Bonee and Fitina

Mbororo Nomads Facing and Adapting to Conflict in Central Africa

in Conflict and Society
Author:
Adamou Amadou Leiden University adoamo@gmail.com

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/arcs.2018.040118
Keywords:
Cameroon; Central African Republic; duress; Mbororo nomads; mobility; pathways; violence
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Abstract

Mbororo nomadic pastoralists have fled the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2003 because of atrocities perpetrated against them. Conflict has, in fact, always been a major motor behind nomadism for the Mbororo, along with the quest for pasture. The “normal” severity of Mbororo life, however, has been compounded by the “exceptional” severity caused by the situation in the CAR. This article analyzes the way in which the Mbororo distinguish between the two types of severity, and how these different forms of experienced hardship are accommodated in the pastoralists’ way of life. I show how historical trajectories with conflict and nomadic hardship allow refugee Mbororo to adjust to recurrent hardship by adapting their pathways and livelihood strategies. This illustrates the way in which duress is central in nomadic society.

Contributor Notes

AMADOU ADAMOU is a Cameroonian magistrate and a PhD candidate at Leiden University. His PhD research is part of the project “Connecting in Times of Duress: Understanding Communication and Conflict in Middle Africa’s Mobile Margins” (funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research), which he joined in 2013. Having conducted research in eastern Cameroon on the border with the Central African Republic (CAR), he is writing his dissertation on the situation of “Mbororo refugees” from the CAR who settled along this border. His main research focus is the impact of violence on their (mobile) lifestyle and identity construction. E-mail: adoamo@gmail.com

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Conflict and Society

Advances in Research

Cover Conflict and Society
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
14
Keywords:
Cameroon; Central African Republic; duress; Mbororo nomads; mobility; pathways; violence
Print Publication Date:
01 Jan 2018
Online Publication Date:
01 Jan 2018
Copyright:
© Berghahn Books 2018

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