Piero Pomponi Photography

The Pigmies Genocide in the DRCongo

Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm (4 feet 11 inches) in average height. The best known pygmies are the Aka, Efé and Mbuti of central Africa.The term "pygmy" is sometimes considered pejorative. However, there is no single term to replace it. Many so-called pygmies prefer instead to be referred to by the name of their various ethnic groups, or names for various interrelated groups such as the Aka (Mbenga), Baka, Mbuti, and Twa. The term pygmy, as used to refer to diminutive people, derives from Greek πυγμαίος Pygmaios via Latin Pygmaei (sing. Pygmaeus), derived from πυγμή – a fist, or a measure of length corresponding to the distance between the elbow and knuckles. In Greek mythology the word describes a tribe of dwarfs, first described by Homer, and reputed to live in India and south of modern day Ethiopia.Various theories have been proposed to explain the short stature of pygmies. Evidence of heritability has been established which may have evolved as an adaptation to low ultraviolet light levels in rainforests. This might mean that relatively little vitamin D can be made in human skin, thereby limiting calcium uptake from the diet for bone growth and maintenance, and leading to the evolution of the small skeletal size characteristic of pygmies.
Other explanations include lack of food in the rainforest environment, low calcium levels in the soil, the need to move through dense jungle, adaptation to heat and humidity, and most recently, as an association with rapid reproductive maturation under conditions of early mortality. Other evidence points towards unusually low levels of expression of the genes encoding the growth hormone receptor and growth hormone relative to the related tribal groups, associated with low serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 and short stature.Most Pygmy communities are partially hunter-gatherers, living partially but not exclusively on the wild products of their environment. They trade with neighbouring farmers to acquire cultivated foods and other material items; no group lives deep in the forest without access to agricultural products. It is estimated that there are between 250,000 and 600,000 Pygmies living in the Congo rainforest. However, although Pygmies are thought of as forest people, the groups called Twa may live in open swamp or desert. There are at least a dozen Pygmy groups and the Mbuti (Efe etc.) of the Ituri Rainforest speaks Bantu language. The Pygmies are considered to be the largest group of mobile hunter–gatherers of Africa. They dwell in equatorial rainforests and are characterized by their short mean stature. However, little is known about the chronology of the demographic events — size changes, population splits, and gene flow — ultimately giving rise to contemporary Pygmy (Western and Eastern) groups and neighboring agricultural populations. According to Minority Rights Group International there is extensive evidence of mass killings, cannibalism and rape of Pygmies and they have urged the International Criminal Court to investigate a campaign of extermination against pygmies. Although they have been targeted by virtually all the armed groups, much of the violence against Pygmies is attributed to the rebel group, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo, which is part of the transitional government and still controls much of the north, and their allies. In the Republic of Congo, where Pygmies make up 2% of the population, many Pygmies live as slaves to Bantu masters. The nation is deeply stratified between these two major ethnic groups. The Pygmy slaves belong from birth to their Bantu masters in a relationship that the Bantus call a time-honored tradition. Even though the Pygmies are responsible for much of the hunting, fishing and manual labor in jungle villages. As a result of pressure from UNICEF and human-rights activists, a law that would grant special protections to the Pygmy people is awaiting a vote by the Congo parliament.

Monday 14 May 2012

"BUKEDDE"

“BUKEDDE” (the luganda’s word for saying “ONE MORE DAY” ) text and photos by Piero Pomponi – World Focus-

An ongoing project of the new millennium slavery. Location: Kireka township-Kampala-Uganda- April 2012

As many before her, Jennyfer Ayat made a decision to escape the clutches of sexual servitude or certain death, from the followers of the warlord Joseph Kony by taking the long march of the Gulu Walk. Ironically it seems just to escape one form of slavery for another!

Over the last twenty years the pain of the Kony terror, has made women like Jennyfer Ayat of Uganda make hard choices to either live with the daily fear of death for themselves and their children, or have the courage to escape and live in another fear. One of desperate poverty and slavery to invisible corporations, where employing workers at the lowest possible wage, robs them of their human rights and basic freedom to choose.

Children born in this state of bondage, continue to live a life of servitude and slave labor, long after their parents’ escape from Kony. In one of my photographs, a young 36 years old Jennyfer Ayat is carrying her hammer on her shoulder, like if this piece of iron was Jennyfer’s best friend. The powerful strength of Jennyfer Ayat’s body, seems a sculpture: but this is not a romanticism of African life, this image recalls a story of human endeavor and fortitude against the odds. The harsh reality of working for almost nothing for each jerry-can carried aloft by the strong in the quarry, each load of crushed stones, is worth just 100 Ugandan shillings there are 2250 Ugandan shillings in 1 Dollar.

Jennyfer Ayat is seen on many occasions hammer in hand pounding the rock, her frame is small but her strength is strong. There is no malice in her expression, but a kind of faith that is disturbing to a more affluent audience there is an acceptance of life as it is, as it will always be. But it is this womans’ strength of character, that has kept her and her family alive and with each frame I tried to compose, I tried to show this beautiful Inferno in a documentary on going project, called “BUKEDDE” a word in the local language, the luganda, wich means “ONE MORE DAY” to identify that “it’s morning again”. I tried to capture her character completely, her moments of tenderness with her little adopted baby, Ivonne, a Madonna like image,she cradles the child in gentle candle light in the cold African night, of their humble home. Or the private moments of prayer with her son again candle lit, both clutching their only rosary. These are intimate moments she shared with myself: Jennyfer is giving to everybody of us the only thing she has left to give, herself.

So this photographic journey introduces us to Jennyfer, a strong African woman. We are shown glimpses of her daily life, her hope, and desires, the love and aspirations for her children. The moments I tried to capture, show the charm of unconditional love, the small details of life, the sharing of work, prayer the intimate exchange of glances.

The daily minutia of Jennyfer’s life in Kireka, are brief glimpses into her soul captured through the eyes and the lens, of my cameras, either in a very difficult personal conditions. They tell of hardship, fear and faith and highlight the blindness of governments, institutions and corporations. This is “BUKEDDE”, it’s morning again.