University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology Anthropology 2013 THE EFFECTS OF MIGRATION ON GENDER NORMS AND RELATIONS: THE POST-REPATRIATION EXPERIENCE IN BOR, SOUTH SUDAN MaryBeth Chrostowsky University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Chrostowsky, MaryBeth, "THE EFFECTS OF MIGRATION ON GENDER NORMS AND RELATIONS: THE POST-REPATRIATION EXPERIENCE IN BOR, SOUTH SUDAN" (2013). Theses and Dissertations-- Anthropology. 5. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/anthro_etds/5 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Anthropology at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. 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Udvardy, Major Professor Dr. Hsain Ilahiane, Director of Graduate Studies THE EFFECTS OF MIGRATION ON GENDER NORMS AND RELATIONS: THE POST-REPATRIATION EXPERIENCE IN BOR, SOUTH SUDAN _________________________________________________________ DISSERTATION _________________________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Science at the University of Kentucky By MaryBeth Chrostowsky Lexington, KY Director: Dr. Monica L. Udvardy, Associate Professor of Anthropology Lexington, KY 2013 Copyright© MaryBeth Chrostowsky 2013 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION THE EFFECTS OF MIGRATION ON GENDER NORMS AND RELATIONS: THE POST-REPATRIATION EXPERIENCE IN BOR, SOUTH SUDAN My dissertation research was a 14-month ethnographic study of the post- repatriation experience of forced migrants in South Sudan. It was designed to determine if alterations to gender norms and relations that refugees experienced during asylum differed as a function of the asylum environments and if these modifications remained intact upon the refugees’ return. The forced migrants in my sample, the Dinka of Bor from South Sudan, encountered two different asylum environments and experiences: Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya and Khartoum, in northern Sudan. After 10-15 years in asylum, these forced Dinka Bor migrants returned to South Sudan. I compared the pre-flight and post-repatriation behavior of these two groups of returnees to determine to what extent gendered behaviors could be attributed to each asylum location. I found that various global forces encountered during asylum were instrumental in forging new ways of life by changing gendered livelihood practices and gendered access to status, power, and resources after return. In addition, the resettlement context played an equally critical role in the gendered behaviors after return. KEYWORDS: gender, internally displaced persons (IDP), forced migration, refugees, repatriation ____________________________________ MaryBeth Chrostowsky ____________________________________ Date ii THE EFFECTS OF MIGRATION ON GENDER NORMS AND RELATIONS: THE POST-REPATRIATION EXPERIENCE IN BOR, SOUTH SUDAN By MaryBeth Chrostowsky ______________________________________________ Director of Dissertation ______________________________________________ Director of Graduate Studies ______________________________________________ Date iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to a number of people who helped me to complete this research. Most importantly, I would like to thank my dissertation advisor and mentor, Monica Udvardy, for her intellectual guidance and mentoring, her willingness to repeatedly review my proposals, papers and this dissertation, her helpful comments and advice, and her ability to make me feel like I can do anything. Additionally, I would like to recognize the contributions and encouragement of my committee members, Lisa Cliggett, Diane E. King, and Karen Mingst and the external reviewer, Gregory Luhan. I also want to express my gratitude to Philip Berger whose emotional and intellectual support was central to the completion of this dissertation. He is my loving partner who encouraged and cheered me through my fieldwork, who kept me grounded while writing my dissertation, and who, despite being my harshest critic, has never wavered in his belief in my ability. I am truly grateful for the friendship, motivation, and mentoring I received over these years from my various professors and colleagues. Specifically, I would like to thank Professors Samitri Basu, Thomas Håkansson, and John van Willigen and my fellow students Alison Harnish, Maria Moreno, Carrie Todd, David E. Long, and Christina Wright. I also want to recognize my sister Maureen McGreevy who, despite the long distance between us, has always been my biggest fan and cheerleader. I would also like to recognize those who were influential to the completion of my fieldwork in Bor, South Sudan. I cannot thank the Norwegian People’s Aid enough for assistance with my living arrangements and in many cases travel. I also am grateful to the NPA staff who were posted in Bor and Jonglei who patiently answered my endless iv questions and welcomed me like I was a sister: Mel Abraham, Kuir Atem, Peter Avenell Bior, Chol Charlie Charlie, Moses Chuti, Sam Deng, Ezana Kassa, Abraham Mading, Wamba, Henry Wani, James Wani, Ken Miller, Thon, John, Mary, and Elizabeth. The SSRRC staff in Bor also deserves a special thanks for allowing me to observe the food allocation process and for all they taught me about return process: Alier, Francis, James Jok, Majok, Moses, Panchol, and Philip. Many thanks go to my two research assistants, Ajier Ajak Kelei and Akur Bol Nhial, who worked tirelessly to help me conduct and successfully complete my research in Bor. I also am deeply grateful to the participants in my study who took the time from their day to sit with me, sometimes on more than one occasion, to share their life history and personal stories. I also must thank Brendan Tuttle who gained his well-earned “street cred” alongside me in Bor. Without our Saturday kvetching sessions I would not have made it. Finally, I received a great deal of financial and institutional support for this research. I would like to acknowledge the following for supporting this research: National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (Award ID: 0921318), University of Kentucky Dissertation Enhancement Award, Lambda Alpha Graduate Overseas Research Grant, the Susan Abbott-Jamieson Pre-Dissertation Research Fund, and University of Kentucky Graduate School. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements……………………………………..………………………………...ix List of Tables………………………………….………………………………………….xi List of Figures……………………………………………...…………………………….xii List of Appendices………………………………………………………………………xiii List of Acronyms………………………………………………………………………..xiv Chapter One: Introduction………………………………………………………….. 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………… 1 Methods…………………………………………………………………….. 3 Research Questions and Hypotheses.………………………………………. 3 Research Site……………………………………………………….. 4 Research Design……………………………………………………. 8 Sample………………………………………………………………. 10 Data Collection……………………………………………………... 11 Formal Semi-structured Interviews…………………………. 11 Main Interviews…………………………………….. 12 Returnees……………………………………. 12 Never Fled…………………………………... 13 Recruitment…………………………………. 14 Limitations………………………………….. 17 Supplementary Interviews…………………………... 18 NGO and UN Agencies……………………... 18 IDPs Bor County……………………………. 19 Community Leaders………………………… 19 Kakuma Refugee Camp…………………….. 20 Re-interviews……………………………….. 21 Participant Observation…………………………….. 21 Income Survey……………………………………… 23 Time-Allocation…………………………………….. 24 Court Archival Research……………………………. 24 Data Analysis……………………………………………….. 25 Positionality………………………………………………………… 26 My Identity as a Kawaja………………………………….. 27 My Identity as a Woman……………………………………. 29 My Identity as an Educated Person………………………… 29 Feminist – My Personal Limits……………………………... 29 First Anthropologist………………………………………… 30 Difficulties in Post-war and Current Conflict