Paper short abstract:

This paper looks at how conflict in Abyei, Sudan, transformed social relations in the area, and the impact of these transformations on fieldwork.

Paper long abstract:

Shortly before southern Sudan held a referendum on secession from the north in January 2011, Abyei--a small contested territory now nestled between Sudan and South Sudan--was attacked by militias supported by the Sudanese government. These attacks continued until May 2011, when Abyei was occupied by the northern military, leading to 110,000 people being displaced. These fateful months were also months during which I was carrying out ethnographic fieldwork in Abyei.

In one particular tense encounter, I was stopped by agents of the Sudanese government, who accused me of being a spy. No, I insisted, I am an anthropologist. "What is an anthropologist?" "I collect information," I told the security agent, "about peoples' ways of life." "You see!" he replied, "you are a spy!" After being held for two hours and increasingly threatened, the security agent let me go, with the words, "Don't worry, I am a spy too!"

As Abyei came under attack, all relationships were doubled: anyone could be a potential spy for the northern government, and this paranoia undermined everyday processes, and habituated relationships of trust. One became skeptical of everything.

This paper will simultaneously describe the transformations in trust-relations in Abyei brought about by the conflict, and analyse the challenges to doing ethnographic fieldwork created by a situation in which nobody can tell the truth.