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Discrimination, Despoliation and Irreconcilable Difference: Host-Immigrant Tensions in Brazzaville, Congo

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  • Bruce Whitehouse

Abstract

For generations, immigrants from other African countries have comprised a significant minority of residents in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo. These immigrants constitute several distinct “stranger” populations within Congolese society. While they play a significant role in the Congolese economy, they also encounter discrimination in their daily lives and face hostility from indigenous Congolese. Popular discourses in Brazzaville widely represent African foreigners as a malevolent presence and a threat to Congolese interests. Such discourses fit into broader conflicts over identity, belonging, and access to resources on the continent. This paper, based on ethnographic and survey research carried out in Brazzaville, examines the case of that city’s immigrants from the West African Sahel. It situates tensions between them and their hosts in the context of contemporary political and economic dynamics in post-colonial Congo, and specifically links them to exclusionary place-based identity as a political force in contemporary Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruce Whitehouse, 2009. "Discrimination, Despoliation and Irreconcilable Difference: Host-Immigrant Tensions in Brazzaville, Congo," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 44(1), pages 39-59.
    • Handle: RePEc:gig:afjour:v:44:y:2009:i:1:p:39-59
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    File URL: http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/28/28
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. International Monetary Fund, 2006. "Kyrgyz Republic: Enhanced Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries: Preliminary Document," IMF Staff Country Reports 2006/417, International Monetary Fund.
    2. International Monetary Fund, 2005. "Republic of Congo: Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative: Preliminary Document," IMF Staff Country Reports 2005/391, International Monetary Fund.
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    Cited by:

    1. Prospere Backiny-Yetna & Quentin Wodon, 2009. "Profil et perceptions de la pauvreté en République du Congo en 2005," Perspective Afrique, Association Africaine pour les Sciences sociales, vol. 4(1-3), pages 1-21.

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