This 26-minute documentary
http://www.renaf.org/index.php?&MMN_position=1:1is a moving and
compassionate anthology of testimony to the suffering and abusive treatments to which Pygmy populations
in Central Africa are subjected today, in the face
of complete government indifference.
« We, the Pygmies » takes us on a dark voyage into deep forests to witness modern-day slavery that should belong to bygone centuries. Instead we find Bantu citizens who consider themselves part of a modern and civilized world, committing unimaginable violence against their fellow human beings, namely the pygmies of the equatorial forests of Central Africa, in the Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Besides their lack of access to formal education, the pygmy community is
also deeply traumatized psychologically by the power
that the Bantu populations exert over them. In one after another village visited in this troubling documentary come reports of the abuse to which the pygmies are
subject at the hands of the Bantu, who have no qualms about declaring themselves the "owners of pygmies". As such, they shamelessly put "their" pygmies to work for absolutely no remuneration and don't hesitate to punish
them mercilessly for the smallest failure to obey or
follow instructions. The effects of vicious physical punishment are evident among those few pygmies who dared to speak openly to the camera ? which of course they did
well out of sight of the Bantus. Relations between the two groups are undeniably that of master and slave.
The film reveals a veritable system of Apartheid in the forest zones in the north of the Republic of Congo. The Bantus live in relatively well-established villages, while the pygmies are marginalized, living in ghetto conditions on the outskirts of the communities at the edge of the forest. The Bantus have such little respect and
regard for the pygmies that they cannot even conceive of inter-marrying.
The film documents efforts by a team from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to try and change this dramatic situation, starting with the fight to eradicate ‘Pian’, a disease that is decimating the pygmy
population. The ultimate goal, of course, is to abolish the bondage of the pygmy community, which accounts for about 10 percent of the Congolese population of 3 million
inhabitants, and ensure their complete liberation from their Bantu "masters" so they can live side-by-side with them as equal partners and citizens.
Historians believe that the pygmies, along with the Bushmen, were the very first inhabitants of the African continent. At a time in human history when
there is much discussion about the value of cultural
diversity on the planet, it is urgent that attention be turned to protecting and saving the culture of the pygmy community. We, the Pygmies is a journey into the heart
of the equatorial forest that has always been a sanctuary for cultural and natural resources of extraordinary beauty and hidden wealth, the home of people who deserve their liberty and dignity.
MOUKALA Noel, African Renaissance
Author
