The topic of displacement has become part of daily news around the world, but mostly for political reasons. Rarely do we hear the voices of those who are experiencing or have experienced displacement in mainstream debates or the media.

In this lecture, David Mwambari invites the audience to focus on another aspect of displacement that centers on the lived experiences of refugees in East and Southern African countries, Belgium, and the United States. The main question we will discuss together is: What happens to the memories of families and communities when they are forced to leave their homes for places they never imagined or planned to transit through or settle in?

Our conversation will focus on how displaced communities remember conflict, displacement, and return through their stories, oral traditions, art, and performance.