Borders, Mobility, and Livelihoods - Refugee Economies
Credit: UNHCR/Esther Ruth Mbabazi
Borders, Mobility, and Livelihoods
‘Borders, Mobility, and Livelihoods’ is a mixed-methods research project examining refugees’ cross-border movements between countries of asylum and origin across three East African border regions: South Sudan-Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo-Uganda, and Burundi-Rwanda.
In particular, we aim to explore how such movements shape refugees’ livelihood strategies, opportunities for self-reliance, and socio-economic outcomes.
Borders and mobility are central to refugees’ livelihoods. On the one hand, borders can constrain their social and economic freedoms. On the other hand, borders can provide refugees with better access to socio-economic opportunities and resources, which, in turn, can lead to opportunities for self-reliance. Therefore, it is important to understand refugees’ livelihood strategies in relation to their movements.
Refugees’ cross-border movements are a significantly understudied issue. In the absence of reliable data, UN organisations and national governments typically assume that refugees’ cross-border movements represent a step towards voluntary repatriation, resulting in limited support for those who move. Our project challenges these assumptions through a nuanced examination of refugees’ movements across three borderland regions in East Africa, drawing on qualitative and quantitative data to understand the frequency and drivers of such mobility.
Contrary to the ‘happy homecoming’ narrative, our research shows that cross-border movements are rarely hopeful repatriation, but rather a dangerous coping strategy forced by extreme poverty, shrinking humanitarian aid, and a lack of livelihood opportunities in exile. In Uganda, for example, many South Sudanese refugees, especially parents, were compelled to return to their homeland to seek casual labour while their children remained in exile. These family splitting strategies have severely damaged the emotional wellbeing of both parents and children.
Throughout the project, we worked in partnership with refugee-led and civil society organisations in our research sites to co-design research tools, implement data collection, and validate and disseminate findings.
We are pleased that our research has been shortlisted for the Vice-Chancellor’s Research Engagement Award.
