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E N V I S I O N I N G T H E R E T U R N : P A R T I C I PA T OR Y V I D E O F O R V O L U N T A R Y R E PA T R I AT I O N A N D S U S T A I N A B L E R E I N T E G R A T I ON | 1 7
CHAPTER 2
Envisioning the Return: Participatory Video for
Voluntary Repatriation and Sustainable
ReintegrationMelissa Brough and Charles Otieno-Hongo
In 2005, following the much-awaited signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for
South Sudan, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners beganramping up for the repatriation of refugees from Africas longest-running civil war. If
successful, this movement, entailing up to half a million refugees in six surrounding countries,
could serve as an example for future repatriation efforts in the region and other parts of the
world. Yet despite the renewed sense of hope brought about by the peace agreement,
refugees waiting just below the border in the Kakuma Camp in Kenya expressed sentiments
ranging from distrust of UNHCR, partner agencies and the fledgling government of South
Sudan, to pessimism about the likelihood of a sustained peace, to fear of returning to an
unrecognisable country that many had left as children.Indeed, the repatriation process itself
was just one part of the equation; anxieties about successfully reintegrating in the war-torn
country were high. Refugees expressed a need for information about the support they would
receive in the repatriation process, the conditions they would be returning to in South Sudan,and how to overcome challenges to reintegrating and rebuilding their communities.
In an effort to support the process, as well as to involve Sudanese refugee youth in mobilising the
refugee community, FilmAid International turned to participatory video, a methodology for
promoting social change through individual and community empowerment. Through video-based
activities, youths were engaged in dialogue and awareness-raising about repatriation and concerns
critical to reintegration.1 Drawing also on youth development and media for development
methodologies, the programme enabled the youths to produce short videos and newscasts that
were shared with the Sudanese community in Kakuma at large. The authors assisted in the
development, implementation and monitoring of the project. Here they reflect on innovations,
challenges faced, and how lessons learned might be applied to future projects using the power ofvideo to help ensure a voluntary return and a sustainable reintegration.
Background
FilmAid International
Founded in 1999, FilmAid International is a non-profit organisation that utilises film and
video to promote health, strengthen communities and enrich the lives of the worlds forcibly
1 Youth participants in
FilmAids programmes range
in age from fifteen to thirty.
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2 www.filmaid.org
displaced.2 Using educational and entertaining programming, FilmAids aim is to facilitate social
change by increasing individuals knowledge and confidence, and by providing information and
opportunities for people to come together to explore, debate and express ideas.
FilmAid has been working with Sudanese refugees in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwestern
Kenya since 2001. Partnering with UNHCR and other agencies such as the International Rescue
Committee and Handicap International, as well as members of both the refugee and host
communities, FilmAid serves as the primary agency for information dissemination in the camp. Its
open-air screenings often reach audiences of thousands at once; feature films are preceded by
cartoons, a public service announcement and an educational short. In addition to psychosocial
relief, FilmAid provides information on critical topics such as conflict prevention, human rights,
HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence. Screenings are also held in community centres, schools,
hospitals and infant feeding centres on such topics as teenage pregnancy, reproductive health, and
education for girls.
FilmAid works with local advisory committees to ensure that the content used in its programmes
is appropriate and relevant for the intended audience. FilmAids Kakuma staff is comprised
primarily of refugees from the community, who are directly involved in programme design,
implementation and monitoring.
Refugees gather as
FilmAid sets up an evening
film screening in Kakuma
Camp, Kenya.
Photo courtesy of FilmAidInternational.
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Kakuma Camp
One of the largest in the world, Kakuma Refugee Camp is located in the Turkana District of northern
Kenya. It was formed in 1992 when over 10,000 unaccompanied minors known as the Lost Boys arrivedin Kenya after walking hundreds of miles to flee the violence in Sudan. When news of the peace agreement
for South Sudan broke in 2005, the camp was home to over 90,000 refugees from ten countries; nearly
69,000 were Sudanese.3 Of these, approximately 70 per cent were youth.4
The Sudanese community in Kakuma is composed of several different tribes, including Dinka,
Nuer, Didinga, Lotuko and Lopit. Fewer than 10 per cent of the Sudanese in Kakuma Camp have
more than a primary school education. Many do not share fluency in a common language.
Communication barriers (language and illiteracy), compounded by social norms and limited
resources, often leave the most vulnerable women and minorities isolated from information
sources, adding to the challenges faced by this repatriation movement.
