South Sudanese Diaspora in Australasia: Reconciling the Past with the Present

Abstract

Since 1996, approximately 30,000 South Sudanese people have immigrated to Australia and New Zealand via humanitarian pathways. This text offers insight into these associated communities’ resettlement experiences and provides a broader sociological context in which the South Sudanese diaspora can be seen within global migration studies. The text’s strength is its close relationship to the work of culturally and disciplinarily diverse scholars bringing contemporary research on South Sudanese resettlement together in one book. This collection provides: • Contemporary research that critically examines the experiences of South Sudanese settlement and its associated successes, concerns and challenges; • Social, theoretical, historical and policy implications associated with resettlement; • An informed and reflective focus on substantive resettlement issues such as education, health, housing, Australian and customary law, employment, integration and discrimination. • Current demographics of the South Sudanese not available elsewhere The South Sudanese community is one of Australia’s fastest growing new populations, and yet there are limited understandings of their experiences, concerns, aspirations and the associated implications for being able to meaningfully participate in Australian and New Zealand public life. This edited text provides a focused collection of research by established and emerging researchers who offer insight into the complexities, opportunities and challenges related to the lived experiences of resettlement.