Liminal Space in Protracted Exile: The Meaning of Place in Congolese Refugees’ Narratives of<i>Home</i>and<i>Belonging</i>in Kampala

Abstract

This article aims to advance the discussion on the relationship between people and places in the context of protracted exile. It analyses narratives of home and belonging of protracted Congolese refugees in Kampala and argues for a dynamic and changing notion of home that takes place in protracted exile. Conditions in exile lead to a profound feeling of being out of place and fuel an antagonistic sense of home. This does not mean, however, that all refugees share a strong attachment to their homeland, or that their desire to return is a natural given. Indeed, this article argues that the home of Congolese refugees is not only left behind in another place, it has also been left behind in another time and is therefore experienced as a previous and irretrievable home. Triggered by remittances and information, refugees’ search for home is translated into a desire to be resettled, and thus the idea of home becomes stronger. This is also reflected in refugees’ notion of home as a spiritual place, transcending both time and space.