128 thE sudan handbookhalf of the children in migrant settlements do not complete primary
education.
The violent events that followed the sudden death of John Garang in
August 2005, when youths rampaged in Khartoum and dozens of peoples
were killed, revealed the fragile nature of the social fabric. Local media
commentators linked the rampage to angry southerners from migrant
communities, but it soon became clear that, though ethnic difference was
an element, those who engaged in burning, killing and looting included
marginalized people from all over the country. The events in Khartoum
were shocking to some in the north, long insulated from the violence
endemic in other parts of the country; and separatist voices became
louder in the aftermath. Ominously, the riots also revealed the existence
of armed militias in the city. Should north and south Sudan separate, and
should there be conflict between the two new states, there is likely to be
further intercommunal strife in the urban periphery of Khartoum, where
so many southerners live.
Rural-urban migration and urbanization can lead to the integration of
different ethnic groups. But Sudan’s protracted instability and conflict
has defeated the melting-pot powers of urban centres, and what we see
instead is a reconstitution of ethnic identities. This process is reinforced
by the failure of the state to ensure that the basic needs of the poor
are met. State policies of revitalizing tribal and ethnic identities also
contribute. Policies such as ‘return to the roots’, which have tried to
establish forms of tribal administration among urban migrants, have led
to people affirming their tribal or ethnic identities in search of security.
New forms of native administration have emerged: sultans are appointed
with jurisdiction over communities of southern IDPs in Khartoum and
the local courts they organize are recognized by the authorities.
There is little evidence that migration to Khartoum and other major
cities will be halted or even reduced in the near future. While authorities
are busy managing urban social and spatial problems, largely unsuc-
cessfully, they ignore the structural causes of the massive population
movements in the country. Internal migration in Sudan is a response toThe Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors civil crisis and the collapse of livelihoods in rural areas. But the authorities
(www.riftvalley.net).