Marcus Bleasdale, is a social documentary photojournalist who has spent years covering the conflict in The Democratic Republic of Congo. He specifically aims to highlight the human rights issues on show in the nation, and broadcast these issues to a broader audience. Spreading awareness and raising funds to help those in need. In this portfolio you will see Marcus’ pictures and how they reflect the immense struggles and pain suffered by the people of The Democratic Republic of Congo. As he once said he’s a “humanist”, and your about to find out why.
Caught in the crossfire
Children, the future of our planet, are the most vulnerable, inexperienced, and at times naïve members of society. It’s these characteristics that make most people feel a deep lying urge to protect children. The picture above shows a hellish scenario where that urge to protect isn’t enough, this is just the sad reality of life in The Democratic Republic of Congo. Leonie Remonan is just one of the many children who get caught in the crossfires of this awful conflict, the true tragedy of this picture is the fact that Leonie couldn’t receive treatment at a hospital. Due to the heavy conflict outside rather than being a place of safety, the hospital was instead a hot zone for fighting, and offered the potential of another stray bullet. Bleasdale when asked about his participants said, “I want them to ask and scream, and that can only be with a photograph”, this however, is one of the instances where he didn’t have to ask for anything, the scream was already there.
Children of war
Even war, while barbaric in many ways, does have its own regulations known as ‘the rules of engagement’. It’s these rules that separate us from the animals so to speak. One of the most important of these rules was the ‘child soldier treaty’, which nearly every nation in the world has signed off on. This treaty forbids the use of soldiers under the age of 16. It was implemented by most countries in 2002, but as you can see from the picture above The Democratic Republic of Congo were late to the party (eventually singing the treaty in 2012). Bleasdale creates a beautiful shot that provides both symbolism and awareness on this issue. Making the gun the center of the image immediately catches the eye, but the angle of the shot is true beauty. Catching the faces of one child soldiers next to the trigger, in combination with his other pictures create a horrifying collage. Children are not just being caught in the crossfire like Leonie, they are also the ones firing the bullets, rather than being the bright future of there nation, they instead act as a reflection of a dark past, to create an even darker present.
Infant-ry
There is an old saying from back home in England, it goes “all the gear, no idea”. Dressed in full military attire, camo, and with a gun in hand, this young boy certainly has all the gear. But more concerningly he likely didn’t have any idea of when he would return home to a normal life, that’s if he ever returned at all. This is one of Bleasdale’s more heartbreaking photos, the childish gleam in his eyes, and the excitable smirk on this young boys face perfectly paint the picture of childish naivety. The only positive of this picture is that we now know that The Democratic Republic of Congo can no longer enlist the services of child soldiers, and nowadays fewer children are forced on similar paths to this poor boy.
Food for thought
In the western world we don’t often think of the true value of a meal, ‘oh I’m not hungry’, ‘just throw it away’ or ‘is that it?’ are common phrases around the dinner table. Especially here in the United States of America, where food waste amounts to 30-40 percent of the food supply. In some ways of course we can be forgiven for our blindness, after all we aren’t exposed to the true hardships of the world. We rely on people like Bleasdale to open our eyes to the truth, and now you see the stark contrast in places of need. This picture demonstrates the millions of Congolese desperate for food. In fact 27 million people in the country are acutely food insecure, with an estimated 3.4 million children being acutely malnourished. Some of the people in this picture will have travelled huge distances just for the opportunity of fresh food and drinking water. And some likely travelled back without either, that’s just the harsh reality of life in The Democratic Republic of Congo.
The war on health
Health care is a staple of society, it aids the sickly and provides all sorts of care for those in need. This staple was clearly ripped out of the paper, this pharmacy like nearly all health institutions in The Democratic Republic of Congo, lays in ruins. Destroyed by militia the lack of facilities isn’t the only issue at hand, the number of physicians in the nation is 0.9 to every 1,000 people. This is a country that lacks both the facilities and the practitioners, and this picture is a perfect encapsulation of these issues. The black and white theme, the overgrown bush, and the collapsed roof of a building. Somewhere that likely used to be pristine, now resembles a scene out of Mad Max. However, sadly this isn’t a movie, this is The Democratic Republic of Congo.
Screams for change
The last picture of the portfolio, and perhaps Bleasdale’s most iconic. Captures the scenes inside one The Democratic Republic of Congo’s children centers. The boy in the shower represents a lot of different issues, both literally and metaphorically. In a literal sense the boy is so deprived of water he is attempting to drink the shower water. This obviously highlights the food and water issues rife in the nation, an estimated 51 million, or ¾ of the nations population do not have access to drinking water. An appalling statistic that Bleasdale’s work with UNICEF aims to change. Yet the metaphorical view of this particular picture holds an equally important message. While we know the child is attempting to drink water, upon first glance it appears the boy is screaming out in pain. He represents the voices of all Congolese children, calling out for aid, and Bleasdale is one of the few who answered the call. His work has made a huge impact on the nation, his encapsulating pictures reflect the not just the tragedies, but the beauty and strength of the Congolese people. Bleasdale once stated “For a lot of photographers, the photograph is the ultimate goal. But for me, it’s the start of the process…it’s not the individual photograph, it’s what you do with it and who you engage with it that makes it powerful”, I think it’s fair to say he accomplished this goal.
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