8 research outputs found
Three Acts of Resistance during the 2014â16 West Africa Ebola Epidemic
Abstract
Community engagement is commonly regarded as a crucial entry point for gaining access and securing trust during humanitarian emergencies. In this article, we present three case studies of community engagement encounters during the West African Ebola outbreak. They represent strategies commonly implemented by the humanitarian response to the epidemic: communication through comités de veille villageois in Guinea, engagement with NGO-affiliated community leadership structures in Liberia and indirect mediation to chiefs in Sierra Leone. These case studies are based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out before, during and after the outbreak by five anthropologists involved in the response to Ebola in diverse capacities. Our goal is to represent and conceptualise the Ebola response as a dynamic interaction between a response apparatus, local populations and intermediaries, with uncertain outcomes that were negotiated over time and in response to changing conditions. Our findings show that community engagement tactics that are based on fixed notions of legitimacy are unable to respond to the fluidity of community response environments during emergencies.</jats:p
Pour une Ă©conomie de la valeur en prison
International audienceLes prisons sur le continent africain véhiculent un imaginaire de violence, de corruption et de manque. Comment dépasser cette simple exposition et comprendre les logiques qui structurent la vie en prison ? Nous proposons ici, en nous fondant sur des ethnographies menées à l'échelle du continent, de discuter la notion d'économie des valeurs. Pratiques, notions, interactions apparaissent en effet informées par les acteurs, c'est-à -dire chargées de significations et d'intentionnalités 'des valeurs' en fonction de contextes (historiques et contemporains) et d'enjeux de pouvoir qui s'articulent de maniÚre dynamique. AprÚs avoir discuté de l'imposition de l'ordre carcéral et des pouvoirs qui le structurent, nous verrons comment statuts et pouvoirs se traduisent dans l'espace. Nous verrons en quoi la notion de vision, entendue dans sa double dimension (active et passive), est centrale dans l'expression du pouvoir. L'économie des valeurs relative à ces structures de pouvoir se traduit dans des transactions qui seront discutées. Dans un autre ordre d'idée, mais selon une logique parallÚle, les valeurs multiples qui structurent la pratique religieuse seront également examinées. La notion d'économie des valeurs permet de saisir la grammaire de la forme de vie observable en prison en tant que réalité co-construite par ses différents acteurs et de tenir compte des circulations entre dedans et dehors. La notion révÚle ainsi la co-présence de multiples logiques qui structurent le gouvernement formel et informel des populations en prison
Quand les mĂšres « rĂ©sistent » aux foyers dâApprentissage, de RĂ©habilitation Nutritionnelle et dâĂ©veil (FARNE) Ă MbackĂ© (Diourbel, SĂ©nĂ©gal)
Cet article qui discute des raisons pour lesquelles les FARNE/PD, considĂ©rĂ©s comme un modĂšle de participation communautaire, sont frĂ©quentĂ©s de maniĂšre discontinue par les femmes et nâont pas permis dâamĂ©liorer la prise en charge de la MAM Ă MbackĂ© (Diourbel, SĂ©nĂ©gal). A partir dâenquĂȘtes qualitatives menĂ©es Ă pĂ©riodes temporelles diffĂ©rentes, lâarticle dĂ©montre quâau-delĂ des difficultĂ©s logistiques et organisationnelles des FARNE, la faible implication des communautĂ©s a conduit Ă leur appropriation nĂ©gative et Ă des attitudes dâabandon. MalgrĂ© le principe dĂ©clarĂ© de lâengagement communautaire, les FARNE ont plus fonctionnĂ© comme des instruments exogĂšnes dâimposition de modĂšles de PECMA. La discontinuitĂ© de leur frĂ©quentation est ainsi lâexpression dâune critique du dĂ©ni de leur rĂŽle de parents et une revendication de la reconnaissance de leurs savoirs dâexpertise en matiĂšre de puĂ©riculture et de nutrition. Aussi, si les FARNE contribuent Ă lâempowerment des femmes, leur fĂ©minisation a conduit Ă une dĂ©fiance des hommes qui ont une influence sur la frĂ©quentation des FARNE par les femmes. Enfin, tel quâappliquĂ©e, cette stratĂ©gie contribue plus Ă la gestion de la MAM dans les familles affectĂ©es, mais ne prĂ©vient pas suffisamment sa survenue en population gĂ©nĂ©rale.This article discusses the reasons why FARNE/PDs, which are considered to be a community participation model, are