Aditi Surie von Czechowski August 21, 2017 “We are Human Beings:” Humanitarian Confinement, Refugee Bodies, and Human Rights Aditi Surie von Czechowski Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Columbia University 2018 Aditi Surie von Czechowski August 21, 2017 © 2018 Aditi Surie von Czechowski All Rights Reserved Aditi Surie von Czechowski August 21, 2017 ABSTRACT “We are Human Beings:” Humanitarian Confinement, Refugee Bodies, and Human Rights Aditi Surie von Czechowski Focusing on humanitarian aid to refugees in the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Western Tanzania, this dissertation argues that humanitarianism has shifted from the care of the bodily and immediate material needs to a form of moral care inflected by contemporary human rights discourse. The camp, in operation for over 17 years, became the site of a pedagogical intervention aimed at teaching refugees human rights. Informed by essentialist understandings of Congolese culture, aid agencies enforce a version of human rights in which only women’s rights are human rights. Refugees respond to this in a variety of ways, by contesting, appropriating, or exiting the framework of rights entirely. In reading human rights discourse as a site for an anthropology of ethics, this dissertation argues against simply understanding humanitarian confinement in terms of biopolitics, and looks to black feminist theorizations of the “human” to gesture beyond human rights. It shows how Nyarugusu residents make claims based on bodily vulnerability to decolonize the “human” of “human rights,” and how, in doing so, they point us towards a politics of vulnerability grounded in an ethics of sincerity. Aditi Surie von Czechowski August 21, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Abbreviations ii List of Figures iii Acknowledgments iv Dedication viii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Teaching Human Rights in Nyarugusu Camp 26 Chapter 2: “You Have to Work With Us”: Getting Help in Nyarugusu 100 Chapter 3: Monitoring and Evaluation: Meeting Nyarugusu 137 Chapter 4: Ethical Behavior in Exile 187 Chapter 5: Being a Refugee: Life and Bodies 242 Chapter 6: Laughter, Bodily Vulnerability, and the Horizons of an Otherwise 275 Conclusion 311 Bibliography 319 i Aditi Surie von Czechowski August 21, 2017 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS: ADRA Adventist Development and Relief Agency AGDM Age, Gender, Diversity Mainstreaming AIRD African Initiatives for Relief and Development BID Best Interest Determination CCCM Camp Coordination, Camp Management, and Governance CEMDO Community Environmental Management and Development Organization Tanzania DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo EMAP Engaging Men in Accountable Practices GBV Gender Based Violence GBVIMS GBV Information Monitoring System GNI Good Neighbors International GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit IOM International Organization for Migration IP Implementing Partner IRC International Rescue Committee MHA The Tanzanian Ministry of Home Affairs MONUSCO United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Mission de l'Organisation des Nations unies pour la stabilisation en République démocratique du Congo) OP Operational Partner PRM United States Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration RCD Rally for Congolese Democracy RPF Rwandan Patriotic Front SOP Standard Operating Procedures SWG Sub Working Group TOR Terms of Reference TRCS Tanzanian Red Cross Society TWESA Tanzanian Water and Sanitation Authority USAID United States Agency for International Development VE Verification Exercise WASH Water Sanitation and Health WFP World Food Program WLAC Women’s Legal Aid Commission ii Aditi Surie von Czechowski August 21, 2017 LIST OF FIGURES: Figure 1: Entrance to Nyarugusu. Photo: Joanne Mariner (reproduced with permission) 8 Figure 2: Winners of the 16 Day Match. Photo by Author. 29 Figure 3: Map of Nyarugusu Camp. Source: UNHCR 158 Figure 4: Map of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Source: United Nations 195 Figure 5: Map of South Kivu. Source: UN OCHA 209 iii Aditi Surie von Czechowski August 21, 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: As they say, it takes a village. I am extremely grateful to my advisor, Timothy Mitchell, for his patience and intellectual generosity, and for allowing me the space to make unorthodox connections. Lila Abu-Lughod modeled the kind of scholarship, writing, and mentorship I aspire to. Miriam Ticktin’s engagement with questions of care and humanity and thoughtful reading of my work has pushed me to think carefully about the stakes of this project. Mahmood Mamdani nurtured my interest in and suspicion of human rights. Mamadou Diouf spent hours with me discussing theories of