Vortex of Genocide: Banyamulenge Identity Formation in Pursuit of the Genocidaire, Zaïre (1996- 1997) Item Type Thesis Authors Davey, Christopher P. Publisher University of Bradford Rights <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by- nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. Download date 28/09/2021 06:07:01 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10454/17365 A VORTEX OF GENOCIDE C. P. DAVEY Ph.D UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD 2019 A Vortex of Genocide Banyamulenge Identity Formation in Pursuit of the Genocidaire, Zaïre (1996- 1997) Christopher Peter DAVEY Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences University of Bradford 2019 Abstract Christopher Peter Davey A Vortex of Genocide Banyamulenge Identity Formation in Pursuit of the Genocidaire, Zaïre (1996- 1997) Keywords: AFDL, Banyamulenge, Congo, destructive crises, genocidaire, genocide, identity, intermediate space, narratives of insecurity, RPF Genocide is conventionally seen through the mutually exclusive characterisations of perpetrators and victims. Attempts to understand this phenomenon in the 1990s postcolonial African Great Lakes region suffer from this same limitation. This dissertation critiques the limiting binary of perpetrator and victim identities. By examining the messy formation of identities in genocide, this research demonstrates that the latter are layered and fluid. Using relational sociology, identities are examined through the narrative analysis of interviews with Banyamulenge soldiers who participated in the early 1990s Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and the short-lived Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo (AFDL). These soldiers witnessed first-hand the violence and devastation of the Rwandan civil war and 1994 genocide. The AFDL, under Rwandan leadership, went on to obliterate 233,000 Rwandan refugees spread across Zaïre form 1996 to 1997. A heuristic device of a vortex is used to conceptualise a process of identity formation framed by three features of genocide, namely narratives of insecurity, destructive crises, and intermediate space. RPF and Banyamulenge narratives, power relations, and relational journeys are traced through an exploration of the networks and histories of these features. Banyamulenge soldier identities are formed in movements through this vortex with each experience of genocide. Such movements resulted in violence against the refugees. A specific relation to the idea of the enemy as a guilty genocidaire was constructed through the deployment of multiple narratives. The genocidaire was essential to iii Banyamulenge identities as they went on to perpetrate genocide against the Rwandan refugees. iv Acknowledgements This research commenced in 2010 when I encountered the UNHCR report on the African Great Lakes region. This “Mapping Report” portrays a complex set of relationships and conflicts using the inadequate language of perpetrators and victims. I determined to find a more holistic interpretation of these relations. The fate of hundreds of thousands of Rwandan refugees in the Congo demanded better understanding. My mind had already been drawn to the Congo following an exciting meeting with US scholar and activist Sam Totten in 2009. Sam’s resistance to genocide and governments who condone, permit and commit this crime was electrifying. His words to me were that the frontier of genocide research was now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Fundamentally, this search for identity beyond victims and perpetrators would not have happened without the willingness of many Rwandese and Congolese to talk with me. Their engagement on the Mapping Report’s contentious claims and the history of the RPF and AFDL gives this work its substance and value. The journey to get to this troubled part of Africa was difficult to say the least. My success in the field and in getting the necessary documentation to enter Congo was owed in great part to a dear friend and field research assistant. This individual diligently worked as a guide, interpreter, and companion. In order to build my network of contacts prior to entering the field, signposting from fellow Congo researchers was crucial. Foremost among these were Judith Verweijen and Christoph Vogel, who shared gatekeepers and contact details of people who would lead me to former and current soldiers. In the field, I was assisted by International Alert’s Lucy Williams and her Congolese team in broadening my search for participants. The Banyamulenge whom I encountered in South Kivu, North Kivu and Kinshasa understandably treated me with suspicion at first. After some time, I was embraced as a friend and colleague by many. This only deepened the subjectivity with which I knew I had to treat their narratives. I became acquainted with those whom the literature alleged were perpetrators, whilst not seeing this about themselves. v Various colleagues and friends, as part of academic networks with which I am connected, were vital in offering advice, debate and critique on how to approach the often-ignored case of Rwandan refugees in Congo. The International Network of Genocide Scholars (INoGS) has been an academic home for me and provided significant support. This brilliant group of scholars provided a platform to present both theory and fieldwork. Foremost among these are Denise Bentrovato, Edward Weisband, Elisabeth Hope Murray, Jeff Benvenuto, Jeremiah Garsha, Tom Lawson, and Tricia Logan. Congolese scholars Naupess Kibiswa and Ambroise Katambu Bulambo, with whom I connected through INoGS, were profoundly kind in lending their time and insight to this project. The Congo Research Network and Perpetrator Studies Network provided a similar exchange of ideas. Emery Kalema, also a Congolese scholar, was an inspiration in how to take a philosophical and sociological approach to violence and the bodies of actors. Various others have provided guidance that have helped shape the direction of my theory and fieldwork, including Andy Fearn, Douglas Irvin-Erickson, Filip Reyntjens, Ian Burkitt, James Taylor (my mentor from the Institute for Humane Studies), Joel Selway, Judi Rever, and Kate Ferguson. Here at the University of Bradford, I have been supported and at times carried by the finest supervisors this institution has to offer. Both Fiona Macaulay and David Harris have in their own ways corrected, suggested improvements for, and facilitated my research. They have done so in a motivating and encouraging manner, despite the institutional and financial difficulties faced along the way. My fellow strugglers in peace and PhD researchers have offered their friendship and critical eye for which I am grateful. Other current and former students have also offered their skills in transcribing and translating interviews and other documents. The standard of their work was excellent. Both Russell Delderfield and Martyn Housden also gave insights and opportunities for the development of this research. As a recipient of the University’s Gerald Hodgett bursary in 2014, I was able to attend the INoGS conference in Cape Town and present an earlier paper on genocide and Congo. My employer from 2016 to late 2018, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, has given me an additional family who were keen to hear about my vi work and offered flexibility in allowing extensive time off for fieldwork. My friend and manager, Emily Davis, was supportive and gave another critical viewpoint to the organising of my research and execution of fieldwork. Many valued colleagues, including most notably Nicky Houseman, also offered to read a final draft of this whole dissertation and kindly presented me with feedback. My work in diversity and inclusion, and conversations around historic and interpersonal conflicts in the workplace, offered another way to consider relational actor dynamics. The notions of perpetrator and victim took on additional meanings and layers in this context. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have been given tremendous moral and practical support from my sisters and brothers in the Bradford and Leeds area. These efforts extended to being there for my family during periods of fieldwork, comforting and ministering to us during times of hardship, taking interest in my research, and offering encouragement when it was needed most. My deep gratitude goes to Andrew and David Hillary, Jamie Whitehead, Mahasin Saleh, and Zach Tilton and Julie Hawke. Many of our friends and family also supported a Crowdfunding drive, assisted with a video filmed and produced by friends at Health Deafinitions. Contributors were many and helped raise funds for the early research costs of this project. My special thanks go to Derek Blakemore, Kelvin Turner, Zac and Emma Cannon, Sarah Richards, and my grandfather Brian Baldwin and parents Anne and Phil Davey. Michael Minch, a long-time friend and mentor, is largely responsible for my commitment to Peace Studies. The gratitude I owe to Michael is ever widening. His guidance and encouragement have come throughout this project. His critique early on in 2010, when I first started this research, was formative. Over the years I have known Michael, he has modelled the patience and perseverance I have sought to emulate in my professional and personal