Chercher La Vie : Births, Deaths, Labour and Militarized Border-Crossing among Sex Workers in an Area of Armed Conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by Anna-Louise Crago A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Anthropology Department University of Toronto © Copyright by Anna-Louise Crago 2020 Chercher La Vie : Births, Deaths, Labour and Militarized Border- Crossing among Sex Workers in an Area of Armed Conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Anna-Louise Crago Doctor of Philosophy Anthropology University of Toronto 2020 Abstract This dissertation is a study of sociality and power in armed conflict. It is based on ethnographic research with two groups of women who sell sex in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, self-identified “ bambaragas ”. These women travel back and forth across militarized lines in areas of armed conflict to perform sex work and other complementary labour and to trade with a variety of different state and non-state armed groups. This study argues that any attempt to understand sociality and power in war must grapple centrally with non-violent death. The combined effects of armed conflict and privatization contributed to mass infant, child and maternal death. Bambaragas and their children bore a distinct and disproportionate death burden. Hospitals sat at the intersection of governance of health as a private commodity rather than a public entitlement, by both the state and non-state armed groups. This resulted in policies within hospitals of refusing emergency care, abusing and punishing women suspected of abortion, imposing debt and extracting payment, and forcibly detaining women who couldn’t pay for their or their children’s care. This study also contends that gender is central to the workings of power in armed conflict. Armed groups’ governance of bambaragas fluctuates around a central tension: while ii their labour was relied upon by armed groups, to the point of becoming at times a stake in the conflict, their gendered independence and border-crossing meant they were treated with suspicion and, at times, targeted and killed not as civilians nor as military actors but as what I call “sovereign women/gendered traitors”. Bambaragas’ mutual recognition and collective practices of assistance, secrecy, care and housing allowed women to navigate dangerous conflict environments and predatory privatized health governance and was, at times, what allowed women to keep their children alive and in their care. iii Acknowledgments I am profoundly grateful to the bambaragas of Maneno in South Kivu and Mugunga in North Kivu whose insights and experiences are at the center of this work. I am also thankful to the bambaragas of Kadutu, Birere, Masisi, and Uvira who shared their time and wealth of knowledge with me. I am particularly indebted to Rho for all she taught me and for her patience and generosity. Readers who would like to support the work of UMANDE, the by-and-for sex worker organization in eastern DR Congo, are encouraged to contact [email protected]. I am grateful to my supervisors at the University of Toronto. Professor Christopher Krupa provided tremendous encouragement, empathy and generous critique. Professor Holly Wardlow diligently gave such careful attention and considered reflection to my work. I appreciate the incredible amount of time and labour over many years such undertakings represented. Their efforts pushed me further than I could have hoped. I am thankful to Professor Janice Boddy, Professor Marieme Lo and Professor Catherine Lutz for their thoughtful comments. I owe many thanks to Natalia Krencil, the Graduate Coordinator in the Anthropology Department for all her help and patience over the years. I am also very grateful to have been graced with Letha Victor as my graduate mentor – or rather, menticorn – and Seth Palmer as my colleague. This research project would not have been possible without the generous funding provided by the Trudeau Foundation and SSHRC. I am thankful to Josée St-Martin, previously of the Trudeau Foundation, for her administrative skill and exceptional kindness. I was lucky to be among a wonderful group of Trudeau scholars and am particularly grateful for the support and friendship of Sylvie Bodineau and Carla Suarez. I am also grateful to Dr. Jenny Butler for her efforts to support my research early on and for her insights into health. iv During a time when I felt paralyzed by fear, Professor Christine Bruckert took me under her wing. For over a year, for nothing in return, she gave me an hour of her time every week to help me problem-solve, find my way, and express my worries. It was pivotal to my ability to take the intellectual and emotional risk to try and write what I had learned. It was also a real joy. I am truly thankful. I owe a special thank you to the friends and family who supported me and my immediate family through these past years. In particular, thank you to Diane Mondor, Jonathan Crago, Peter Crago, Gwenaëlle Tual, Martha Crago, Bartholomew Crago, Isabelle Ferland, Joan Peddle, Karen Peddle, John Peddle, Keith Cormier, Doris Cormier, Liz Cameron, Anna-Aude Caouette, Maija Martin and Tobey Black, Jenn Lafontaine and Emmy Pantin, Carmen and Nicole Chapman, Andrew Pierre and Jim Kaiser. To my children, Ty Jean, Isis Collette, and Aliyah Ida, you inspire me every day with your bravest of hearts. You teach me to keep going when it is hard, to not be afraid to grow and to remember to laugh. Je vous aime . Kesaluloq . To my love Katrina, Kesalul . There should be 100 more pages of acknowledgement with just your name in 72 font size. You have been so kind, generous and steadfast through this whole journey. There are no words that can adequately express the depth of my gratitude to you four. v Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................................... IV MAP OF EASTERN DR CONGO AND FIELD SITES ................................................................................... VIII FREQUENTLY REFERENCED ARMED GROUPS ........................................................................................ IX CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 1 LIFE AND SOCIALITY IN ARMED CONFLICT ................................................................................................................ 4 SOVEREIGNTY , ARMED CONFLICT , GENDER AND POWER ........................................................................................ 10 SEX WORK AS A SITE OF INQUIRY ........................................................................................................................... 19 FIELDWORK AND CONFLICT ..................................................................................................................................... 25 A BRIEF ROADMAP .................................................................................................................................................. 33 A NOTE ON NAMES AND TERMS .............................................................................................................................. 35 CHAPTER TWO WAR, SELLING SEX AND THE SEARCH FOR FREEDOM: A HISTORY IN BAMBARAGAS ’ WORDS 37 THE SOCIAL CATEGORY OF BAMBARAGA .................................................................................................................. 37 Femmes Libres and Ndumba .............................................................................................................................. 39 POLITICAL AND MILITARY OUTLINES OF THE CONFLICT ......................................................................................... 50 MANENO , SUD -KIVU ............................................................................................................................................... 55 Maneno and War: A History in Bambaragas’ Words ........................................................................................ 59 MUGUNGA , NORD -KIVU .......................................................................................................................................... 71 Mugunga and War: A History in Bambaragas’ Words ...................................................................................... 75 ENDNOTE ................................................................................................................................................................. 90 CHAPTER THREE LIFE AND NON-VIOLENT DEATH IN ARMED CONFLICT ...................................................................... 92 IF-SHE -LIVES : MATERNAL , INFANT AND CHILD DEATH IN ARMED CONFLICT ......................................................... 92 NAMING , SANGHA AND HÔPITAUX : IDIOMS OF INFANT , CHILD AND MATERNAL DEATH AND THEIR RELATION ..... 103 “We Are Unable to Find Those Responsible for These Murders”: The Dangers of Speaking of Maternal, Infant and Child Deaths ................................................................................................................................... 123 CAMIONNE , BAHATI AND JIBU : HIS NAME WAS LUCK .......................................................................................... 128 CHAPTER FOUR THE POLITICS OF BIRTHS AND NON-VIOLENT DEATHS IN ARMED CONFLICT ........................... 131 CONFLICT , PRIVATIZATION AND THE POLITICS