“Refugee Voices,” New Social Media and Politics of Representation: Young Congolese in the Diaspora and Beyond

This article examines the role of new social media in the
articulation and representation of the refugee and diasporic “voice.” The article problematizes the individualist, de-politicized, de-contextualized, and aestheticized
representation of refugee/diasporic voices. It argues that
new social media enable refugees and diaspora members
to exercise agency in managing the creation, production, and dissemination of their voices and to engage in
hybrid (on- and offline) activism. These new territories
for self-representation challenge our conventional understanding of refugee/diaspora voices. The article is based on
research with young Congolese living in the diaspora, and
it describes the Geno-cost project created by the Congolese
Action Youth Platform (CAYP) and JJ Bola’s spoken-word
piece, “Refuge.” The first shows agency in the creation of
analytical and activist voices that promote counter-hegemonic narratives of violence in the eastern Democratic
Republic of Congo, while the second is an example of aesthetic expressions performed online and offline that reveal
agency through authorship and ownership of one’s voice.
The examples highlight the role that new social media play
in challenging mainstream politics of representation of
refugee/diaspora voices.