Photo Exhibition of Kenyan Post Election Violence comes to USA
A mob watches as a man assults an already badly injured man .by Boniface Mwangi- Picha Mtaani
By John Harry Ndeta, Ajabu Africa News, Posted: FEB 5, 2011
NAIROBI, Kenya_Boniface Mwangi; a re-known Kenyan Photojournalist will hold a
Photographic exhibition in Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New
Jersey) at The Center for African Studies (CAS) from the 14th -28th
February. Other prospective cities where the exhibition is likely to go
include New York, DC and Chicago.
The exhibition that will feature Mwangi's work dubbed Never Again, is a collection of pictures that captures the tragic moment
of “ethnic” violence in Kenya in the immediate aftermath of the 2007
Presidential Elections.
Over a period of close to three months, over half a million Kenyans
were displaced and nearly two thousand people were reported to have
lost their lives in the violence. Guided by the adage that “a picture
is worth a million words” this collection of forty photographs
captures the multifarious effects of this tumultuous period on the
lives of average Kenyans.
Mr. Mwangi will engage in conversation with scholars, students and the
American public about the subject of the exhibition. CAS also plans to
have two distinguished speakers at the launching of the exhibition who
will make presentation on the theme of “violence and healing.”
One is
Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative
Literature at the University of California, Irvine.
His recently
released childhood memoir Dreams in Times of War on memory in the
context of a history of violence is particularly pertinent to the
theme of this exhibition. The other speaker is Gabriele Schwab,
Chancellor's Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of
California at Irvine.
A power-house in cultural theory, Professor
Scwhab is currently completing Haunting Legacies, her latest book on
trauma and healing.
Boniface Mwangi, Photojournalist
Never Again has already been exhibited in eight towns and five mini
exhibitions in the past one year reaching over 500,000 Kenyans which
provided opportunities to individuals and groups to reflect on that
national tragedy, engage in honest dialogue, and plan for community
action.
Of these, some 35,000 people completed surveys that provide
important insight arising from views of ordinary Kenyans on community
reconciliation, roles and contributions of individuals to peace
building, effects of the violence of their lives and recommendations
for national healing. 50,000 individuals filled in pledge cards that
commit them to uphold peace and promote active‐non‐violence.
The exhibition will be accompanied by the showing of the production “Heal the Nation,” a 30 minutes documentary providing eyewitness
accounts of the tragedy that befell Kenyans in 2007-2008. New Jersey
and its bordering state of New York have one of the highest
concentrations of Diaspora Kenyans in the USA.
The exhibition will be
an important opportunity to engage them in conversation about the
violence in Kenya (which they mostly witnessed through the Western
media) and to galvanize their social location and resources towards
supporting the mission of Never Again, including efforts to create
conditions for a political culture of ethnic co-existence and national
inclusiveness.
During the build-up to 2007 elections many Kenyan politicians
travelled to different corners of the World to seek endorsements from
political leaders and financial support from international sources and
Kenyans in the diaspora for the General Elections held on 27 December
2010.
Kenyans in Diaspora participated actively in the processes to
the General Elections, from shaping public opinion to financial
contributions and other material support to the various political
parties and candidates. According to a report by the Coalition for
Accountable Political Financing, approximately $65 million was used in
a period of nine (9) months preceding the General Elections by
political parties and candidates.
These pictures will also serve as a
reminder to Kenyans in the Diaspora to be more concerned about the
destination of every dollar they contribute to the election process.
View more pictures below. Warning: Some pictures are very graphic and could be disturbing.Viewer discretion is advisable. Use player controls to enlarge and play slide show.
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