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Kids Co** in Congo

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Conflict, Violence and Peace

Part of the book series: Geographies of Children and Young People ((GCYP,volume 11))

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Abstract

This chapter discusses resilience and capacities for co** among young people in the highly violent context of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It synthesizes and draws upon the psychological resilience literature and uses this to elaborate a three-part resilience framework for examining how young people cope with the adversities and constraints of entrenched military and structural violence. Based on fieldwork conducted in North and South Kivu in 2010 and 2011, the chapter presents narratives offered by three young people who explain their daily challenges of survival and development and who describe the co** mechanisms they rely upon. The concept of la débrouille, or “finding one’s way,” is described as a common co** approach in the DRC. The chapter concludes by arguing that young people’s capacity to effectively cope with the constraints imposed by violence should not be confused with resilience and should even be considered as part of the social and political processes which contribute to perpetuating the structures of violence which young people in the DRC are so busy trying to survive.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Development Studies, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, Senate House, Malet St, WC1E 7HU, London, UK

    Claudia Seymour

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  1. Claudia Seymour
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Correspondence to Claudia Seymour .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom

    Christopher Harker

  2. Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig, Germany

    Kathrin Hörschelmann

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Seymour, C. (2017). Kids Co** in Congo. In: Harker, C., Hörschelmann, K. (eds) Conflict, Violence and Peace. Geographies of Children and Young People, vol 11. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-038-4_9

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