My native Sudan has been ravaged by conflicts over identity and socioeconomic marginalization since independence from Britain in 1956. Elitist debates confined the country’s diverse identities to two dichotomous categorizations: Arabism, associated with Islam and Arabic descent and culture, and Africanism, linked to Christianity, indigenous beliefs and African culture. These polarized views, along with the dominant ideology of the imposition of Arabism and Islam as the basis of national identification, triggered a national identity crisis. This crisis contributed to the escalation of armed conflicts notably the civil war between the North and the South and the current conflict in the Sudan’s Western province of Darfur. This article explores the Darfur conflict which erupted between the central government and liberation groups in 2003, and has been described both as the first genocide of the 21st century and an ethnic cleansing in which the Arab militia are killing the Africans. Using data gathered recently in the Sudan, this article extends the debates on Sudanese identities by showing that the boundaries between Africanism and Arabism are fluid, and by positing multiple identities that resurface as a result of globalization, migration and social ties among ethnic groups. By deconstructing the dominant conceptions of the Sudanese identities, and considering new conceptions about these identities, we can address social dynamics that impact the conflict and take them into consideration when it comes to conflict resolution. Multiculturalism is proposed as a model that could help to accommodate the country’s diverse identities and foster stability.

This article explores multiple affiliations that first-generation Francophone sub-Saharan African immigrants in Alberta build with their communities of origin, the Francophone community in general, and the broader Canadian society. This article posits that dominant racial and ethnic ideologies generate feelings of exclusion from multiple communities. It also sheds light on major challenges faced by this population in the process of integration and illustrates how these barriers are related to racism and linguistic discrimination. At the same time, we observe that African Francophone immigrants reinterpret their social identities in inclusive ways that draw our attention to alternative means of approaching identities. In addition to immigrants' identity strategies, some initiatives have been implemented within the mainstream of the Francophonie and the broader Alberta society that allow us to identify ways of avoiding identity exclusion and increasing equity.Keywords Francophone immigration . Alberta . Africa . Racism and language discrimination . Identity exclusion . Equity We challenge, culturally and politically, an old group narrative that fails at the beginning of this new century to capture even a fraction of our rich diversity and heterogeneity.

In this article, I contend that first generation of Black African Francophone immigrants in Canada regress through the three phases of immigration, which are settlement, adaptation, and integration. This plight occurs while immigrants ought to be progressing from a phase of immigration to a succeeding one. It is generated by linguicism and anti‐Black racism that afflict Black Francophones. Settlement is largely successful, adaption is largely a failure, while integration is completely a failure. This critical analysis problematizes a quandary about Canada and paves the way for implementing mechanism to improve the inclusion of Black Francophones.

No abstract

De nombreuses études montrent qu’un nombre important d’immigrants n’arrive pas à obtenir un emploi dans leur domaine de spécialisation, et ce, malgré un niveau de scolarité beaucoup plus élevé que celui des personnes nées au Canada. Une grande partie de ces recherches mettent l’accent sur les provinces de l’Est canadien et les communautés immigrantes anglophones ou allophones. Cet article comble des lacunes importantes, car il explore l’expérience des immigrants francophones originaires de l’Afrique subsaharienne en ce qui a trait à la reconnaissance et la non-reconnaissance de leurs diplômes et expertise professionnelle en Alberta. En se basant sur des analyses documentaires et des entrevues semi-dirigées, l’auteure précise qu’à l’instar d’autres provinces canadiennes, les immigrants en Alberta souffrent de la non-reconnaissance de leurs acquis en raison de facteurs tels que l’âge, le manque de connaissance des systèmes académiques de certains pays en voie de développement et le racisme sur le marché du travail. La non-reconnaissance du français comme valeur ajoutée et la marginalisation sous forme de sous-emploi plutôt que de chômage contribuent au problème. En soulignant les succès et certaines lacunes dans les initiatives qu’a mises en oeuvre le Gouvernement de l’Alberta dans ce domaine, l’auteure fait des suggestions susceptibles d’améliorer cette situation.Studies have shown that a significant number of immigrants cannot find a job in their field despite having a much higher level of education than people born in Canada. Much of this research is focused on the eastern Canadian provinces and on English-speaking immigrant or allophone communities. This article fills important gaps as it explores the experience of francophone immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa regarding the recognition and non-recognition of their diplomas and professional expertise in Alberta. Based on literature reviews and semi-structured interviews, we specify that, like in other Canadian provinces, immigrants in Alberta are affected by the non-recognition of their strengths because of factors such as age, lack of knowledge of academic programs in developing countries, and racism in the workplace. The lack of recognition of French as an added value and marginalization in the form of underemployment rather than unemployment contribute to the problem. By highlighting the successes and certain gaps regarding initiatives implemented by the Government of Alberta in this area, recommendations will be made in view of improving the situation