Tarikh Tana (Our History): Episode 9: South Sudanese Experiences of Return

Published: July 6, 2020, 9:57 a.m.

This show is brought to you under the South Sudan National Archives Project, supported by Norway and implemented by UNESCO in partnership with RVI, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. The ninth Tarikh Tan’na (Our History) radio show in this second series will focus on "South Sudanese Experiences of Return". Overview As South Sudan hopefully moves towards peace, the country looks forward to the return of over four million displaced and refugee citizens. However, this is not the first time that refugees and internally displaced people have moved back to South Sudan. The South Sudan National Archives holds a wealth of records from previous refugee returns, including the return and resettlement of populations after the Anya-Nya wars in 1972. After the CPA in 2005, around four million people returned to South Sudan. Many South Sudanese people have extensive experience of displacement and return. This history of return migration is also a history of societal reconstruction. With such large numbers of residents returning to their homeland, in 1972, from 2005, and again today, return migrations are times of social transformation. The archives record serious hardships for returnees, including hunger, a lack of health and education provision, problems of proving their rights to residence and nationality, and accessing land and livelihoods—all problems that returnees faced in 2005 and again today. Return and resettlement is also a moment of government reconstruction, as residents re-establish relationships with local and national government. This long history of returns raises several questions. How have repeated returns and resettlements reshaped South Sudanese society? How have social reconstructions post-return changed relationships between men and women, and between young and old people? What effects do these return migrations have on the nature of local and national government in South Sudan? The two guests were: Hon. Francis Barson Yousa Head of Juba Economic Zone and Associate Lecturer at the University of Juba Daniel Matur IOM South Sudan