War, flight and life changes

On 9 July 2011, the South Sudanese in Canberra celebrated their independence from Sudan and the ‘birth’ of a new state - South Sudan. I joined them in the celebrations at Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services of the ACT (MARSS) along with most of the

participants in my research present. What they celebrated was the end o f an almost ongoing conflict in Sudan since the year before Sudanese independence from the British in 1956 (Deng, 1998; Browne, 2006; Scroggins, 2003). The conflict has been described as representing “ a struggle between the non-Muslim, black African rebels in the South and the Muslim Arab dominated government in the North” (Shakespeare-Finch and Wickham, 2009:3). Rogier (2005:5) however, refers to the conflict as two wars that “ stopped between 1972 and 1983” and w hile the North-South conflict can describe the first war, this is “ an oversimplified and therefore largely inaccurate description” . According to Rogier (2005:6), the two wars have been “ highly complex and this complexity has fuelled various interpretations” including a war between the north and south “ rooted in racism, slave trade, and British ‘ Southern policy’ ” , conflict due to economic exploitation, and a “ war over leadership” (Rogier, 2005:6). A Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CAP) was signed between the southern rebels and the Khartoum government on January 9, 2005. The CAP gave the “ the people o f southern Sudan their first opportunity to exercise the right o f self-determination” (L. Deng in Shandy, 2007:21). F ollow ing the CAP, the referendum was held on 9 January 2011 on secession between Sudan and South Sudan, and the independence o f South Sudan was achieved in July 2011 (see Figure 4.2).

Figure 4.2: Map including Sudan, South Sudan and bordering countries

(Source: Voice o f America, see http://www.voanews.com)

SAUDI AR ABIA N I G E R CHAD E A i YE MEN Khartoum □ G u n o f A d e n NIGERIA SOMALIA CAR ETHIOPIA CAMEROON Togo j . E L E M I [ T R I A N G L E EQUATORIAL GUINEA 4 O N G O DRC KENYA ' G A B O N ■r

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During the two wars in Sudan, approximately 2 million people died, about 5.5 million were displaced and of these 600 000 men and women, children and adults left Sudan, ending up as refugees and asylum seekers (Shakespeare-Finch and Wickham, 2009). Of these 600 000, approximately 22 000 arrived in Australia.

For South Sudanese men and women leaving their home, the main routes and destinations were to Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. Others fled further north to Egypt as their first country of asylum. Shandy (2007:69) has observed how the “flight from the country of origin [is] not always a linear journey. The promise of improved conditions in Sudan or, as was more likely, the deterioration of conditions in the country in which they were seeking refuge [...] prompted a retracing of steps back to Sudan”. Constant fear and insecurities marked the flight to their first country of asylum. Beswick (2001:85) presented one example where a total of 4,000 men and women left the area of Malwal Dinka country together but only “approximately 2,000 made it; the others died of thirst, hunger, and lion attacks”. Along with many similar stories, it is now acknowledged that the experiences of refugee migration have been both horrific and dangerous, adding a level of anxiety for people fleeing, despite their enormous strength and survival instincts. Their determination must not be forgotten when considering their arrival in a third-country settlement. This and the ability to survive under the most horrendous situations can lead to later trauma and other problems (Bracken and Petty, 1998; Marlowe, 2010a; Schweitzer et al., 2006; Westoby, 2005). However, it can also lead to a strong and dedicated population grateful for their safety and a persistence in creating a future for self and family.

South Sudanese men and women in Australia belong mainly to one of the two main tribal groups, the Dinka or the Nuer. Most often, they came through Kenya initially, where they had spent years in refugee camps. Most of the arrivals in Australia are from the Dinka tribal group, meaning that the main languages spoken are Dinka and Arabic (Commonwealth of Australia, 2007b). The gender balance among the people arriving from Sudan and South Sudan is almost equal with males constituting 53.3% of the total arrivals (Robinson, 2013).

Conflict and flight impact greatly on family relations, community relations and community structures (Shandy, 2007). Shakespeare-Finch and Wickham (2009:5) have

shown that “[cjoping and resilience themes for life in Sudan included family and community support, religious faith, and personal qualities such as acceptance of the situation or determination to survive”. Loss of loved ones and of family and community networks due to war and flight means that support from traditional sources diminishes, raising the risk of isolation, loss of guidance and a lack of immediate networks in a difficult phase of people’s lives. These difficulties are reinforced when refugees settle in countries where family reunion processes are restricting. Robinson (2013:13) has explained why so many South Sudanese seek to reunite the family in Australia and the obstacles they face:

Many Sudan- and South Sudan-born residents have cherished the dream of reuniting their family in Australia and have worked hard to save the money needed to sponsor family members. But they perceive that the door to fulfilling their dream is now closed. By 2011-2012, both the total number of places in the offshore humanitarian program offered to Africans (20.1%), and the share of this allocated to Sudanese people, had dramatically declined.

War and flight also lead to changes or a complete break in employment and/or education. This leads to a deficit in human capital that people bring with them to third- country resettlement. Gender differences in education levels can in part be linked back to the ‘phenomenon’ of the ‘Lost Boys’. The ‘Lost Boys’ was the name given to numerous boys who were separated from their parents, families and communities during the Sudanese conflict and were forced to walk, often “incredible distances and surviving vast deserts, hunger, sickness and conflict settings to find relative ‘safe’ haven in Ethiopia from 1987-1991, and then arriving at Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp in 1992” (Marlowe, 2010b:9). As noted by Harris (2009:2): “[D]espite the worldwide attention received by the Lost Boys in media, academia and popular culture, Sudanese young women remain relatively invisible”. Further, Hatoss and Huijser (2010:154) noted how the Lost Boys often “were educated in the refugee camps when they fled from Sudan and went to Ethiopia and later to Kenya where they had more stable and structured classes. In contrast, the girls typically stayed behind in their homeland and joined the boys later”. This situation together with “the way Sudanese traditional culture views women ... women are expected to be at home and support the family, while men are expected to find a job and make enough money to support the family” (Hatoss and Huijser, 2010:156) meant that women met even more barriers than men in their

educational opportunities: “women have many barriers mainly due to their household chores and the duties associated with bringing up their children” (Hatoss and Huijser, 2010:156).

Shifts in the value of existing human and social capital occur in situations where people experience hardships and where they must rely on new relations and unfamiliar situations when re-establishing their lives. These backgrounds and resources which the South Sudanese brought into Australia, lead to the following questions:

1. What impact does education have on a sense of belonging in a new country? 2. How does knowledge of the language in the host country influence a person’s

experience of integration and belonging?

3. How do new and unfamiliar institutions and laws impact on refugees’ experiences in a new country?

These questions are addressed in this chapter by looking at their impact on self, self- image and self-esteem.