Sociologies (Nov 2012)
Carrefours biographiques et carrières migratoires des retournés congolais (RDC) : autoroutes de retour et chemins de traverse
Abstract
At the intersection between political sociology and the sociology of migration, and building upon a multi-sited ethnography carried out between host and return spaces in Congo-Brazzaville, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo during 18 months, this article intends to analyse Congolese returnees’ migratory careers and biographical crossroads in a post-conflict setting where new relationships between humanitarianism and security become a critical issue. Biographical crossroads, located at the junction of a past trajectory in host spaces and the anticipation of projects to be accomplished in return spaces, allow to link migratory careers with institutional structures in connection with voluntary repatriation programs established in Central Africa between 2005 and 2009. Resources and competences developed by refugees while in exile should be carefully considered in order to understand how “tangential paths”, which refer to unpredictable, informal, individual and collective modes of adaptation, develop along and cut across “return highways” advocated by official agencies in charge of repatriation in rural areas of DRC.
