how the poorly or uncontrolled presence of these weapons can have an impact on internal violence, conflict and crime. There is also a section which attempts to quantify the number of weapons circulating in regions around the world: a challenge given the paucity of information on the number of licenced weapons in many countries, let alone illegal weapons. However the effort is commendable as it makes the reality striking: an estimated 192-250 million legal firearms and an additional seven million from production and import exist in the United States alone, excluding unknown numbers of illegal firearms.

In identifying areas for control, Renner focuses on three areas: transparency among suppliers (arms registers and codes of conduct); harmonisation of legislation (for example, import and export regulations within regions); and lessons that could be adopted from the international landmines campaign. He also recognises the need for solutions that address the reasons why people acquire small arms (legal or illegal) and suggests that weapons collection programmes (so-called `gun buy-backs') have a certain utility. It is in the recommendations section that the strength of the book declines. Few of the suggestions are discussed in enough detail to assist policy-makers in devising strategies (a mere mention is made of developing regional registers for small arms), and while considerable attention is given to the procedure and success of the campaign to ban landmines, few conclusions are drawn on how this achievement can be replicated with a category of weapons that is much harder to vilify and has a legitimate purpose and use in military, security and recreational activities. The fault is not Renner's alone. This is the challenge facing everyone working in the `orphaned' arms control field of small arms. His book offers valuable background information to those who are interested or work in this field that will enable them to understand the extent of the problem and the challenges facing the international community in developing solutions.

Sarah Meek
Arms Management Programme
Institute for Security Studies

Safe Secure and Streetwise: The Essential Guide to Protecting Yourself, Your Family and Your Home from Crime, Readers Digest, first edition, 1997, 280 pp.

Would-be readers of this expensive guide should know that Safe, Secure and Streetwise appears to be targeted towards the middle to upper-middle class members of South African society. There is no question that the book offers valuable information for such persons, particularly in a country where crime is an ongoing problem. Yet, what is often erased from people's minds, is that the lower income group and the unemployed are predominantly the victims of crime, specifically violent crime. Approximately 29 per cent of the population are unemployed and more than likely live in areas where electricity and telephones are scarce and clinics and police stations are few and far between. With limited forms of transport, members from these communities sometimes have to walk miles in order to seek help or report a crime.

This book does not cater for such environments, except in a very brief section dealing with the selection of a site when moving into an informal settlement to reduce fire hazards and to settle as a group. This would establish the nucleus of a community of people who will be prepared to help one another. With gangsterism being a daily problem in most townships, there is a section on intimidation which highlights a number of facts, of which the majority are common sense. Although these small sections are included in the book, most people needing such information probably cannot afford to pay an expensive price for it.

Although South Africa is trying to adopt a proactive multi-agency approach to crime prevention through the implementation of the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS), the book keenly explores reactive target hardening measures for personal security, such as locks, bolts, bars, fences, security alarms and electronic control (often remote) of exits and entrances. The reality is that most people cannot afford such security measures. More information on proactive examples of crime prevention, for example joining the local community police forums (CPFs), where the community and the police develop a partnership to solve problems of safety and security, would be more beneficial to crime prevention in the long term.

The author donates eight pages to cons and consumer fraud, a further confirmation that the book is for the advantaged members of society who predominantly commit such crimes. Concise advice is given on how not to be a victim of real-estate and investment frauds. The guide includes a few sections on how to act when confronted by various forms of violence. Good advice is given to women on various methods of reacting to attacks, rape and abuse. Any young girl or women would find these chapters valuable.

The chapter on firearms is well laid out, highlighting the legislation behind owning such weapons and their disadvantages up front. Although people may argue that this chapter may encourage people to think that firearms are a good means of self-protection, others could suggest that the author is being realistic about the South African environment where many people own firearms and do not know how to use them.

There are many other sections which are accessible and give good advice to people when going about their daily activities, whether it is driving a car or catching a taxi. Every chapter has `a drama in real life', making the reader aware that such crimes do occur in reality. The contact addresses at the back of the book are of great use to the reader, particularly for women and the elderly. Regardless of these positive statements, it has to be asked: will such a guide initiate a better understanding of safety factors for the advantaged citizens of South Africa, or will it create a greater fear of crime?

Sarah Oppler
Safety and Governance Programme
Institute for Security Studies