The possibility of return: working towards a sustainable repatriation and
reintegration
Repatriation is a process in which refugees are actively involved, rather than being passive
participants.
Khalid Koser 5
Over two decades of civil war in South Sudan resulted in more than two million deaths and
displaced over four million people from their homes. The signing of the 2005 peace agreement
between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army opened
the door for UNHCR and its partners to begin assisting over half a million refugees to return fromcamps like Kakuma and others in neighbouring countries. However, the first two years of the
repatriation movement witnessed much lower rates of return than originally projected. 6
According to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol,
refugees are guaranteed protection against refoulement, or involuntary return. Voluntary repatriation
requires that refugees have the legal, physical and socio-economic ability as well as objective and
accurate information to make a free choice about remaining in the host country or returning
home. As stated in UNHCRs handbook on Voluntary Repatriation, only an informed decision
can be a voluntary decision.7
To assess the level of knowledge about repatriation, an independent researcher affiliated withBoston Universitys Center for International Health and Development and hired by FilmAid
International surveyed 233 Sudanese refugees in Kakuma Camp in June 2006. The majority
reported that they did not understand the process of voluntary repatriation, including their rights
and entitlements, and felt they lacked sufficient information to prepare to reintegrate in South
Sudan.8 Nearly a year later, graduate student researchers from Columbia Universitys School of
International and Public Affairs (SIPA) observed that this lack of information was still a likely
3 UNCHR Electronic Data
Processing Department,
Nairobi Branch Office, May
2005.
4 FilmAid International, 2007.
5 Koser, Khalid (1997)
Information and Repatriation:
The Case of Mozambican
Refugees in Malawi,Journal of
Refugee Studies, 10(1), p. 15.
6 FilmAid Kakuma Office, 2006,
2007.
7 UNHCR (1996) Voluntary
Repatriation: International
Protection. Handbook.
Geneva: UNHCR.
8 Lee, Katharine (2007) Impact
of FilmAid Programs in Kakuma,
Kenya: Final Report. New York:
FilmAid International.
http://www.filmaid.org/where/
bueval.shtml
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factor contributing to the low rate of repatriation.9 A UNHCR assessment in September 2005
noted that minority groups and women had particularly limited access to information.10
UNHCR and its partner agencies were therefore responsible not only for assisting the repatriation,
but also for providing the information and protection necessary to ensure that the process was
voluntary and the return sustainable. This included accurate and objective country of origin
information information about South Sudan such as political, economic and security conditions,
availability of jobs, education, health care services, food and other goods, the state of infrastructure
(roads, water sources, etc.) and the presence of landmines. In his study of the repatriation of
Mozambiquan refugees in Malawi, Koser (1997) found the following:
There has been strong criticism of the way that repatriation is promoted by the international
community (Harrell-Bond 1989), and one particular focus of that criticism has been a general
failure to understand and facilitate refugees own strategies for return (Wilson 1993). Byconfirming the value that many refugees place upon information about their home country,
a potentially larger role for the international community can be suggested to be either the
direct supply of information, or at least the support of an infrastructure through which
refugees can obtain information case study emphasizes the need for the full
participation of refugees in cross-border information programmes as well as in
repatriation projects more generally.11
The study also determined that refugees seek information both from official institutional sources,
perceived as more credible on certain topics, and from personal contacts who are more trusted on
other matters, thereby implying that a multi-level approach to providing repatriation information
to refugees in the camp would be most effective.
Additionally, recent initiatives such as the Dialogue on Voluntary Repatriation and Sustainable
Reintegration in Africa and UNHCRs Convention Plus have called for a more holistic and
integrated approach to reintegration and rehabilitation, rooted in community-based programming.12
During the Dialogue, in which African and other interested governments, UN agencies, international
organisations and NGOs participated, the social and economic reintegration of populations was
cited as the most delicate period in any peace process.13 UNHCR has further noted, experience
shows that if the issue of sustainability or reintegration of refugee and displaced populations is not
addressed properly, the countries concerned will almost inevitably slide back into conflict.14
Numerous variables may influence the sustainability of return and reintegration. Key among themare employment, housing, security, education and public and social services and infrastructure.15
Although meeting even basic needs during repatriation and reintegration is a challenge, researchers
and practitioners increasingly acknowledge the importance of cultural and psychosocial factors, i.e.
how individuals sense of home and belonging changes, and how cultural and social practices
may have changed in exile, potentially leading to rifts between returnees and those who remained
in the country of origin.
