Jeremy Rich: Humanitarian Archives and Sudanese Refugees in the DR Congo, 1966-1972
Channel: GIRES-Global Research Institute
Date: 2021-05-27

Jeremy Rich, Professor of History at the University of Marywood, is a specialist of central African history, particularly Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He currently is conducting research on Congolese humanitarian programs and faith-based development projects in the DRC. His third book, Protestant Humanitarian Aid in the DRC: The Politics of Aid in Cold War Africa, was recently
published by James Currey.

ABSTRACT
Thousands of southern Sudanese refugees fled southward into the Orientale province of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the late 1960s. The International Committee of the Red Cross, USAID, Church World Service, and UNHCR joined other agencies and international donors in providing assistance. This essay examines the challenges of fragmentary archival sources in humanitarian organizations in understanding the actions of Sudanese refugees as they entered a province already battered by civil war. Expatriate staff struggled to negotiate with the Congolese and Sudanese governments, who both wanted to limit the threat of rebels. Furthermore, the particular goals and recordkeeping methods of humanitarian organizations post major challenges for interpreting sources. For example, UNHCR efforts to limit involvement in direct assistance to Sudanese and their focus on promoting repatriation meant many aspects of Sudanese refugees’ experiences did not enter their records. This essay thus offers new perspectives for researchers of the value and the pitfalls of various individual humanitarian agency records.

CONFERENCE INFORMATION
"Humanitarian Organizations: (Hi)Stories, Impact and Challenges"
Organizer: GIRES-Global Institute for Research Education & Scholarship  
Date: 20-21 February 2021
Place: Amsterdam (Virtual)
More information: https://www.gires.org/activities/conferences/humanitarian-organizations-histories-impact-and-challenges/