From Humanitarian to Anthropologist: Writing at the Margins of Ethnographic Research in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

Between 2001 and 2008 I spent about two-and-half years in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I first worked for six months as a humanitarian in an emergency project carried out by an Italian NGO in the Equator Region, and then for a longer period as a PhD candidate in Anthropology in North Kivu. This article aims at revealing, at least partially, the backstage of my two roles, delving deeper into some problematic aspects of this intense professional and personal experience. I begin with the story of my arrival in Congo as a humanitarian. I describe the context I had to deal with and the way I reacted and adapted to it. Far from a romantic idea of war, I found myself in a place where extreme violence and poverty resulted in regular chaos and widespread opportunism among Congolese and foreigners alike. The first challenge was to face and accept this new reality. I then focus on my experience as an anthropologist, detailing the way I organised and carried out my fieldwork in North Kivu. I then concentrate on issues such as the choice of my assistants, the relationship I built with them and my interlocutors. My goal is to provide some useful suggestions to other researchers who intend to do fieldwork in a war zone.