discontinuously frequented by women and have failed to improve MAM management in the Mbacke area (Diourbel, in Senegal). From qualitative surveys conducted at different time periods, the article demonstrates that beyond FARNEs logistical and organizational difficulties, low community involvement has led to their negative appropriation and attitudes of abandonment. Despite the stated principle of community involvement, FARNEs have functioned more as PECMA exogenous instruments taxation models. The discontinuity of their attendance is thus a criticism expression of the denial of their role as parents and a claim for the recognition of their knowledge expertise in child care and nutrition. If FARNEs also contribute to womenâs empowerment, their feminization has led to a distrust of men who have an influence on FARNEs attendance by women. Finally, as applied, this strategy contributes more to MAM management in affected families, but does not prevent sufficiently its occurrence among the general population
Quand les mĂšres « rĂ©sistent » aux foyers dâApprentissage, de RĂ©habilitation Nutritionnelle et dâĂ©veil (FARNE) Ă MbackĂ© (Diourbel, SĂ©nĂ©gal)
Cet article qui discute des raisons pour lesquelles les FARNE/PD, considĂ©rĂ©s comme un modĂšle de participation communautaire, sont frĂ©quentĂ©s de maniĂšre discontinue par les femmes et nâont pas permis dâamĂ©liorer la prise en charge de la MAM Ă MbackĂ© (Diourbel, SĂ©nĂ©gal). A partir dâenquĂȘtes qualitatives menĂ©es Ă pĂ©riodes temporelles diffĂ©rentes, lâarticle dĂ©montre quâau-delĂ des difficultĂ©s logistiques et organisationnelles des FARNE, la faible implication des communautĂ©s a conduit Ă leur appropriation nĂ©gative et Ă des attitudes dâabandon. MalgrĂ© le principe dĂ©clarĂ© de lâengagement communautaire, les FARNE ont plus fonctionnĂ© comme des instruments exogĂšnes dâimposition de modĂšles de PECMA. La discontinuitĂ© de leur frĂ©quentation est ainsi lâexpression dâune critique du dĂ©ni de leur rĂŽle de parents et une revendication de la reconnaissance de leurs savoirs dâexpertise en matiĂšre de puĂ©riculture et de nutrition. Aussi, si les FARNE contribuent Ă lâempowerment des femmes, leur fĂ©minisation a conduit Ă une dĂ©fiance des hommes qui ont une influence sur la frĂ©quentation des FARNE par les femmes. Enfin, tel quâappliquĂ©e, cette stratĂ©gie contribue plus Ă la gestion de la MAM dans les familles affectĂ©es, mais ne prĂ©vient pas suffisamment sa survenue en population gĂ©nĂ©rale.This article discusses the reasons why FARNE/PDs, which are considered to be a community participation model, are discontinuously frequented by women and have failed to improve MAM management in the Mbacke area (Diourbel, in Senegal). From qualitative surveys conducted at different time periods, the article demonstrates that beyond FARNEs logistical and organizational difficulties, low community involvement has led to their negative appropriation and attitudes of abandonment. Despite the stated principle of community involvement, FARNEs have functioned more as PECMA exogenous instruments taxation models. The discontinuity of their attendance is thus a criticism expression of the denial of their role as parents and a claim for the recognition of their knowledge expertise in child care and nutrition. If FARNEs also contribute to womenâs empowerment, their feminization has led to a distrust of men who have an influence on FARNEs attendance by women. Finally, as applied, this strategy contributes more to MAM management in affected families, but does not prevent sufficiently its occurrence among the general population
The âHumanitarianâ Response to the Ebola Epidemic in Guinea
Through anthropological analysis, this chapter questions the âexceptionalityâ of the response to the Ebola epidemic in Guinea. By comparing biomedical and popular representations, it highlights blind spots in the international response. The first part analyzes the disconnect in risk construction and the modes of response between local populations and international actors. These developments highlight the tension that existed between conflicting representations of the state and its role in the response âApparatus.â The second part examines how the response was progressively routinized, and how this routine created a partial announced success. The final section questions the label of âexceptionâ applied to this epidemic and the manner in which this exceptionalism was constructed irrespective of the reality of local context