(De)connexions identitaires hadjeray

written by Djimet Seli

Les enjeux des technologies de la communication au Tchad

The recent history of Africa is characterised by the ‘revolution’ in information and communication technologies (ICT), specifically in the sector of mobile telephony, which reconsiders the challenges pertaining to identity in African societies. In this book, we follow the manifestation of such dynamic forces in the Hadjeray society in Guera, Tchad, a society that has suffered a history of political violence, mobility and failures. The study shows the role of the Chadian government in the implementation of ICT and explains how government logics have amplified. Through the analysis of the changes in the economic and social spheres, occurring due to mobile telephony, we discover the identity issues that are also informed by the feeling of fear, which is part of the Chadian history of violence. However, the ways in which the Hadjeray adopt this new technology also leave them with a means to escape the logic of violence and disruption. It is mostly a dynamic force that occurs amongst the youth who, by making use of mobile networks, discover another mode of identification, between the ethnic group and the more global identity, and find through it a political voice.

Djimet Seli

Djimet Seli was born in 1973 in Bitkine, a town in Chad. Between 1990 and 1997 he attends senior high school in the town of Mongo, where he obtains his Baccalaureate in the Arts stream. From 1998 to 2006, he completes his studies at University of N'Djamena (Chad), first in History for which he obtains a Bachelor Degree in 2000 and an MA Degree in 2004, and then in Communication for which he receives a Bachelor Degree in 2005 and an MA Degree in 2006. Since February 2013, he holds a PhD from the University of Leiden and is currently lecturer, researcher and head of the Department of Anthropology at the University of N'Djamena.