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Zaire STRATEGIES OF SURVIVAL
Zairians have not revolted in the face of their
progressive
pauperization. Instead, faced with a steady decline in
income and
a rise in exactions from authorities on their declining
income
base, they have responded in three ways: by adapting, by
resisting,
and by fleeing. These strategies cut across class
distinctions,
although the specific actions taken might be shaped by
class.
One key to understanding popular adaptive strategies
and their
underlying ideologies may be found in the terms of
reference and
address, idioms, and phrases used in everyday life.
Paralleling the
official ideologies of
authenticity
(see Glossary) and
Mobutism (see
Glossary) have been those methods created by the
Zairian
people in their efforts to cope with an economy in
decline. Phrases
heard in daily conversation embody the strategies used to
negotiate
an increasingly difficult economic climate.
Data as of December 1993
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