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Displacement Trauma and Digital Silence: Narrating Survival Before Connectivity Among South Sudanese Refugees in Uganda


Authors : Kenyi Marle

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 10 - October


Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/4xas6455

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26Oct742

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.


Abstract : This article investigates the traumatic aspects of forced displacement of South Sudanese refugees in Morobi Refugee Camp, Uganda, with a focus on the time before digital media is used. Through an analysis of 25 in-depth interviews using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2021), the article explores four sub-themes from a main Theme (Trauma and Adaptation): (a) Violent Displacement and Flight, (b) Physical Deprivation Endurance, (c) Family Separation and Informational Void, and (d) Conditional Camp Adaptation. Findings suggest that the process of being displaced is simultaneously continuing and fragmented, with the body as the center of survival. The article also introduces the concept of digital silence to capture the absence of digital media use during acute flight and the understanding that digital engagement becomes possible when physical safety is reached.

Keywords : Displacement Trauma, Digital Silence, South Sudanese Refugees, Uganda, Forced Migration, Reflexive Thematic Analysis, Digital Activation Threshold.

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This article investigates the traumatic aspects of forced displacement of South Sudanese refugees in Morobi Refugee Camp, Uganda, with a focus on the time before digital media is used. Through an analysis of 25 in-depth interviews using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2021), the article explores four sub-themes from a main Theme (Trauma and Adaptation): (a) Violent Displacement and Flight, (b) Physical Deprivation Endurance, (c) Family Separation and Informational Void, and (d) Conditional Camp Adaptation. Findings suggest that the process of being displaced is simultaneously continuing and fragmented, with the body as the center of survival. The article also introduces the concept of digital silence to capture the absence of digital media use during acute flight and the understanding that digital engagement becomes possible when physical safety is reached.

Keywords : Displacement Trauma, Digital Silence, South Sudanese Refugees, Uganda, Forced Migration, Reflexive Thematic Analysis, Digital Activation Threshold.

Paper Submission Last Date
31 - October - 2026

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