Thirty years of war in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo:
“The other side of paradise”

© Esther Nsapu

From October 10 to November 12

Curator: Maria Malagardis

“It’s a magnificent region with vast natural resources.
But for almost thirty years, the eastern fringe of the huge Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been torn apart by the violence of armed groups, which reproduced and multiplied over this period. Like the metastases of a cancer, triggered during the upheaval that followed the genocide of the Tutsis in 1994 in neighbouring Rwanda. Five photographers, all from Africa, reveal every aspect of this tragedy. It is also illustrated through videos of anonymous people, writers and witnesses talking about this never-ending drama. The tragedy continues to this day, despite the presence of the world’s most expensive peacekeeping operation, Monusco. A disaster that has resulted in thousands of displaced people and the proliferation of weapons. But there is also an invisible side to the violence, which takes place far from the media spotlight in this region which is twice the size of Ireland. And it raises questions about the way in which these conflicts are covered. In a part of the world long abandoned by the central authorities in Kinshasa, more than 2,000 km away. Under the shadow of a volcano that is still active, the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, remains on a humanitarian drip from the international aid that accompanies the military state of emergency, without ever resolving anything. “In this place, dying is quicker than living”, a local youth leader confessed to me in 2019. And yet life goes on, thanks to the resilience of the inhabitants who are deeply attached their region.
Because hope is essential, even when heaven is at the gates of hell.”

Maria Malagardis

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