Paper short abstract:

In Uganda two contradicting narratives of refugee integration coexist: self-reliance and vulnerability which influence the integration of refugee children. Various agents including refugees themselves negotiate between them, promote one or the other or both at different time for different benefits.

Paper long abstract:

The Ugandan government promotes a self-reliance scheme for the integration of refugees, arguing that this will enable durable and sustainable integration for refugees, envisioning this scheme as a way to empower both refugees and local communities. However, there is a gap between Uganda's envisioned integration and the actual capabilities of the refugees to fend for themselves entirely in the environment in which they are hosted (Hovil 2007). The government is aware that many refugees are not self-reliant and rely on UNHCR and other international organizations to fill in the gaps and provide the services and support it does not give (Betts 2021). The international and non-governmental organizations step in help refugees and implement policies that reflect a categorization of refugees as a vulnerable population that needs targeted aid, aligned with refugee discourse common outside of Uganda.

These two contradictory perspectives on integration create tension in Ugandan discourse around the kinds of support networks refugees are entitled to and need. The tensions between these two contradictory views on what refugees need and should receive come into play in the lives of refugee children attending Kampala primary schools. These narratives of integration conflict and exist side-by-side, compete and conflict with each other. This situation creates difficulties for actors on the ground, but also opportunities. Actors learn to utilize and use each of these narratives according to their needs and interests. Both discourses serve to mobilize interests, and they are both exploited by institutions, educators, families, and the children themselves at opportune moments.