Ethical and Practical Reflections of Resident Anthropologists in Conflict Zones: Experiences from the Tokwe Mukosi Dam Project and Displacement at Chingwizi, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This article is derived from the methodological experiences from a 1-year ethnographic study carried out at Chingwizi among the Tokwe Mukosi displaced persons in Zimbabwe. This followed the unexpected and ultimately contentious disarticulation of over 6,000 Chivi and Mushawasha families from their ancestral land, sources of livelihoods, and social well-being. This study was therefore carried out in the context of a volatile and unpalatable relationship between the state and its functionaries, on the one hand, and the Tokwe Mukosi residents, on the other hand. The protracted conflict between the said actors has unintentionally made the Chingwizi area a very sensitive and protected area in terms of academic research. In this article, we therefore reflect on the ethical and practical dilemmas in studying the marginalized and often traumatized ‘victims’ of this dam project and the subsequent displacement, albeit from an insider’s perspective. Central to our discussions are issues such as the politics of signing forms, gaining entry, informed consent suspicion, and balancing the insider–outsider dilemma in research. The article moves on to look at the practical solutions to the said ethical and practical impediments in studying the marginalized communities in conflict situations. We therefore place emphasis on the significance of reflexivity, identity, and the politics of belonging, which was engrained in the wematongo concept. In addition to a number of strategies used under reflexive ethnography is the significance of social capital.

Compensation and the Human Security–Insecurity Matrix in Forced Displacement. Experiences from the Tokwe Mukosi Displacement in Zimbabwe.

“…In this case, the researchers used personal judgment to select information-rich cases for the study. The Vematongo (people of the same origins) concept was instrumental in establishing the much-needed rapport between the researchers and the Tokwe Mukosi people (see Nhodo et al 2021). This undoubtedly made the four researchers insiders, thereby taking an emic approach to the research process.…”

“…This undoubtedly made the four researchers insiders, thereby taking an emic approach to the research process. While the researchers qualified to be insiders, they became double-bounded researchers in the deliberate attempt to balance the insider-outsider dilemma in research (see Burgess 1998; Nhodo et al 2021).…”

“…Others are also falling back on social capital and are loaning their livestock to the people in the matongo area, and this system is popularly known as kuronzera at Chingwizi. This becomes a win-win situation in the sense that the loanees will benefit from draught power and other by-products such as milk and manure (Nhodo, 2020). While this is a popular strategy, the villagers complained that it is also depriving them of the said by-product and the same social and symbolic status that comes with having a kraal at home.…”

Approaches to embedding indigenous knowledge systems in Made in Africa Evaluations

“…An example which demonstrates the efficacy of IKSs is the experience of a community in the south-east of Zimbabwe which was displaced by overflowing of a river. When the Tokwe-Mukosi people were relocated after flooding in 2014 following the construction of the Tugwi-Mukosi Dam (Mucherera & Spiegel 2021;Nhodo, Ojong & Chikoto 2021), the displaced population were housed in an area called Chingwizi. Chingwizi was a heavily scorpioninfested area, so these new inhabitants of Chingwizi made their home with dangerous scorpions, from which people suffered bites and even deaths in some cases.…”

“…If one was to conduct an evaluation of the impact of the Tugwi-Mukosi relocation project on the inhabitants of the area, such an evaluation would need to gain an understanding of the indigenous approaches which the inhabitants of the area used to fight the scorpion plague in the area and not only focus on the extent to which the relocation project met its intended outcomes as set in an M&E framework. Another difficulty, however, of evaluating such national projects is the extent to which the state regulates access to evaluators and even researchers who want to work on understanding the impact of dam projects on local residents (Mucherera & Spiegel 2021;Nhodo et al 2021).…”