9 Bajoria, J., Keith, A. and Wax,
A. (2007) Monitoring the Reach
and Impact of Country of Origin
Information Dissemination for
Sudanese Refugees in Kakuma
Refugee Camp, Kenya: Final
Report to FilmAid International.
New York: Columbia University
School of International and
Public Affairs. Additional
factors may include the lack of
infrastructure in South Sudan,
preferences for resettlement
(as opposed to repatriation),
and uncertainty about the
sustainability of the peace.
10 UNHCR Participatory
Assessment in Kakuma,
September 2005. Information
provided by FilmAids Kakuma
Office.
11 Koser (1997) op. cit., pp.
1516, emphasis added.
12 UNHCR (2004) Dialogue on
Voluntary Repatriation and
Sustainable Reintegration in
Africa: Chairmans Summing
up and Conclusions. Geneva:
UNHCR, p. 2.
13 Ibid.
14 UNHCR (2004) In R. Black
and S. Gent, Defining,Measuring and Influencing
Sustainable Return: The Case of
the Balkans. Development
Research Centre on Migration,
Globalisation and Poverty, p.
12.
15 Black, R., Koser, K. and
Munk, K. (2004). In Black and
Gent, op. cit.
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In fact, the material and psycho-social difficulties that accompany reintegration are
extremely intertwined and should not be separated; landlessness, joblessness, homelessness,
food insecurity etc. all impact on the psychological well-being of the returnee. Nonetheless,the meaning of returning home and its psychosocial implications are persistently
overlooked by the international refugee regime which assumes that, apart from the obvious
material difficulties accompanying reintegration, returnees will naturally re-connect with
their homeland and recover the feeling of well-being they enjoyed before the events leading
to their flight. The problem is not only that this belief is wrong, but that it is shared by the
returnees themselves.16
These are some of the complex factors involved in ensuring refugees a safe, informed and voluntary
repatriation and sustainable reintegration. Recent innovations have been made with regard to
information dissemination in the repatriation process, such as Search for Common Grounds mass
information campaigns using radio news broadcasts and serial dramas in West Africa.17 However,the extent to which refugees (with the possible exception of refugee community leaders) are being
directly engaged in the process of meeting repatriation and reintegration informational needs is still
limited. And while theatre has been used in reintegration settings to address conflict
transformation, the use of video to support reintegration has been minimal. Furthermore, a model
for using participatory video in this context does not exist. Participatory video methodologies could
ensure that the refugee community participates in the dissemination of repatriation information
as well as encourage discussions about anticipated challenges and possible solutions to
reintegration, engaging the lesser-heard voices of women and youth.
Involving refugee youth in the voluntary repatriation and reintegration process
If the youth are not coming home, then the country will not be developed all the youth
must unite for the better future in our country.
Lokot Paul, a Sudanese refugee youth, in the participatory video production The Storm Is Over
The overarching goal of FilmAids repatriation project was to contribute to a safe, informed and
voluntary repatriation of Sudanese refugees residing in Kenya and to help facilitate the
rehabilitation process in southern Sudan by equipping refugees with knowledge of issues critical
to reintegration. The desired outcome was that beneficiaries would have a greater understanding
of assisted repatriation procedures, their rights and entitlements, and issues relevant to reintegration
so that they are better prepared for repatriation and a healthy reintegration in Southern Sudan.18
In the autumn of 2005, FilmAids Kakuma staff began a mass public information campaign onrepatriation and issues relevant to reintegration through large, open-air screenings and smaller,
video-based workshops.19
In the autumn of 2006, a country of origin information campaign was piloted in addition to these
activities, in response to calls from the refugee community for information about the specific
conditions in their home regions.20 To further address the multidimensional nature of the
16 Ghanem, Tania (2005). In A.
Bolesta, Refugee Crises and
International Response:
Towards Permanent Solutions?
Warsaw: Leon Kozminski
Academy of Entrepreneurship
and Management, pp. 12425.
17 Search for Common
Ground is a non-profit
organisation that focuses on
conflict resolution and conflict
prevention. See:
http://www.sfcg.org/program
mes/liberia/liberia_successrefu
gee.html
18 FilmAid Internationals
Proposal to the Bureau of
Population, Refugees and
Migration (BPRM), 2005. The
majority of FilmAids
repatriation-related activities
were funded by BPRM, an
office of the U.S. State
Department.
