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Roadblock Ethnography: Negotiating Humanitarian Access in Ituri, Eastern Dr Congo, 1999–2004

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Johan Pottier
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Abstract

Based on field research carried out in 2004, this article focuses on how Ituribased Congolese relief workers negotiate humanitarian access with roadblock militias. Experiences and testimonies highlight the importance of sociocultural and political awareness during relief work induced by conflict. It is demonstrated that relief workers in conflict zones do not (and cannot) shed their ethnic identities; that instead they accept that a perceived ethnic identity brings strategic advantages as well as disadvantages. Further, a relief worker's bargaining power is shown to be influenced by militia perceptions of how his/her organization is positioned in the conflict. The overall argument responds to the renewed policy interest in debating the political context of humanitarian intervention.

Résumé

S'appuyant sur des travaux de terrain réalisés en 2004, cet article s'intéresse à la manière dont les travailleurs humanitaires congolais basés à Ituri négocient l'accès humanitaire avec les milices en charge des barrages routiers. Les expériences et les témoignages soulignent l'importance de la connaissance socioculturelle et politique dans les opérations humanitaires suscitées par des conflits. Il est démontré que les travailleurs humanitaires en zones de conflit n'abandonnent pas leur identité ethnique (et ne le peuvent pas) et qu'ils acceptent au contraire qu'une identité ethnique perçue présente des avantages en même temps que des inconvénients stratégiques. D'autre part, l'article montre que la puissance de négociation du travailleur humanitaire est influencée par la perception qu'ont les milices de la position de l'organisation de ce travailleur dans le conflit. L'argument général répond à l'intérêt accru à débattre du contexte politique de l'intervention humanitaire.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 76 , Issue 2 , May 2006 , pp. 151 - 179
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2006

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