During Sudan’s first civil war, approximately 74,000 Southern Sudanese are reported to have sought refuge in Uganda. Due to the presence of shared communities across the border, some refugees moved in with their families across the border in Uganda. More moved further south into Buganda where they took up jobs as casual labourers. The wealthy few were integrated into the suburbs where they enjoyed similar privileges and success in Uganda’s economy as the elite in their newfound home.
Those who didn’t have any family members or relatives in Uganda were subjected to exploitation and discrimination. They were also drawn into the ethnic conflicts that have been ongoing in their home nations. Even when the UNHCR has made numerous efforts to repatriate willing Southern Sudanese refugees over the years, some have chosen to remain in Uganda.
In 1975, refugees from Northern Uganda sought refuge in Southern Sudan. Whereas some Ugandans joined their relatives and friends across the border in Sudan, the rest took up official refuge in the UNHCR resettlement camps. Due to ongoing armed conflicts in South Sudan, Uganda has maintained an open-door policy. Although there are some limitations to this policy, it offers significant opportunities such as free education up to the university level for some individuals, the ability to work, engage in subsistence farming, and voluntary repatriation.
This fictional comic book narrates the story of Diana Nakyueth, a South Sudanese refugee who fled to Uganda with her two sons during the violence that took place in 2016. When she arrived in Kiryandongo with her two sons, Nakyueth worked as a nurse in the settlement’s health centre. Uganda hosts an estimated 1,578,669 refugees, more than half of whom (56.5%) are South Sudanese.
Nakyueth’s story highlights the potential of Uganda’s open-door refugee policy to facilitate a dignified migration for people facing one of the most dehumanizing realities of life.
