Between collective victimization and victimhood: the experience of the Ethiopian refugees (Anuak and Highlanders) in Nakivale settlement. Uganda

Abstract

This thesis examines collective and competitive victimhood among Ethiopian refugees in Nakivale settlement, Uganda and how these experiences of victimhood are influenced by the humanitarian setting of the camp. The study is based on fieldwork conducted by the researcher during the time she spent as an intern in the settlement from September until November 2019. The study adopted a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews, focus group discussion and personal observation as methods for data collection. The findings have revealed how collective victimization of the Ethiopian Anuak which have been historically subjected to by the Ethiopian government and the Ethiopian Highlanders is negatively influencing and shaping the way they perceive the Ethiopian Highlander refugees in the same settlement. The findings have also shown how the competitive victimhood has developed mainly among the Anuak refugees in a way that shows them as the ultimate sufferers and the ideal "victims" which enhance their exclusive victim consciousness. Through claiming victimhood, Anuak refugees have made their voices more heard and their suffering more legitimate compared to the other refugees including the Highlander. In this sense, being a "victim" goes beyond the normalized image that has been set by the humanitarian discourse which represents refugees as apolitical, passive, dependent but rather reveals their consciousness about their past and the power they have to bring this suffering to the surface.