Dead End? Young Mototaxi Drivers Between Being Stuck, Bridging Potholes and Building a Future in Goma, Eastern Congo

Abstract

Bustling mototaxis are a pervasive phenomenon on Goma’s streets and their emergence and proliferation is highly linked to the context of the protracted violent conflict in Eastern Congo. By highlighting the nexus of physical and social mobilities, work, and leisure, this paper aims to analyze the different trajectories of young mototaxi drivers that go beyond concepts of “being stuck” (Sommers, 2012) and focus instead on their ways of working towards the future. In contrast to prior research, this paper shows that being young in the city does not necessarily lead to “abject futures” or condemn youth to an endless “waithood” that results in “social death”. Based on ethnographic data I have gathered since 2008, I will trace the different ways young mototaxi drivers make sense of the ontological continuum of being young and becoming an adult. By centering on their everyday life worlds, I argue that motards have more options than simply ending up at a dead end.

Keywords

• youth
• waithood
• DR Congo
• Goma
• motorcycle taxis
• urbanity