Returning to Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan: Approaching Post-Conflict Return from the Perspective of Young Adults

Abstract: Over two million people have returned from exile to South Sudan since peace was restored in 2005. Among them many young men and women who have mainly grown up in urban areas in Sudan. Northern Bahr el Ghazal state (NBeG) which borders Sudan receives the highest number of returnees. Yet NBeG is ill-prepared to absorb this influx of people. The discourse on postconflict return widely perceives returning migrants as a source of development and reconstruction after conflict. The notion of sustainable return suggests that returnees need to reintegrate successfully for positive development outcomes. Socio-economic questions have thereby been at the centre of the debate while the voices of actual returnees have been largely missing. Therefore, the study explored return experiences of young returning adults to NBeG as to challenge recent conceptualisations of sustainable return in post-conflict settings. It suggested that several interrelated factors need to be considered when approaching questions of sustainable return. Further it showed that concepts such as preparedness, social networks and identity contribute to the understanding of individual return processes in post-conflict settings.