Resettled for Development : The Case of New Halfa Agricultural Scheme, Sudan

Abstract

This Current African Issues discusses the displacement and resettlement of the Sudanese Nubians into the New Halfa agricultural scheme in Eastern Sudan, the current state of this multi-ethnic community and the challenges the farmers are facing. The Nubians of Wadi Halfa in Northern Sudan (also called the Halfawi Nubians) had to be relocated to New Halfa due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the early 1960s. In addition to the loss of ancestral land and the alienation they experienced, the Halfawi Nubians struggled to secure a sufficient livelihood in New Halfa and found their lives irreversibly altered. Although the resettlement of the Nubians did not succeed in rooting them in their new territory and a lot of the Halfawi Nubians have since abandoned the scheme, New Halfa has also created unforeseen opportunities for internally displaced people and migrant workers and become a growing regional centre for business and commerce. Despite the fact that New Halfa failed to meet its original targets, it is an example of a resettlement scheme that, in 50 years, developed and adjusted according to the needs of its current inhabitants.