19Topics included
repatriation rights,
entitlements and procedures,
prevention of sexual
exploitation and abuse as well
as other protection concerns,
HIV/AIDS awareness, conflict
resolution and mine risk
education. These topics were
identified as priority issueareas through discussions with
the refugee community.
20 Co-ordinating a country of
origin information campaign
would have been challenging
any sooner, given that
procedures and resources for
gathering the information in
South Sudan were still being
established by partner agencies.
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information needs and increase the communitys involvement, FilmAid engaged refugee youth in
the repatriation project through participatory video activities.
In post-conflict settings, the most common experience for youth is one of alienation and
exclusion.21 Having a way to contribute directly to their communities can greatly affect youths
self-esteem and helps them become actors who are able to address a range of community needs in
the future.22 Creating a space for youth to express themselves and develop their voices was of
utmost importance in this case, given the particular nature of this repatriation, which entailed the
return of the Lost Boys of Sudan and thousands of other youth upon whom the future stability
of the country will depend.
In 2001, FilmAid launched a participatory video programme (PVP) in Kakuma Camp to help
meet the need for stimulating activities that encourage creativity, communication and productive
collaboration among the refugee youth. As part of FilmAids involvement in the South Sudan
voluntary repatriation process, FilmAid began focusing its PVP activities in 2005 on training
Sudanese refugee youth in video production in order to help them reflect upon, record and share
21 Bannon, I., Holland, P. and
Rahim, A. (2005) Youth in
Post-Conflict Settings, Youth
Development Notes, 1(1).
Children & Youth Unit, Human
Development Network, World
Bank, p. 4.
[http://siteresources.worldban
k.org/INTCY/Publications/2084
5374/YDN1conflict.pdf]
22World Bank(2005) Children
and Youth: A Framework for
Action. Washington, DC: TheWorld Bank; Park, K., Shiffer, E.
and Sung, E. (2007) Tracking the
Progress of Refugee Youth:
Development of a Monitoring
and Evaluation System for
FilmAid Internationals Youth
Participatory Video Project. New
York: Columbia University School
of International and Public
Affairs.
Sudanese refugees record
voice-overs for a locally
produced video about the
repatriation.
Photo courtesy of FilmAid
International.
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Outcomes
By November 2007, the PVP youth had produced over twenty short films tackling repatriationand other topics they felt were relevant to a safe and sustainable reintegration. These videos were
developed collectively by the youth, who had full creative control over the productions, including
the perspectives presented. The majority address social and health-related concerns including
conflict resolution, forced and early marriage, HIV/AIDS, infidelity, abstinence, teen pregnancy
and child abuse, as well as sexual exploitation and abuse. Of the videos that focused on the
repatriation process itself, one is a documentary-style film in which young people discuss their
fears and hopes about repatriating; another uses drama to illustrate the frustrations of life in the
camp, depicting repatriation as a possible way out of the despair. People have to go back because
this is their homeland; this is where their life must be. If they dont go back who will develop that
place? If they remain here, no one will develop it, argued one Sudanese man in the PVP.
A smaller sub-group of the PVP worked with FilmAid repatriation project staff to developand pilot Kakuma News, two video news clips on country of origin information. The youth
recorded themselves in the role of news anchors, reporting information gathered from
FilmAids partner agencies in Sudan, including the International Rescue Committee, the Lutheran
World Federation, UNHCR and the Sudan Radio Service. Topics addressed
included the current status of the education system, the upcoming government census, and
the status of health concerns in South Sudan. Kakuma News was not strictly a participatory
production, as the content was largely chosen and contextualised by FilmAid staff
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PVP participants being
trained to present country
of origin information in
Kakuma News.
Photo courtesy of FilmAid
International.
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(including refugee staff ) and partner agencies. Furthermore, the youth were offered material
incentives for working on the news clips, which had tight deadlines due to the time-bound nature
of the country of origin information. The sensitive nature of the information (both in terms oftimeliness and content) required the involvement and direction of more senior-level staff.
As of December 2007, nearly 10,500 refugees in Kakuma had seen
Kakuma News, while PVPs videos had reached a cumulative audience of
nearly 60,000. In addition, the youths videos were shown on a television
in the back of FilmAids Mobile Information Van. The van was used to go
further into the camp with detailed written and visual country of origin
information materials that refugees could browse through as needed, with
staff on hand to answer questions.
