Invisible Yet Resilient: Understanding the Vulnerability and Integration Pathways of South Sudanese Older Refugees in Uganda

Forcibly displaced older persons in Africa have not largely been the object of academic research. Recent scholars conducted a scoping review about the situations of displaced older persons in Africa and identified several gaps in the literature, including paying attention to the displaced older persons’ integration in the host societies. Our current study contributes to filling this gap by examining the vulnerability of older refugees and identifying hidden opportunities for resilience and integration in the host communities. The study is based on the primary data collected from South Sudanese refugees in Pagirinya Settlement in Uganda, analyzed in conjunction with the available literature. The study finds that despite the vulnerability of older refugees, windows of opportunities exist to develop their resilience and integrate them in the host communities. It concludes that leveraging skills of older refugees and social gatherings in the settlements helps them to curtail vulnerabilities, develop resilience and integrate in the host communities. The article suggests that further interventions should aim at instituting and financially supporting monitoring teams from within the refugees to monitor and report on the situations of older refugees to the relevant authorities for necessary actions; considering older refugees in special diet programs; and improving information flow so that older refugees can access information and services that could help them improve their lives in the settlement and integrate more easily and faster.