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Mai-Mai is a general term for a local militia in Congo. As such, Mai-Mai does not refer to any

particular group, unless the group’s leader is mentioned too. On a good day, Mai-Mais were local home defense militias, like they claimed to be. On a bad day, they were just like any other armed groups in the two Congolese wars when it comes to respecting human rights. That being said, they still

commanded respect, not only from the informants of this study, but also from the local civilians in general. Often Mai-Mais were seen to act in the absence of the national army. At some other times, they were seen to be helping the national army.

I believe that the respect for the Mai-Mais stems partly from those avoidance rules, partly from the determination to fight the foreign influence, and partly from the past developments in the Kivu

provinces. Political scientist Mahmood Mamdani has observed how the militia occurrence and the Mai- Mais in the Kivus goes back to the 1960s, when local militias regrouped to oppose Mobutu’s coup (Mamdani 2001, 256-258). Although the Mai-Mai militias have had a long history in the Kivu

provinces, it was in 1993 when the political unrest and financial turmoil led many young people to drop out from school and left with nothing to do, many of them ended up joining the ranks of Mai-Mai in the Kivus, giving Mai-Mais a new momentum (Nzongola-Ntalaja 2002, 242). Vlassenroot has noted how the Mai-Mai groups evolved around their regional tribal neighborhoods, but one common denominator was the belief in the invulnerability through the use of the divine crops. Another shared character between the different Mai-Mai groups was dislike towards those who were deemed to be outsiders ethnically. Despite springing from the local communal structures, Mai-Mais’ relations with the leaders of their communities has been problematic (Doom, Gorus 2000, 282). In the early 1990s, local armed troops marshalled people to fight for the local chiefs against what was thought to be external

influences. For Vlassenroot and Acker, the birth of the earlier groupings of Mai-Mai has to be found from the structures of social isolation (Vlassenroot, Acker 2001, 60).

It seems that in the beginning, Mai-Mai groups were siding with the local leaders, but later on

developed a mind of their own. A mind that sometimes was on the same tracks with the local political elite, while at other times going against the established norms and traditions. During the war, the young fighters filling up the ranks of the Mai-Mai groups most likely stirred the local conventions and

relations, even though their efforts to keep the outsiders at bay still commanded respect. Wild has observed that when the social and political situation in the 1990s worsened, the Mai-Mais reemerged in those neighborhoods which were the most disparaged. She has asserted that the main emphasis for Mai- Mais has been safeguarding their terrains, so that others would not start to live on them (Wild 1998, 453). This ‘home defense’ seems to be a trait that different Mai-Mai groups have had throughout the decades of their existence. Informant 4 described Mai-Mais’ stance on the foreigners in the conflict. He was kidnapped by a Tutsi militia at the age of 17:

Mai-Mais are patriotic, they love the country... They were attacking us, because they were not happy that Tutsis came to dominate the Congolese. During those times, if Mai-Mais noticed that you were a Congolese, they would not kill you, only Tutsis

since they were foreigners. Mai-Mais asked from you are you Congolese, and would hide you. They would take you in their side for fighting... Mai-Mais didn't like foreigners to dominate the Congolese, and that's what people want today too.

The frail truce that the local communities in North Kivu had agreed upon in 1993 was destroyed by the arrival of the Hutu refugees (Vlassenroot, Acker 2001, 63). The aftermath of the Rwandan genocide changed the conditions and prospects for many of the informants as well, like has already been

described earlier. The lure to join an armed movement that sprang from the local beliefs and conditions, whose’ fighters were protected by the anti-bullet medicine, and who commanded respect from the population, must have been high for many children in eastern Congo. Additionally, people were really fed up with Mobutu and his ill-mannered troops. When they saw an opportunity to get rid of the long- time dictator, the lure to join became even stronger.

In the first Congo war, Mai-Mais were initially part of the rebellion against Mobutu, but soon they were fighting against the rebels, because their aim was to oppose the Rwandese occupation and influence in Congo, and at that point Kabila had not yet gotten rid of his Rwandan allies (Mamdani 2001, 259). Prunier has argued how the Mai-Mais evolved from a mythical sensation into a political phenomenon, ultimately luring in schooled youth as well, who saw a chance for unification in the Mai- Mais’ fight against the outsiders (Prunier 2010, 155). Mai-Mais, whose ranks were mostly filled by youth, had chased Mobutu’s pillaging troops from the cities in the east of the country, raising

prospections among the population of a better administration. Reliance on miraculous forces gave rise to an extra lure for them, leading many young people to join their ranks (Wild 1998, 454). Informant 7, who said to have joined a Mai-Mai group voluntarily at the age of 12 years, explained why many Mai- Mais were often child soldiers:

Child soldiers are used by Mai-Mai, because the children respect the anti-bullet medicine. They cannot be destroyed. Perhaps when it comes others, because of sexual activities or if they had done many things in life, medicine is not taking care of

them... The reason why they took child soldiers, whenever they struck medicine to very young, he would become very strong.

The people in the Kivu provinces credit the fall of the repressive Mobutu-era to Mai-Mais in many ways (Wild 1998, 450). Even though various reports show that also Mai-Mais have been guilty of causing suffering to civilians, they still garner respect among the population. There was a positive aura

around them when people referred to them, at least when compared with the other parties in the conflict.