Narratives of Displacement: Conversations with Boko Haram Displaced Persons in Northeast Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This paper seeks to contribute to ethnological discourses of the contexts and personal dimensions of war and displacement. Personal stories of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are not always told as they are usually lost in statistics and media reports of humanitarian responses. This work presents a documentation of stories of IDPs recorded verbatim in IDP camps in Northeast Nigeria. It explores not only their personal stories, but also the discursive meanings they make of their displacement experience. IDPs’ personal framings of ongoing and past experiences provide a useful illumination on the often ignored impacts of the Boko Haram conflict on personal lives as well as a useful resource for humanitarian interveners. While displaced persons are drawn from diverse socio-cultural and religious backgrounds, their stories reflect common yearnings. Findings can provide a useful tool for Peacebuilders to develop conflict transformation programs in crises and post-crises societies.

KEYWORDS:

• Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
• narratives
• memories
• displacement
• Boko Haram
• stories

Notes

1. See Kusá et al., 2008.

2. To protect their identities, the full names of the interviewees in this project have not been disclosed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob

Dr. Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob is Chair of the Communications & Multimedia Design Program at the American University of Nigeria. His research interest is located at the intersection between Communications and global change in contemporary society.

Maire Abia-Bassey

Maire Abia-Bassey is a 2015 graduate of Communications & Multimedia Design at the American University of Nigeria. She graduated with Honors.

Emily Nkanga

Emily Nkanga is a 2015 graduate of Communications & Multimedia Design at the American University of Nigeria. In addition to studying TV/Film, Emily has a strong passion for photography.

Abdulahi Aliyu

Abdulahi Aliyu is a 2015 graduate of Communications & Multimedia Design at the American University of Nigeria.