Pygmies in Congo

A photo story on Pygmies in Congo was published in Days Japan magazine this week.

Until I worked on the story a few months ago, I wasn’t fully aware of how badly Pygmies were treated. They were forced out of the woods either by the war or the government’s forest reservation policy in the 90′s, then practically abandoned. It is extremely difficult for them to get a job or education because they are discriminated against as “bushmen”.

Pygmies, who were also known as the “little people in woods” because of their low height, once proudly enjoyed hunting in the forest. It was sad to see that they live more like beggars today and barely survive in camps built on the outskirts of the city.

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今月号のデイズ・ジャパンにコンゴで撮ったピグミー族の写真記事が掲載された。

恥ずかしながら、数ヶ月前にこの取材をするまで、ピグミーがこれほどひどい扱いを受けているとは知らなかった。彼らは内戦、または政府の森林保護政策によって９０年代に森を追われ、結局政府からそのまま見捨てられたようなものだ。他の部族から「プッシュマン」と蔑まされ差別されるピグミーにとって、仕事や教育の機会を得るのは非常に難しい。

「森の小人」としても知られ、森林の中での狩猟生活を謳歌していたピグミーたち。いまや部族としての誇りも捨て、町の郊外につくられたキャンプで細々と暮らす彼らの姿をみるのは複雑な思いであった。