Representation, trust and ethnicity within refugee communities: the case of Darfurians in Israel.

This article examines the challenges of refugee participation and representation through a case study of the Sons of Darfur (SoD), a refugee community organization (RCO) founded by Darfurian Sudanese asylum seekers in Israel. It highlights how external agencies, including the Israeli government, often expect refugee groups to present a unified voice, which can conflict with refugees' own understandings of representation based on ethnic trust and diversity within their communities. The SoD's involvement in a government decision to allocate temporary residency status (A5 visas) without adequate consultation or sensitivity to internal ethnic divisions led to a loss of trust, organizational fragmentation, and the rise of ethnically based community centers. The study underscores the importance of recognizing internal community dynamics and trust in refugee representation to avoid undermining communal cohesion and effective participation in decision-making.