SuccessesOne immediate success of the PVP activities in Kakuma was that a space was created for Sudanese
youth to become actively involved in discussions about repatriation and reintegration. The Kakuma
refugee community remains structured by traditional Sudanese social hierarchies in which young
people, particularly girls, rarely get the opportunity to articulate their concerns and ideas publicly.
The PVP activities have offered the space for this demographic who will play a critical role in
ensuring a sustainable future for South Sudan to articulate their concerns, fears, hopes and
aspirations.
Another success was identified by SIPA graduate student researchers, who reported that PVP
members expressed a strengthened ability to communicate, as well as greater confidence in groups.
Some of their findings from evaluative focus group discussions (FGDs) are worth quoting atlength:
his favorite experience was directing because he now feels more
confident in leading people under other circumstances in the community. For example,
completing the hectic shooting schedule for a recent film festival gave him
confidence that he can accomplish something more than the usual. Another PVP member
said that before PVP he was afraid to speak to groups, but that now he is more comfortable
expressing himself. Three others replied that they are more confident presenting themselves
in front of people. One said, It has helped me speak my thoughts without any fear. Most
male PVP members within one FGD mentioned that they value the ability to share
information with the community. One added this was important to enable them to change.
Along with developing their confidence, they have begun to realize that their status in the
community is growing. One said he now knows how to find and share information about
important issues like HIV/AIDS. Another said that acting in PVP films has given him some
fame people in the community recognize him now he laughed as he said this.29
29 Park, Shiffer and Sung
(2007) op. cit., p. 27.
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As of December 2007, nearly 10,500
refugees in Kakuma had seen Kakuma
News, while the PVPs videos had
reached a cumulative audience of
nearly 60,000.
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The majority of these responses came from male participants, who comprise 66 per cent of the
PVP participants in the repatriation project activities. Nonetheless, the SIPA researchers noted
similar progress among the young women, such as: One of the female participants said that PVPhad greatly impacted her by giving her public speaking skills. Overall, their evaluation of the project
showed a trend of increased levels of communication skills. Both males and females reported
increased levels of comfort when addressing large groups, expressing opinions in the family, and
making statements in the community. 30
Participatory video can be a potent tool for the empowerment of women, who have traditionally
been excluded from the use of technology; women have shown improved communication skills and
self-confidence, which in turn helps elevate their status in their communities.31 FilmAid viewed the
young womens participation in the PVP as an important stepping stone towards ensuring that
their voices were heard in every stage of the repatriation and reintegration process. This is in
keeping with the position put forth in UNHCRs Dialogue on Voluntary Repatriation andSustainable Reintegration in Africa that, All sectors of society, particularly women, youths and
vulnerable groups, must be given the opportunity to contribute meaningfully.32 Recruiting and
sustaining the participation of young women in the PVP was an ongoing challenge to which we
will return later in this chapter. However, the progress made by the young women who did
participate was seen as an important outcome of the projects activities.
Also noteworthy is that adult members of the refugee community observed a positive change in
the youth who had participated in the PVP. As reported by the SIPA researchers, Sudanese women
in focus group discussions perceived that PVP members had experienced positive change and
that it had brought out their hidden potential More than one community member noted that
the PVP program brought a sense of hope to the community. They also found that the PVPsvideos were affecting knowledge and awareness among non-participating youth in the broader
community.33 There is thus evidence of a collective community benefit of the PVP.
Increasing confidence, communication and leadership skills is critical in a community that, due to
great dependency on aid agencies, may be more accustomed to ingratiating themselves rather than
speaking freely. This is further compounded by feelings of helplessness that lead to a lack of
confidence in ones own abilities to proactively solve problems. The potential for participatory video
to counter what Koser calls the dependency syndrome is of particular interest given the vastness
of this challenge in a protracted refugee setting. The fact that tens of thousands of the Sudanese
refugees in Kakuma Camp arrived as children and have grown into young adulthood in the
confines of the camp poses an enormous challenge to a sustainable reintegration; counteringdependency syndrome is particularly difficult when collective memory of independent, organic
community life is scant. As one of the Sudanese youth in the PVP recently said, People should
now forget about dependency it is you to sweat to get what you want. Another noted that
creating a culture of independence will help Sudanese refugees to regain their self-esteem.
30 Ibid.
31 See Garthwaite, A. (2000)
Community Documentaries
and Participatory Video, PLA
Notes, 38.
