Historical perspectives on contemporary refuge seeking in Africa

Abstract

This introduction elaborates the aims of the Special Issue, African Refuge | Refuge africain, which are: considering African refuge seeking over the span of a century; moving beyond the classifications that orient annual reporting on refugee statistics; delving into the politics of refuge seeking; and blurring distinctions between refuge seekers and hosts, exiles and humanitarians. The research presented in this issue demonstrates that, whether in the past or in the present, Africa’s uprooted are not a problem to be solved. Considered with a broader historical scope, they are people who withdraw from a place they once called home because of circumstances they faced there. Refuge seeking is not a policy category, a legal classification or an international protocol. Rather, it is the practice of defying uniform aid prescriptions engaged by those for whom it is too problematic to remain at home.