Zimbabwean migrants in the United Kingdom, the new media and networks of survival during the period 2000–2007

Abstract

This article examines the nature and significance of the ways in which some Zimbabwean migrants based in the United Kingdom (UK) appropriated the new media and established social and economic networks of survival during the period 2002–2007. An absence of a significant study of the nexus between migration, the recent diasporas and the formation of diasporic media by African, specifically, Zimbabwean migrants, makes an analysis of how migrants have appropriated and are putting to use the new media especially relevant. This study aims to determine how these strategies are allowing them to articulate their experiences and aspirations and have assisted them to establish linkages between places of exile and Zimbabwe. The websites Swradioafrica.com, Newzimbabwe.com, Zimvigil.co.uk and Zimdays.com are thus analysed to determine the role they played in the establishment of social solidarity. Furthermore, the essay will examine the roles of online shopping and money transfer sites such as...