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This article concentrates on how people make use of the State boundary between the cities of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Gisenyi, Rwanda to cope with specific uncertainties on either side, how these borderlanders, by doing so, expose themselves to new uncertainties and how they at the same time subvert and perpetuate the border through their activities. We argue that analysing the motivations and strategies of border crossers and their encounters with representatives of the border regime can provide valuable insights into State-society relations and an understanding of the State’s legitimacy.