Identities in Exile

The study seeks to establish the impact of social interactions between refugees and local populations on refugees' national and ethnic identities. It is a case study of Burundian Hutu Refugees in Johannesburg, but for comparative reasons, two other groups of respondents namely Rwandan refugees and South Africans were also included. The study finds that despite regular contact with the host environment and populations, refugees strive to maintain their ethnic and national identities, and hence challenges the widely held assumption that to become a 'refugee' or being displaced from a national community means automatically losing one's identity, traditions and culture. Further, apart from the inevitable adoption of new situational practices by refugees, the study finds no serious 'renegotiation' or 'contest' of group identities in the cosmopolitan Johannesburg as both South Africans and refugees/migrants in the city seem to be holding on to their identitive ideals and practices.