; Servaes, J., Jacobson, T.L.
and White, S.A. (1996)
Participatory Communication
for Social Change. New Delhi
and Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications; Gumucio Dagron,
A. (2001) Making Waves: Stories
of Participatory Communication
for Social Change. New York:
The Rockefeller Foundation.
32 UNHCR (2004) Dialogue on
Voluntary Repatriation and
Sustainable Reintegration in
Africa: Discussion Paper No. 1.
Refugee Survey Quarterly, 23(3),
p.262.
33 Park, Shiffer and Sung
(2007) op. cit., pp. 29, 32.
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Although FilmAid has made a concerted effort to promote the autonomy of the PVP project, many
participants still believe that they engage in PVP activities primarily on behalf of the organisation. FilmAid
continues to experiment with participatory video methodologies in refugee camp settings, but its staff oftenstruggle to articulate the concept of a youth group that is autonomous yet at the same time necessarily
dependent on FilmAids support.34 It has been a challenge for the youth to internalise ownership of the
project. The culture of dependency in protracted refugee contexts makes it difficult to unlock creativity
and self-motivation. So while the project has met with some success in creating a platform for uninhibited
discussion among the PVP members, this has at times been tempered by the youths tendency to mimic
the pedantic style of communication learned in school and from NGOs in the camp, rather than forging
their own creative and critical communication styles.
At the same time, however, there are promising signs of capacity and skills
building, with unexpected benefits. An independent evaluator of FilmAids
repatriation project recently reported that technical training and capacitybuilding through PVP has provided opportunities to refugees that would
otherwise not be available. For example, one member is now working with a
TV station in Southern Sudan while another is working in a radio station.
Another member is working as an editor for a radio station in Nairobi.35
In their work on reintegration, PVP participants showed an eagerness to help steer their
communities away from inter-tribal conflict and towards a lasting peace. Inter-tribal conflict had
played an ongoing role in the devastation of South Sudan and tribal tensions periodically surface
in Kakuma Camp. The argument expressed by one participant that, People should forget about
tribalism and think about development, was supported by the PVPs activities to raise awareness
about conflict resolution in preparation for reintegration. According to the SIPA researchers, PVPmembers felt that the diversity of the participants in the project itself (nearly all of the Sudanese
tribes were represented) served as an example to the broader Sudanese community of peaceful
collaboration across tribes.36
Challenges and limitations
While FilmAids PVP programme is not new, its repatriation project is. As with any new project
particularly one with few examples or models on which to draw several valuable lessons can
be gleaned. First, participatory video in a protracted refugee setting may require a longer time
period to develop a culture of autonomy and self-empowerment, which otherwise may emerge
more quickly in traditional community contexts. This is due primarily to systemic issues that
encourage the culture of dependency, mentioned above. The Kakuma Camp context is particularlychallenging given that many of the youth have spent the majority of their lives in the camp. Time,
both on the part of support staff and the youths themselves, is therefore a key factor. In Kakuma,
a majority of the members are still in school and must juggle the PVP activities with their
schoolwork. The harsh environment further limits the hours of productivity in a day. Productions
are often rushed to completion over school holidays, compromising the consistency of learning, as
well as the quality of their videos.
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34 In an effort to promote the
autonomy of the PVP, FilmAid,
in collaboration with the
youth, has structured the
group as a club. The youth
developed their own club
constitution and elected
leadership positions. They are
directly involved in yearly,
participatory, strategic
planning activities to
determine their own priorities
for the club. The youth
introduce their videos at
FilmAids regular outdoor
evening screenings, and have
also held their own film
festival showcasing their
videos in the camp.
35 Pabari (2007) op. cit., p. 12.
36 Park, Shiffer and Sung
(2007) op. cit., p. 32.
An independent evaluator of FilmAids
repatriation project recently reported
that technical training and capacitybuilding through PVP has provided
opportunities to refugees that would
otherwise not be available.
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37 Park, Shiffer and Sung
(2007), op. cit., pp. 3031.
38 Ibid.
39 No positive or negative
valuation of the cultural
changes that may occur
during exile is implied by the
authors. Ghanem, in Bolesta
(2005), op. cit., p. 125; Dona, G.
and Berry, J.W. (1999) Refugee
Acculturation and Re-
acculturation, in A. Ager (ed.),
Refugees: The Perspectives on
the Experience of Forced
Migration. New York: Cassell.
