Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses how both the suspicion of a human ‘creator’ of cholera outbreaks, and the victim-blaming of cholera-affected persons, which are mediated through the physical signs of cholera, express the fragile socio-political order in a rural area in South-Eastern DRC.

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses how the perception of the bodily symptoms of cholera is linked to the social and political reality of people living in a border area in South Eastern DRC. The paper draws on 12 in-depth interviews that were conducted with persons who had personally experienced cholera. A dominant narrative was the extremely rapid bodily wasting and weakness caused by cholera, which in the last decade used to cause many deaths in the area. The rapid physical collapse and the visible signs of dehydration, which develop within only few hours after the onset of cholera, gave rise to rumours of sorcery involving powerful and wealthy individuals, including government officials, who allegedly 'pretend that death is caused by cholera but in the real sense it is witchcraft they use to reinforce their wealth'. In the context of a fragile state, fears of aggressions from both outsiders and insiders of the local society accompany the occurrence of cholera outbreaks. But despite these rumours of deliberate attacks, the affected persons themselves, showing the signs of cholera, are facing social exclusion. Increasingly, cholera is perceived as a disease of poverty. The poor living conditions, frequent migration, and disrupted social structures are believed to be a reason for cholera. I will discuss how both the suspicion of the 'creator' of cholera outbreaks, and the victim-blaming of the cholera-affected, which are mediated through the physical signs of cholera, express the fragile socio-political order.