space and modernity. I am grateful for their involvement and support. I have been lucky enough to have mentors generous with their time and ideas. Sudipta Kaviraj helped me focus my scattered academic interests. Talal Asad fueled my obsession with Wittgenstein; the everyday, and the questions about suffering at the heart of this dissertation emerged from conversations during course of his seminar on Wittgenstein and Anthropology and thereafter. His genuine and rarely matched intellectual curiosity continues to inspire me. Etienne Balibar encouraged me to pursue questions around the aporias of human rights. I am indebted to the scholars who gave me the vocabulary to grapple with questions of epistemology, responsibility, sincerity, and justice; foremost among them Sylvia Wynter, Hortense Spillers, Faye Harrison, Audre Lorde, and Sarah Ahmed. This list is reductively short, and I wish to acknowledge all the women of color in the academy, cited and uncited, whose work, presence, excellence, and perseverance made it possible for me to be here, and continue to nourish me. I would not have made it through my first year of graduate school without Tom Casey, Sam Rubin, and Abdulwahid Duso, whose friendship has sustained me intellectually and iv Aditi Surie von Czechowski August 21, 2017 emotionally. Casey Primel and Abeer Shaheen have been excellent interlocutors and true friends, and have supported me in more ways than I can explain. Co-conspirators Laura McTighe and Suzie Ferguson have pushed me to think in new and productive ways about possible politics, and to grapple with the complexities of presence and responsibility. Natacha Nsabimana showed me how to navigate the academy without suffocating. I will never forget the love, hospitality and care shown to me by her wonderful family in Bujumbura. Elliot Ross’s companionship throughout this journey has been everything. He has shown me immense kindness, read almost everything I’ve written, and pulled insights from my work that I didn’t even know existed. May we always have library-face together. In Dar es Salaam, Dany Kamaro, Dona Inamahoro, Zack Mzese, and Geoffrey Ndosi made the city come alive. Thomas Ndaluka welcomed me warmly. Kingsley Stephen initiated me into the world of Swahili slang and youth culture. Umm Kuruthum and her fellow mama lishe took me under their wing, fed me, and made me feel at home. Colin Spurway and Freya Larsen generously welcomed us into their home while we looked for our own. Ashanti Duijnmaijer, Merijn Van de Ven, Jenny Tiberio, Ken Kabiru, Linda Engel, and Timothy Johnson were fantastic company. In Kasulu, Remco van Hauwemieren, James Pitkeathly and Denise Ferris provided welcome respite from fieldwork. James Frank showed me incredible hospitality. Lillian Nyalusi and Rehema Msami provided invaluable help with my research and became true friends. But for the generosity and friendship of Umm Kulthum, Atanasi, Shadrack, January, and James, this project would not have been possible. I am grateful to the staff of REDESO, Asylum Access, TRCS, IRC, UNHCR, and WLAC Tanzania for their research assistance. v Aditi Surie von Czechowski August 21, 2017 Conversations with Kristina Dohrn and Andreas von Kanel about ethics and fieldwork kept the end goal in sight. Florian Blum was a welcome sight in four different cities. Jessica Rechtschaffer and Michael Fishman helped me navigate bureaucratic and logistical matters. Kai Kresse, Manuel Schwab, Megan Raschig, Justin Leroy, Paul Kirby, and Philipp Wirtz have been generous with their time, ideas, and resources. Jordan Conn, Anne Lodick, David Maryasin, Duygu Basaran Sahin, Lenicolle Estevez, Aayush Khanna, Shehryar Malik, Urvashi Singh, Adrian Mimnagh, Cinar Sahin, Austin Purnell, Karina Schultz, Jessamy Klapper, Iselin Lundberg, Mike McNelis, Okachi Kejeh, Natacha Draghi, Manuel Pirino, Mike Repplier, and Veronique Lee have loved me and kept me tethered to a world outside academia. Discussing fiction with Jonah Cardillo helped me read and write better. Pravina Patel made it possible for me to have the space to think. At Butler library, Cary, Yoskaira Toribio, and Patricia Ramachandran buoyed me with their good spirits and warmth and sustained me more than they could ever know. I thank them all. I thank Arthur Dudney, Alvaro Valente, Neda Bolourchi, Tim Shenk, Bernard Dubbeld, Valentine Edgar, Sarah Hawas, Taimoor Shahid, Zach Blas, Noosim Naimasiah, Netsanet Gebremichael, and Tamar Blickstein for their friendship and support. Thanks to Olaf Zenker and members of the Political and Legal Anthropology Network at Freie University, Berlin, members of NYLON Berlin at Humboldt University, and members of the MESAAS colloquia and workshops who read and provided valuable feedback on my work, and to the Wenner Gren Foundation for the generous support