The Impact of Civil War on the Social Interaction among Sudanese Refugees in the U.S.

Refugees from Darfur, Nuba mountains, and Beja of eastern Sudan represent a large portion of Sudanese refugees resettled in the U.S. Devastated by civil war, the Sudanese social fabric has been affected as a consequence. This paper examined whether social solidarity values follow Sudanese refugees in the country of resettlement, in addition to whether internal conflict haunts their social relationship as well as how Sudanese ethnic groups perceive each other in the United States. Utilizing a qualitative research method, I interviewed ten Sudanese refugees from civil war zones over the phone and in person. I learned from participants’ experiences that Sudanese refugees of African origin maintained a social distance from Arab northerners and created their ethnic community organizations to navigate their lives and overcome genocide trauma. However, social solidarity values are practiced among refugees regularly, regardless of ethnic or religious background, which contradicted the findings of some studies on refugees from other countries.