According to the Centre for Policy Studies in Johannesburg, the public facilities most often used by migrants in South Africa are public libraries. On the negative side, few undocumented migrants pay taxes. Some say they do not want to finance the police who pester them. A migrant's lot is often assumed to be an unhappy one. He spends months at a stretch apart from his family and, if he is working illegally, is constantly at risk of being exploited by unscrupulous employers or deported.
Life abroad can be lonely, and prostitutes tempting.
Many pass it on to their wives back home. But despite these woes, most migrants like migrating. This should come as no surprise. Migration is usually voluntary. The closest big war to South Africa is in Angola, over 1,000km away.