Paper short abstract:

This paper tries to put forward the personal comprehensions of war narratives among Sudanese activists in Egypt and Uganda. The paper tries to answer questions from war narratives, such as shifting agencies, experiences, coping, and future aspirations of the current war refugees/migrants in exile.

Paper long abstract:

Each person experienced and perceived the war differently. This paper explores the personal comprehension of war narratives among Sudanese activists in Egypt and Uganda. The paper tries to answer specific questions from war narratives: shifting agencies, experiences, coping, and future aspirations of the current war refugees/migrants in exile. There are specific differences between people that shape the experiences differently. These are, gender, age and class, that the paper is investigating regarding how people experienced war. It is about everyday navigation and negotiations with uncertainty, (un)belonging, and temporality. As much as war is a political and militarized act, it can be very personal and intimate. It disrupts and forces people to shift not only their lives but also their outlook on life. Thus, here I try to reflect on the war narratives from the perspective narrated by civil society activists. Those who did not choose to fight and those who were the subjects of this war without a choice. It is such everyday people’s experiences and stories which are largely missed and rendered invisible by hegemonic discourses and actions of powerful actors and eventually ignored. Thus, the current paper is about how ordinary Sudanese have experienced the war and its repercussions. Being aware of the socioeconomic background of those who were able to flee the country, the paper cannot claim inclusivity. Rather, it is a reflection of some experiences of ruptures and belonging.