© 2004 by Oxford University Press
Interethnic Relations in Exile: The Politics of Ethnicity among Sudanese Refugees in Uganda and Egypt*
Office of African Studies, The American University in Cairo
Refugees are often perceived as masses in search of security and charity. In reality, refugees form a diverse, often politically active group of people. The case of Sudanese refugees forced into exile by civil conflict will shed light on these characteristics of refugees. Sudanese belong to various ethnic groups that became highly politicized by conflict. Sudanese identities are also politicized in exile due to competition over resources, memories of victimization, and current circumstances in their countries of origin and asylum. In the Adjumani district of Uganda, refugees from the Sudanese ethnic groups of Madi and Kuku, which had been good neighbours in Sudan, became hostile to each other due to competition over resources. The Dinka were denied settlement among other refugees due to past grievances. In Cairo, conflicts between the Nuer and Dinka were fuelled by atrocities committed by factions of the armed opposition in southern Sudan. These conflicts led to the dissolution of the inclusive South Sudan Students Association (SOSSA) and the emergence of ‘tribal’ organizations.
Received June 2002. Revised June 2003.
* A version of this paper was presented at a conference at Staffordshire University, 17–19 April 2002. I thank the two anonymous referees for their comments and Elizabeth Frantz for editing the paper.