The Nubian predicament: A story about colonial legacy, discrimination and statelessness
Published: 10/Sep/2010
Source: Open Society Foundations
By Sebastian Kohn
The year was 1923, and Sebi Rajab had worked for the King’s African Rifles–the British colonial army–since the end of the war. It wasn’t exactly what he had hoped to do with his life, but the British policy of forced conscription meant that people like Sebi had no choice.
Life by the Nuba Mountains, in present-day central Sudan, had certainly not been lush, but it had provided a sense of stability and belonging: it was a cultural and historical home difficult to leave behind. The British had made it very clear, however, that even once he was discharged, Sebi could not return to the mountains. Instead, he was expected to relocate to Kibera–a new Nubian home created by the colonialists on the outskirts of Nairobi, in what is today Kenya.
Read further: The Nubian Predicament: A Story about Colonial Legacy, Discrimination, and Statelessness