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Paper short abstract:

Using autoethnographic methods and qualitative interviews, we explore how South Sudanese humanitarian researchers, during the COVID-19 pandemic, have navigated the often contrasting moral and epistemic worlds of their humanitarian organisations, their own communities and academic institutions.

Paper long abstract:

We draw on our own experiences and interviews with South Sudanese colleagues to explore how South Sudanese who are both humanitarians and academic researchers navigate contradictory moral and epistemic assumptions.

The majority of humanitarians in South Sudan are South Sudanese, working either for South Sudanese or international NGOs. These South Sudanese humanitarians often find themselves caught between the moral framings of the global humanitarian system and the, often contrasting, moral framings of their own communities. On an everyday basis they have to reconcile through practice these conflicting assumptions and pervading dissonance. These everyday practices include hiding certain systems of knowledge. The humanitarian response to COVID-19 was a visible example of the struggles to reconcile global pressures to prioritise the COVID-19 response against South Sudanese prioritisation of other diseases and dangers. Needing to constantly navigate legitimacy among communities and donors, they used various strategies to maintain their respectability and believability.

At the same time, there are a specific group of South Sudanese humanitarians who not only engage with these daily navigations but who also work on ethnographic and qualitative research projects. Research provides alternative routes to navigate these dynamics of dissonance. At the same time, it pulls these researchers into the additional moral and epistemic worlds of academic research. We will draw on discussions with these researchers to allow us to critically reflect on ethnographic and humanitarian production of knowledge and moral framings in times of crisis.