Abasi Hassan*

This chapter follows the case study of a distinguished engineer from a great North African country based at a South African university. The chapter unpacks their storied journey through childhood war displacement, youthful experiences of unbelonging, and an incredible appetite for academic enhancement. While many scholars in this study bemoan the bureaucracy of the Department of Home Affairs as a major instigator of unbelonging and anxiety, this chapter outlines the role and responsibility that academic departments play in creating soft landing zones for academics from outside South Africa.