| Summary: | ABSTRACT
Globalization and an exponential increase in cross-border migration have led to a
redefining of belonging and membership. It is argued that the question of belonging is no
longer a question of residential geography and ties to location, but one that is
constructed in light of a decline of the meaning of fixed place in an ever more globalized
world. Globalization has facilitated a rise of alternatives to place-bound identity. Yet,
when refugees face the experiences of death and burial of loved ones in exile, they
seem to cling to fixed place as the base for asserting their identity and where they
belong while in exile. Although where one is buried is important in many African
communities, burying loved ones on foreign land does not generate rather a new sense
of connection to the foreign land. Instead, refugees repudiate ties to this soil and
consciously invoke references to their homeland and geographical locations in
describing where they belong. This paper presents a discussion of the concepts of
belonging and place in the context of compelling experiences of death and burial in exile
for refugees in a globalized world.
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