The photos were taken by my neice Ula on a recent working trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a happy and remarkable trip during which she worked with a number of local companies on dance and theatre workshops and studied the work of Congolese companies. It was a tremendously inspiring trip, she made many remarkable friends, and she's profoundly concerned about the crisis beginning to well up there again. The BBC stories she cites are a good place to start if you want to know more about the current situation, and the photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale is one of many sources for more background on the situation, as is an article in the Independent from May 2006. The photos say a great deal about the beauty of the land and its people.
Subject: Trouble in DRC Congo
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2008 12:38:51 +0100
I am very worried about the situation in Eastern Congo -
The area where I visited this summer, which was enjoying
a relative moment of calm has since become flooded with refuges
descending from the North where rebels are fighting, threatening to
start a next civil war.
The friends I visited in Goma who run an art center say their
building and grounds are becoming a refuge for friends and
young people who live on the outskirts of town.
I hope recent diplomatic efforts will end the fighting
and the displacement of thousands of people.
You can read these links for more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7703606.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7699286.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3075537.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7696139.stm
My prayers are with those in Goma!
Ula
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