Tales of water: a methodological perspective on the visualisation of negotiating water access by south sudanese refugees in rural Uganda

Abstract

Water access is being shaped by South Sudanese refugees on a day to day basis due to scarcity
challenges in rural refugee camp ‘BibiBidi’, located in the north of Uganda. Understanding how
this water scarcity is negotiated in different dimensions such as time, space and gender, provides
some insight in temporary and less temporary challenges related to water inside the refugee
camp. In the ethnographic fieldwork that led to this article, visual and participatory methods
were used in order to demonstrate how water access is shaped by the constant negotiation of
gender and other roles in experiencing time and space.
This article is mainly focused on a set of different methodologies that were used in the fieldwork
e.g. walking with video (walking ethnography), story-mapping technique and life stories with
video reflections. Visual techniques can be used as a way to analyse dimensions of spatiality
and temporality inside a refugee settlement, the notion of suffering for water and the exploration
of gender-water relations. The power of the visual provides an interesting perspective on
shaping water access through the personal experiences of South Sudanese refugees, who
negotiate time, space and gender on a daily basis in their quest for water.