12th
An unflinching look at the beauty and contempt of Women In War Zones.
“Thousands of women have been victims of violent gang rapes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since Hutu rebels, known as the Interahamwe, fled Rwanda after the genocide in 1994. The DRC was officially at war from 1998-2003, with seven neighboring countries invading the vast nation at one point. As many as 20 rebel military factions remain, preying upon poor villagers, especially women, for their survival. The rebels pillage, rape women, steal harvests and burn villages periodically to maintain their own supplies. This collection of photographs addresses the impact of that violence and the ways women are coping to rebuild their lives”
It was once explained to me that great art is simultanously a mirror for what is most beautiful and most contemptible in humanity. An elequont adage that was mostly lost on me, that is until my friends Brad Labriola and Scott Blanding showed me their passionate documentary Women In War Zones and the amazing photographs by Melanie Blanding (above) that acompany the project. Women In Warzone follows two young women, Helene and Bijoux, on the long road to taking back their lives after the brutal sexual violence and mutilation of the five year civil war in the D.R. Congo. To put it mildly, it’s not for the faint of heart.
Both WIWZ and Melanie’s images are simultanously a celebrition of Helene and Bijoux’s quiet victories and an unflinching indictment of their barbaric tormentors. What’s refreshing about this film is that where most would focus on the specific and sensational details of sexual and mental torture, WIWZ explores the mental, physical and spiritual recovery of the traumatized girls and the few supporters who help them along thier journey.
The Beauty: Doctors, nurses, psychologists and social workers all work tirelessly to heal these broken women. Hundrededs of fellow victims banding together to survive and protect each other, walking miles to fill heavy water jugs to bring to their bed ridden friends. Eyes filled with understanding that only adersity and pain can breed. Friends comforting and encouraging each other in overwhelming hopelessness.
The Contemptable: Rejection from their society and their own families. Enduring humiliation of incontinence and subsequent odors. Ruined dowry potential as unmarried women. Married women divorced and abandoned by husbands who fear disease or cannot bear the emotional damage. Interahamwe rebels pillaging, raping women, stealing harvests and burning villages to maintain their own supplies and assuage their own inferiority.
If great art is what I’ve heard, a singular reflection of what is good and reprehensible in us, then both Women In Warzones and Melanies images are some of the greatest art to come out of Philly in recent history.
Please think about supporting the artists and the women of Congo by…
… coming out to a gallery showing of Melanies photography on Saturday June 14th to raise awareness and funds for the Women In Warzones documentary.
… staying tuned to the Women In Warzones website (and this blog) for the announcement of the premiere later this summer.
