It is widely assumed that most Africans reside in rural areas, that African cities make little economic sense and are unusually violent because so many unemployed young men live there, and that urban migrant youth can be drawn back to their former rural homes. This paper challenges all of these assumptions. In the process, it reviews dominant trends in Africa's rapid urban expansion and examines what life is like for urban youth. I will argue that African cities are underserved and fiercely competitive economic environments that are negatively impacted by neoliberal development policies. Urban youth life tends to take place in worlds that are largely separate from the rest of society. The pressures and dangers facing male and female youth can be extreme, yet at the same time African cities are exceptionally stimulating places that provide opportunities for re-invention for many urban youth. The paper ends with recommendations for addressing the needs of the marginalized majority of Africa's urban youth more effectively. Its primary focus is urban areas in the region of sub-Saharan Africa.
Among Burundi refugees in Tanzania, men who have a university education and know English or French are most likely to represent their concerns to officials, particularly those from UNHCR. Officials consequently learn about the perspectives of refugees from these men. Based upon findings from two years of field research in Tanzania, the history of relations between ethnic Hutu elites and the peasantry in Burundi is outlined and it is explained why education has assumed such pronounced significance in Burundi refugee society. The use of ethnicity as a political tool for elite refugees is also described. It is concluded that elite refugees may not, as is often claimed, represent the refugee majority.
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