Past Event

The Institute of African Studies at Carleton University presents:

“Go back to your ancestral land”: Autochthony, citizenship and quest for solutions for IDPs in Kenya

with

Prisca Kamungi, Doctoral Student, University of the Witwatersrand and Visiting Scholar, Institute of African Studies, Carleton University

Wednesday, 25 July 2012, 3pm to 4:30pm

Faculty of Public Affairs Boardroom (Loeb D382)

Carleton University

For a campus map, please see: http://carleton.ca/cu/campus/

Abstract: The “politics of belonging” is now a leading cause of conflict and internal displacement in many multi-ethnic contexts around the world. Whether motivated by electoral politics or access to scarce natural resources, leaders at different levels mobilize co-ethnics and other ‘insiders’ to violently expel ‘foreigners’ from neighbourhoods, business sectors or political communities. While the literature is rich with case studies of how contested claims over identity, space and power degenerate into violence, there are many gaps in our understanding of how to identify durable solutions for those displaced by such conflicts. Where is “home” for third- and fourth-generation migrants? How do state-led responses to displaced populations affect the meaning attached to ‘place of origin’ and local perceptions to durable solutions? How do responses contribute to recurring cycles of displacement? Through the case study of recurring instances of displacement in the Rift Valley province of! Kenya since the early 1990s, this presentation addresses these questions by examining the relationship between identity, citizenship and durable solutions for IDPs. The presentation will suggest new approaches to the challenge of solutions for Kenya’s IDPs by considering the important links between the process of democratization and solutions for IDPs, in addition to a deeper understanding of the agency of IDPs themselves in finding pragmatic solutions to their displacement.