ACT photo exhibition: The smiling, caring Congo
FEATURE STORY | UPDATED: February 17, 2009
GENEVA — War torn, looted and abused. Can anything good be said about Congo? It can, and the photographer Paul Jeffrey has done it with photos. ACT International is showing a photo exhibition in Geneva, called “NOT FORGOTTEN”, exposing the positive sides to life in the eastern province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a place where most images show catastrophe and poverty.
The DRC ambassador Mr. Antoine Mindua Kesia-Mbe was pleasantly surprised when he attended the opening of the exhibition. “Normally I am confronted with the suffering and abuse of my people, but this is different”, he said. Ambassador Kesia-Mbe added that the positive life the pictures showed, with house building fathers, caring mothers and happy children, was thanks to the humanitarian work ACT International and others do in the area.
People with pride and hope
The ACT International director, John Nduna, says the photos depict the dignity of the people affected by war and conflict. “What we often see in the media and reports from many organizations are pictures of hopelessness, dejection, misery, starvation, emaciation, sickness, and people stripped of their human dignity. Paul Jeffrey is telling us through these photos that the survivors are still people with pride and hopes, despite all the suffering.” Director Nduna says.
The people’s resources
The UN-ambassador of Norway, Bente Angell-Hansen was present at the opening of the exhibition. She noticed that the daily lives of women had been captured by the photographer. The Norwegian government is an important donor for ACT projects, and she appreciated the way ACT was working in DRC. “ACT is successful because it builds on the strong resources of the Congolese people at the local level. This gives the projects credibility and sustainability”, ambassador Angell-Hansen said.
Forgotten
The Congo conflict has displaced over two million people and killed more than five million people between 1998 and 2007, but international society seems to have forgotten the war. Women have, methodically, been raped and sexually harassed. Congo is listed as one of the world’s poorest countries. But that is not the whole truth. The DRC ambassador added that Congo is one of Africa’s richest countries. But it has been looted by others, including western countries.
The Geneva exhibition
Photographer Paul Jeffrey is a priest, now working full time as a photographer. ACT International has used him in many conflict areas and he has covered natural crisis. The exhibition “NOT FORGOTTEN- welcoming the stranger in eastern DRC” is located at the ecumenical Centre in Geneva.
