South Sudanese people settling in Australia have faced and overcome various ordeals throughout their migration experience. Many came to Australia under humanitarian mechanisms and since their arrival have worked hard to build a new life. Now, as the prospects for South Sudan seem brighter, STATT has found that many are preparing themselves to commit to another challenge – helping develop and support their homeland.

A major result from this project is published here as The Last Mile: Experiences of Settlement and Attitudes to Return among People from South Sudan in Australia. We interviewed 78 South Sudanese Australian people from across the country. We spoke to them about their lives since coming to Australia and about how they plan to engage with South Sudan now and into the future. We complemented the interviews with an online poll of over 300 members of the South Sudanese diaspora in Australia. The results illustrate a group that has tremendous gratitude for the opportunity to settle in Australia, enthusiasm towards citizenship and great achievements in education. On the downside, experiences of discrimination have been widespread and many have faced frustration with finding employment suited to their education. Looking to the future, the majority are keen to return to South Sudan for the long term or permanently, primarily driven by a desire to contribute to development.

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STATT’s Neutrino Program takes a strong interest in patterns of conflict-driven migration. For some time we have been working in South Sudan and among the South Sudanese diaspora to understand the experiences and perceptions. We have also been exploring the intentions of people who left during the long civil war and are spread across much of the globe, but whose original homeland became independent in 2011 and the government of which is interested in encouraging the diaspora to contribute to development.

A positive way to think about conflict-driven migration in cases like South Sudan is as a long-term investment in the country’s human capital. In other words, facing grim prospects at home, the international refugee system is used as a safety deposit for some of South Sudan’s people, who have been able to develop skills and experiences in other countries while waiting for conflict resolution to open space for them to contribute. Now, while South Sudan is far from conflict-free, there has been a sense of hope and longing among many in the diaspora to return to South Sudan and to investigate options by which they can support development or connect with their roots. Compared with many other of the world’s great conflict-driven diasporas, such as from Afghanistan or from Somalia, there is strong optimism among people we have interviewed towards prospects for South Sudan. Continue reading →