Paper short abstract:

Idjwi Island, on Lake Kivu, is supposed in peace because it didn’t experience armed groups. Fieldwork shows that Idjwi people have memories of the wars and their own conflicts. This paper questions the definition of « peace » in a political margin concerned by a deep social and ecological crisis.

Paper long abstract:

Idjwi Island is located on Lake Kivu, near the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. The population of thus territory of 200 km2 is estimated at 200 000 inhabitants. Idjwi is both a "borderland" and one of the economical and political "margins" of DRC. But unlike several parts of North and South Kivu, Idjwi people didn't experience armed groups or fights in the last twenty years. Therefore, Idjwi is supposed to be « in peace » because war didn't happen. This vision of a peaceful land has been reconsidered through fieldwork in Bugarula, in the north of Idjwi. It has been clear that the population keep memories of recent wars and undergo some indirect consequences, especially when refugees come to the closest cities Goma and Bukavu ; like other parts of Eastern Congo, Idjwi is deeply concerned by many land conflicts and mining artisanal industry in a context of the collapse of the Congolese state. How do Idjwi people tell the history of rebellions and perceive the economical, ecological and social crisis where they have to live themselves, but "without war" ? For which reasons doesn't armed conflict take place there ? These elements push researchers into questioning the definition of « peace », considering that war on Idjwi seems both close and far, possible and not.