Paper short abstract:

I want to explore how South Sudanese people w are searching for a normal life. Using the life story of Poni I argue that Poni succeeds in sustaining a normal life by maintaining relationships to neighbors, by diversifying her economic activities and by claiming belonging to more than one place.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper, I want to explore how South Sudanese people who have been exposed to war and displacement since the beginning of the first civil war are searching for a normal life. The concept of normal life refers to the concept of homing desire (Brah. 1996), and to the discourse on human security. However more imprtant it is based on the expereince of people who are at odds with dominant discourse of belonging and identity. Using the life story of Poni, a woman who has moved over decades between Juba and Khartoum I argue that Poni succeeds in sustaining a normal life despite economic crises, political instabilities and teh frequent eruption of violence by maintaining relationships to old and new neighbors, by diversifying her economic activities and by claiming belonging to more than one place. The paper is based on fieldwork I conducted between 2006 and 2018 in Khartoum and Juba. During this fieldwork, I had followed Poni to different places and became part of her social network.