“Will we become Kenyans?” South Sudanese cultural practises and prospects of integration in the Kakuma Refugee Camp

South Sudanese refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement have expressed resistance to prospects of integration, despite integration often being understood as a more desirable alternative to prolonged encampment with limited opportunities for return or resettlement. In this working paper, Mulki Mohamed Ali examines refugees’ concerns about cultural erosion by analysing how cultural change unfolds in displacement through both organic and structural factors, and how this has produced a generational divide in understanding and practice of cultural identity. The paper recommends that UNHCR and humanitarian organisations strengthen support for cultural activities, and that the Government of Kenya involve refugees more directly in the design and communication of integration policy.