-« ANR, NEVER! »-
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At nightfall, I take advantage of the pretty lights on the shop façades to enjoy the famous Kajama Avenue. Photographing a city at night allows me to better understand and apprehend its dynamics.
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And i quickly realized that being a photographer in Congo is not an easy task: 30 minutes after that photos, I’ve been approach by few men that were intrigued by what I was doing in that neighborhood at that time of the evening. After calmly explaining ti them what I was doing, more guys arrived. Drunk ones! In less than 5 minutes, I was surrounded by 15 guys, really not happy to see me here. While grabbing my arms and camera, they said « Bring him to the ANR » (The local intelligence agency). I head so many stories linked to the ANR, I knew that if I was putting one step there, I would be in big trouble. After shooting at them, dragging them, I get closer to the car where my friends was. We had the chance to have some samples of the magazines that we are working for. The seconds it took for them to grab the magazines that we were handing them, we got in the car and drove as fast as we could.
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« If they see you with a camera, Either they think that you are a Spy or that you are gonna make voodoo with the photos you captured of them » said my friend! Lesson learned, I know the dynamic know!
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#Congo #drc #Lubumbashi #Kolwezi #lualaba #Congolese #Mzungu #Swahili #nightshot #people #night#culture #peopledaily #everydayafrica #streetphotography #travelingram #lifestylephotography #instagram #instadaily #instagood #travelphotography #justgoshoot #visualsoflife #exploretocreate #YourShotPhotographer #myfeatureshoot ... See MoreSee Less
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-Something Mystical-
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The sun was beating down hard.The loud drums filled the valley with their rhythms.The king, on his armchair, was drinking some fresh water, gazed at by the large audience.All of sudden, this dancer jumped in the middle of the sand circle, facing the king, facing me.
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I can’t really explain the way he danced but something mystical was happening in front of me.I could hear his breathe, getting louder and quicker after each movement...The trance was not far.This is when I felt as if a mystical spirit was surrounding us, something reaching the dancer and accompanying him.I wish I could have captured a video of that moment!
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PS: I needed to get back and publish some more of my Congo Stills. They are so special to me, I hope you will enjoy them! (Some more to come)
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#Congo #drc #king #throne #Congolese #dance #tradition #chief #village #everydayafrica #instadaily #documentaryphotography #dailylife #instadaily #oneinnine #yetmagazine #lensculture #rdcunited #katanga #indigeneous #justgoshoot #visualsoflife #exploretocreate #YourShotPhotographer #myfeatureshoot ... See MoreSee Less
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-And now what?-
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Reunion Island flares up in the margin of the movement of « les gilets jaunes » . Riots, looting: for several days, the island is the scene of an outbreak of violence, after the rise of Petrol’s price. If it is the movement of yellow vests that set fire to the powder, in Reunion the social malaise is much profound.
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Even if the social crisis crystallizes mainly around the issue of consumer prices, the population also faces a record unemployment rate (22.8%) and a poverty rate of 40% is three times more than in mainland.
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Yesterday, Annick Girardin, Minister of overseas territory, said: "Reunion is the territory where there is the most inequality and we must provide answers."
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As a Reunionese myself, this situation brings deep feelings to me. I still strongly believed in the strength and the power of the diversity and the identity of this island but I’m quite concerned about the outcome of this movement on its local society.
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#reunionisland #island #indianocean #Lareunion #iledelareunion #france #territory #saintpaul #streetart #giletsjaunes #inequality #social #socialmovement #riot #Diversity #identity #onelove #pride #home #hope ... See MoreSee Less
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-Urbanization VS Heritage-
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It’s gonna be one of our biggest challenge for the coming decades and Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, is facing it, right now: The urban development pressure, coupled with the lack of an appropriate conservation framework, is causing the loss of important cultural heritage in Cape Town and particularly in Bo-Kaap. It’s been few months that the BoKaap community’s anger has been unleashed.
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“So much of our heritage is being destroyed,” says Hardie Dolie, a 69-year-old pensioner resident in the Bo-Kaap. Dolie says he was born and bred there. “I have never lived anywhere else but Bo-Kaap. This community is all I know and seeing it being stripped down and gentrified is heart-breaking".
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Karen Hendricks, who was facing eviction from a house in Cavendish Street in Woodstock, was quoted in Daily Maverick as saying: “Private developers have been gentrifying our homes. Gentrification is only a modern word for the Group Areas Act, and we are going to stop that now. Where people live should matter, it should matter to the City.
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Bo-Kaap residents have not given up their quest to preserve the area's heritage and will continue with demonstrations in coming weeks.
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#Bokaap #protest #peoplesvoice #vocnews #saveBoKaap #handsoff #heritage #culture #urbanization #urban #capetown #developers #southafrica #news #streetart #Westernprovince #cityofcapetown #oneinnine #yetmagazine #lensculturestreets ... See MoreSee Less
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