Do I look like a refugee? Challenging the passive victim narrative of refugeehood in Tongogara refugee settlement

Abstract

This article examines refugee framing and agency in the context of protracted displacement in Zimbabwe, drawing on research conducted in Tongogara Refugee Settlement (TRS) in December 2024. Using Giddens’ structuration theory and Brun’s concept of active agency-in-waiting, it employs qualitative methods, including in-depth discussions and observations with 24 refugees. Findings show that refugees navigate restrictive policies by engaging in the informal economy, trading and bartering with their host communities, and leveraging opportunities such as learning the English language to earn extra income through interpretation services. These practices promote social cohesion, challenging assumptions of inevitable conflict between refugees and their host communities. Significantly, while refugees demonstrate agency and resilience, this often arises from systemic inadequacies such as insufficient aid provision, underscoring the need to avoid romanticizing refugee resourcefulness in ways that absolve state and humanitarian actors of their obligations and responsibility. Overall, the study highlights how governance structures and grassroot relations simultaneously constrain and enable refugee agency, reframing refugeehood beyond stereotypes of dependency and victimhood.