Death and Mourning in a United Nations Protection of Civilians Site in South Sudan

This article investigates the conduct of burial and funerals in a Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Juba, South Sudan. Focusing on the experiences of internally displaced people, it shows how burial and funerary practice were disordered in the PoC site. It argues that death exposed competing temporalities in the protection of civilians: between the crisis temporality of the humanitarian intervention, and the long-term concerns of the internally displaced. These circumstances were part of a complex everyday relationship between PoC residents and humanitarians, as displaced people sought to ensure future survival of their kinship networks and wider community.

Automated summary

This article investigates the disorderly conduct of burial and funerals in a Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Juba, South Sudan. It argues that death exposes the conflicting temporalities between the crisis intervention and the long-term concerns of internally displaced people. These circumstances highlight the complex everyday relationship between PoC residents and humanitarians as the displaced seek to ensure the future survival of their kinship networks and wider community.