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

Abstract

ABSTRACT 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.