Paper short abstract:

How does technology that aids physical mobility also relate to social mobility? And how do different perceptions of the same device colour this social function? This paper considers the social life of mobility aids in Kinshasa as both symbols and tools between violence, prestige and respectability.

Paper long abstract:

'I left the stick because I was fighting all the time' the former president of a disability union expressed, 'when I became president I had to be respectable. I got crutches because I decided it was time to grow up'.

In Kinshasa, persons with physical disabilities are frequently associated with violence. In the public arena, they evoke both compassion and fear, as a stick can swiftly transform into a potentially dangerous weapon. But for the people themselves, exchanging a mobility aid associated with 'tradition' such as a stick, for one associated with 'modern technology' such as a crutch or adapted motorcycle, is evidence of economic and social personal development.

Mobility aids are central to the political economy of disability livelihoods in Kinshasa. They are not inexpensive, so having access to different kinds are a sign of success, a symbol of considerable personal resources or connections. Exchanging a stick for a crutch, or a hand-crank tricycle for a wheelchair, also comes with the lessening physical strength of growing older and an accompanying desire for respectability. The means that allow one to move about the city may both enhance and undermine one's personal and economic goals, dependent as much on its form as on its function.

How does technology that aids physical mobility also relate to social mobility? And how do different perceptions of the same device colour this social function? This paper considers the social life of mobility aids in Kinshasa as both symbols and tools between violence, prestige and respectability.