E N V I S I O N I N G T H E R E T U R N : P A R T I C I PA T OR Y V I D E O F O R V O L U N T A R Y R E PA T R I AT I O N A N D S U S T A I N A B L E R E I N T E G R A T I ON | 2 9
Young women face the additional challenges of domestic chores and cultural constraints. The role
of women in the Sudanese community in Kakuma is typically confined to doing household chores,
fetching water and looking after children. In a focus group discussion conducted by the graduate
student research team, female PVP members noted chores, schoolwork, cultural constraints andthe lack of pay as reasons some young women had cited for dropping out of the programme. 37
Even in more liberal settings where women and girls are allowed to articulate their views, rarely are
they encouraged to participate. Given these circumstances, it was not surprising that the rate of
participation of young women was lower than hoped; this has been the case since the projects
inception despite outreach efforts in the community to encourage support for female participation.
Interestingly, in a focus group discussion with male youth from the refugee community who were
not members of the PVP, there was an overwhelming consensus that more women should be
involved in the PVP.38 This is one example of the ways in which this generation of Sudanese youth
may be different from their predecessors. Exposure to host community practices, as well as the
heavy influence of Western aid agencies on camp life, creates the conditions for social and cultural
practices to change significantly among refugee communities in a protracted exile.39 Anxieties about
reintegrating and reconciling the resulting social and cultural differences have commonly been
expressed in the PVPs discussions.
Because of repatriation, turnover (of both Sudanese refugee staff and PVP members) has been
high, slowing the projects progress as replacement staff and participants are trained. This will be
an inherent challenge to participatory media projects in repatriation settings. Furthermore, as the
Sudanese women
participate in a workshop
on HIV/AIDS.
Photo courtesy of FilmAid
International.
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number of refugees returning to South Sudan increases, organisations should consider all of the
ways in which they might support the reintegration process in order to ensure that the repatriation
is sustainable. Ideally, a project of this sort would be cross-border in nature so that PVP memberscould continue to develop their skills and be assisted in reintegrating in their country of origin.
However, this has been a challenge for FilmAid because of southern Sudans vast size, lack of
infrastructure and high operating costs and the organisations limited resources.
FilmAids reintegration strategy thus far has been to focus on the youth in the PVP in Kakuma,
to assist them in examining the challenges to reintegration that they may face and to explore
possible solutions.
Measuring impact is yet another inevitable challenge of participatory video. As referenced
throughout this chapter, FilmAid has enlisted the help of independent researchers to provide
assessments of the projects initial outcomes. The added challenges of working in a refugee setting,
particularly during repatriation, may slow the pace of progress and the production of materialdeliverables that can be shared with donors. Donor fatigue can be a particular problem in a
repatriation context, where rate of return is often slower than expected and outcomes may be less
predictable. Developing the autonomy of the PVP while simultaneously meeting donor
expectations has been an ongoing challenge for the FilmAid project. Donors frequently desire
quantifiable impact indicators, which can be a challenge for participatory video projects due to the
qualitative, often long-term nature of the objectives. The participatory methodology can be
compromised by donors whose costbenefit analyses emphasise reaching the largest number of
people on the smallest budget.
Lessons learned and suggestions for the future
One of the goals of this study was to begin to develop a set of best practices for future projects
using participatory video in repatriation contexts. Towards that end we will offer some initial notes.
First, as with any programme in a refugee setting, protection concerns must be taken into account.
Young women participating in youth group activities may be particularly vulnerable to mental or
physical attack because they are perceived as going against cultural expectations and norms,
particularly if the group is mixed gender. FilmAid is committed to preventing sexual exploitation
and abuse and as such all staff, volunteers and PVP participants must sign a code of conduct and
be trained on the topic. However, as PVP members are not FilmAid staff, there is little action that
can be taken against youth who violate this code. Protection concerns remain a primary
consideration.
Another recommended practice is to ensure the involvement of the refugee community at every
stage of project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Participatory approaches to
these stages can strengthen ownership, build community and contribute to long-term sustainability.
That includes a participatory approach to defining the measures of sustainability itself in the
context of repatriation and reintegration.
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Further research on the potential for participatory video to address psychosocial aspects of
repatriation, such as anxiety, fear and conflict, would be helpful for future programme design.
reconstruction of ones links to home is seldom a straight-forward, spontaneous
and effortless process Their experience is compared to a person who has undergone a
severe car accident. When one takes the drivers seat again, all the feelings and emotions
from the accident come to the surface once more the decision to return raises anxieties
even for those who have been dreaming of their homecoming for many years.40
Addressing the psychosocial needs of refugees in Kakuma has been one of FilmAids primary goals
from the start. However, further study of the therapeutic potential of participatory video and
theatre to help refugees particularly youth come to terms with their anxieties and fears about
reintegration is needed.
