Bye the Beloved Country

South Africans have long been present in the United Kingdom. However, since 1994, their numbers in the British Isles and, in particular London, have grown exponentially. By 2009 some had even predicted that over a million South Africans now called the UK home. While this number is an exaggeration, it is clear that this group comprises the largest portion of the South African diaspora. Variously labelled chicken runners, exiles and emigrants, these South Africans have regularly attracted attention in the South African media yet there has been no serious studies of these South Africans and their story. This book addresses that gap. It asks who these South Africans are, why they are in the UK, and what they were doing there. The answers to these questions not only provide a unique insight into the short history of South Africa’s unofficial tenth province and what it reveals about the Rainbow Nation. These insights also help to answer the question of whether or not these South Africans will return to South Africa…