January 23rd, 2012
“For Every Single Human”. Photos by Photographer Johan Persson.
An exhibition to help our imprisoned colleagues. A picture collection with 10 pictures, selected by Johan´s colleagues.
The exhibition is shown at Cinema Zita, Birger Jarlsgatan 37, Stockholm, Sweden. If you are interested to buy pictures contact us at info@kontinent.se. Write picture number and shipping info.
Print size: 50 x 33 cm, Technique: Lamba print.
Price: 100 euros / print + shipping costs.
The revenue from the picture sales at the exhibition and on kontinent.se goes to our imprisoned colleagues in Ethiopia, Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye.
The Collection “For Every Single Human”. All photos by Johan Persson / KONTINENT.
No 1.
From war to hopelessness - Daadab, Kenya. In the foreground is Shuab Abdullahi Ali, 14 years old. He was only a coule of months old when he came to the refugee camp Ifo in north eastern Kenya. In the background is his mother Aisho Osman Aden. The Somali conflict continues to deteriorate. The present situation is the worst since the beginning of the civil war in 1991. Years of fighting, plight and extreme weather conditions have made half the Somali population dependent on food aid, forcing thousands to leave. Over 6000 Somalis cross the border to Kenya each month. In north-eastern Kenya, about 100 kilometres from Somalia, you find the biggest refugee camps in the world. 300 000 people live there, in camps built for 90 000. Kenya does not want to see any camp expansions. Water systems and sanitation are about to collapse. Many refugees have lived in Kenya for 18 years, children are born in the camps. They cannot, however, integrate in Kenya. At the same time they have given up the hope of return, only dreaming of resettlement in a third country. That is as likely as winning the lottery. Last year the world received 8500 quota refugees from Dadaab - just slightly above the amount that arrives each month.
No 2.
Pirate fishing in Cameroon. Outside the fishing village Ebodje, the big vessels can be seen fishing illegally almost every day. They work just next to the shore, in areas reserved exclusively for the artisanal fishermen and their canoes. - When they’ve left, there is really no point in going out fishing, they have their giant trawlers and finish everything. Everything! They throw away the catch that they don’t want, but by then it’s already dead, says 27 year old fisherman Bea. Each year, 11-26 million tons of fish, with a value of 10 billion euros, are caught illegally in the world. The worst fishing pirates come from China South Korea and Europe. The maritime authority in Cameroon estimates that the catch has decreasedwith around 80 percent for the local fishermen since the big trawlers showed up 10-15 years ago. For a country where 50 percent of the consumed animal protein comes from fish, that means a small disaster.
No 3.
Minuteman-USA. Britt Craig owns two caps. One has the American flag on it, the other one says hunter. He lost his left eye in Vietnam and sleeps only an hour at a time. Most days he lives in a blue truck on a dusty hill in the American desert, overlooking the Mexican border. He is part of the Minutemen – a vigilance committee determined to defend the US against illegal immigration.
No 4.
Neo-Nazis in USA. The number of hate groups are at record high levels in the US – the increase has been over 50 percent since the year 2000. The National Socialist Movement is the largest white supremacist group in the country. They work for a racially segregated US. Jeff Hall, leader of NSM Southern Californa, here stands in front of his home. 3 rd Price in Swedish Picture of the Year 2011, Daily Life - World.
No 5.
Don´t mine us to death. Avatar 2 is already in the works, eagerly awaited by millions of fans worldwide. Meanwhile, a similar story takes place in India, only the characters are not blue, and the attention much more modest. For more than 300 years, the Khond people has been living around the Nyamgiri Mountain, growing crops and harvesting the many fruit trees. But the mountain, which is holy to them, does not only provide food and fertile soils. Its interior also hides great reserves of aluminium. Now the British mining company Vedanta threatens the whole existence of the Khond people, by planning heavy mining activities in the area. Parts of the project have already begun, with devastating effects. Amnesty International is one of several organisations that have documented pollution and violations of human rights in the area. Families have been driven off their land and the Khond people’s languague, culture, religion and unique way of living is under severe threat. And as the Avatar fans keep biting their nails waiting for a sequel, the people of Nyamgiri continue their struggle in silence.
No 6.
Don´t mine us to death. Koselia Madhad, 30, bathes his son Jettu , 2, in the mountain stream. It is hard for him to find a reason for why he should move into town. “I am at my happiest at Nyamgiri. On the mpuntain we have everything we need and this is the way I want to live. In the cities it is just hot while I here can go down to the mountain stream whenever I want to cool off”.
No 7.
Botswana Heavy Metal Generation. Augustus rock/metal festival in Gaborone City Hall, Botswana. On stage the band Overthrust. Seen in front on guitar is Spencer Degenerated and to the right on bass is Vulture Thrust. Overthrust is an upcoming metal band on the metal scene in Botswana. They have only played for about a year and come from Ghanzi, a town in the Kalahari Desert. Botswana has one of the most vibrant and fast growing metal scenes in Africa. Only the South African scene is bigger - but in contrast to Botswana, both bands and audiences are almost exclusively white.
No 8.
The face of the militias - USA. Josh Hartle is a fresh member of the Texas Well Regulated Militia. He moved from Minnesota together with his girlfriend Lisa to look for a job and join a militia.“Minnesota is very anti militia, so they are all underground to avoid the state police. I tried to get in touch with them, I screamed out, but nothing.”The militia movement is marching again. With two crucial ingredients present – economic downturn and a Democratic president – Americans are once again stockpiling weapons. The militias are getting prepared, not for a war with the government, we’re here to defend us against it, says Rick Light leader of Texas Well Regulated Militia that’s our constitutional right and nobody can take it away from us. – If the government comes to take our guns… then they got themselves an armed conflict.
No 9.
Arrow boys of Southern Sudan. They call themselves Arrowboys – a vigilante’s group of thousands of frustrated farmers of southern Sudan. They earned their name from the fact that they seldom have more than bows and arrows to fight their enemy, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), with. The few guns they have are home made, or stolen from killed LRA fighters. Since the civil war in Uganda ended, one of the world’s most dreaded guerrilla groups has divided into smaller units which now operate in southern Sudan, northern DR Congo and the Central African Republic instead. Here they terrorise the local communities by looting, mutilations, kidnappings and rape. Over 140 000 people have been forced to flee because of LRA attacks since December 2008 in the three countries, according to UN statistics. The Arrowboys have had enough.
No 10.
Skinheads in Beijing. In the outskirts of Beijing’s musical underground scene skinhead band Misandao with front man Lei Jun is a growling act of defiance. The skinhead style for them is all about going their own way and playing punk music, no matter what other people say. They speak about their love for China and their contempt for the government, their dreams of the future and how the Olympics make them feel an echo from the Cultural Revolution. Full featuretext is available.