As we have argued, future repatriation projects should have a cross-border component to enable
as much support for reintegration as possible. This could facilitate additional ways of gathering
country of origin information, as well as the possibility of addressing tensions between returnees
and those who remained in country. One model would be to provide the
tools and training to pre-existing community groups or local
organisations in South Sudan, who are in a better position to offer
participatory video programmes than organisations that were previously
operating only in the camps.
While the PVP was only minimally involved in FilmAids country of origin information campaign,
it should be noted that such information particularly communicated through a visual medium is powerful, and may have unintended effects. As Koser and others have noted, information can
also be a coercive force, compromising the voluntary nature of the decision to return. During the
planning stage of FilmAids repatriation project, careful consideration was given to how to collect,
package and disseminate the country of origin information, and to what extent and how the PVP
(and other members of the refugee community) could be involved. The conditions in southern
Sudan are ever-changing and delivering information (particularly related to security) one day that
could be erroneous the next was a significant protection concern.41 Koser has argued that, emphasis
should be placed on the way that information about home conditions is received and evaluated.42
This is particularly important in a community where media literacy is relatively low; some viewers
may not be as prepared to contextualise and evaluate the information they see on the screen as
those of us accustomed to navigating a screen-saturated society with a critical eye.
Lastly, practitioners should remain self-reflective and sensitive to modes of thinking that may not
apply to every refugee community. As several researchers and practitioners have found, individuals
sense of home and belonging may no longer be associated with their country of origin. (The
current system of repatriation as a durable solution does not take this into account.) Further,
because most participatory media models were based upon Western conceptions of democracy
40 Ghanem, in Bolesta (2005),
op. cit., pp. 117, 126.
41 Koser documented
examples in Malawi of
repatriation decisions made
based on inaccurate
information about conditions
in Mozambique (the country
of origin), or on information
that had changed by the time
the refugees had returned.
Koser also noted that The
potency of (mis)information
campaigns in discouraging
refugees from returning has
been witnessed in the recent
past in the case of Rwandan
refugees. Koser (1997), op. cit.,
p. 3.
42 Ibid.
E N V I S I O N I N G T H E R E T U R N : P A R T I C I PA T OR Y V I D E O F O R V O L U N T A R Y R E PA T R I AT I O N A N D S U S T A I N A B L E R E I N T E G R A T I ON | 3 1
Developing the autonomy of the PVP
while simultaneously meeting donor
expectations has been an ongoing
challenge for the FilmAid project.
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and empowerment, planners must remain flexible and open to different ways of helping the
community meet its own needs on its own terms.
Conclusion
While we may understand the power of the visual, we do not yet understand all of the possible
impacts that video might have in the complex context of repatriation and reintegration, where
much is at stake. As Black and Gent have noted, what happens to returnees, whether return is
sustainable, and what contributes to the sustainability of return, remain under-explored areas. 43
The multidimensional nature of the information needs in a repatriation context cannot be
underestimated. Combining participatory video with mass information campaigns is an important
step towards meeting these needs, guided by the direct involvement of the refugee community.
FilmAids engagement of refugee youth in the repatriation process through participatory video
activities can help inform the design of future repatriation support services and information
campaigns. Even more important, perhaps, is the contribution participatory video might make to
ensuring the sustainability of the reintegration process, an area for further exploration and
innovation. As this chapter has examined, there are unique opportunities as well as challenges to
using participatory video in a refugee setting, with added considerations in the context of
repatriation. A truly voluntary repatriation may remain an elusive goal under current systems of
governance, but ensuring the dignity of the return through access to information and
communication channels should not be.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank FilmAid Internationals Kakuma, Nairobi and New York offices
for their assistance. They also thank Anthony Muteru, Amy Kwan, Franois Bar, Amy Keith,
Ashley Wax, Jayshree Bajoria, Kendra Park, Erin Shiffer and Elizabeth Sung.
43 Black, R. and Gent, S. (2004)
Defining, Measuring and
Influencing Sustainable Return:
The Case of the Balkans.
Brighton: Development
Research Centre on Migration,
Globalisation and Poverty, p.
19.
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