Bambuti Lives: Introduction

By Furaha Mussanzi

Early in the month of March 2023, a few members of Centre Résolution Conflits (CRC), or, in English, Conflict Resolution Centre, a charity based in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo working with the most vulnerable affected by violent conflict, embarked on a needs assessment in the territories of Irumu and Mambasa in the Ituri province. The main purpose of the investigation was to evaluate and identify some of the key needs of Bambuti people living in the Komanda and Lolwa district, to map out the local contacts and associations in their communities; identifying community members and representatives to interview and hold focus group discussions, specifically women and girls in the community who wanted to share their stories and finally to share the findings with Scarborough Museum and Galleries (SMG), exploring ways in which the museum can learn key aspects of the important Bambuti cultural identity and how this may be represented in the museum and to the wider public.

Before going any further, we must address the elephant in the room, namely the term commonly used to describe Bambuti people. The word ‘pygmy’ is generally used across DRC to refer to people who have live in the Congo rain forest, who work hard to preserve and maintain their own traditional practices and culture. However, this word is mostly used in a derogatory way by other ethnic groups to devalue and discriminate, knowingly or unknowingly. This existing stereotype towards the Bambuti people permeates deep in society and has led to harsh and toxic mistreatment of them, being viewed as being less than and forcing them to being marginalised even more. They are mainly known as BaMbuti people and are in the territories of Irumu and Mambasa and their number is estimated between 18,750 and 25,000 and make up 44% of the population in Lolwa region alone.

The processes, tools and techniques through which this information was collated was primarily in the form of written questionnaires, surveys, direct interviews and observation in order to collect the opinions and concerns of the population, gathering the socio-economic situation of the Bambuti people in Ituri as well as highlighting their lack of representation and involvement in development plans. The team gathered stories, facts and statistical analysis but, in order to do this, it was essential to have a limited number of individuals to help draw conclusions about the current realities Bambuti people are facing today. The survey questionnaire addressed three specific target audience, the general population, members of the Bambuti community and NGOs working to support and empower them in the Komanda and Lolwa region. The field workers on this project were all men. It is worth noting that CRC has women on the team but sadly due to cultural norms women rarely go into the field, especially in this case due to security reasons. Travelling in these red zone areas where conflict is still raging has its difficulties, one being having to report to security authorities at every checkpoint when entering a new region to present documents which allows the team to progress with its journey. Often women will have to ask for permission from their husbands or guardian before taking such a risky journey and mainly choose not to go into the field because of the unpredictable, unstable nature of the security situation and fear of losing their lives. It doesn't mean they can't do the job, but this is the reality of the context in which they work and the cultural norms they live with.

For several decades, the Ituri province has gone through a period of violence, inter-community, land and identity conflicts, the resurgence of armed conflicts, which leads to loss of life, property, mass displacement of population and Bambuti people have unfortunately also hugely been affected by these ongoing turbulent killings. Since April 2022, the security situation has deteriorated more and more following the incursions of ADF-Nalu (The Allied Democratic Forces), an Islamist rebel group causing serious human rights violations where innocent civilians including the Bambuti have become victims of these abuses, forcing them to leave their homes and becoming IDPs (Internally Displaces Peoples). Violations include killings, looting, kidnapping, violent rape and forced labour only to name a few has sadly become a part of their daily experience. Humanitarian assistance is sporadic in Komanda region, making life incredibly difficult for this community to access basis needs such as shelter, health care, clean running water and more. But despite all this Bambuti people remain incredibly resilient and resourceful, making do with whatever they have access to despite the many challenges, loss and trauma they face.

Jean-Claude Idi, one of the CRC workers who was present in the field conducting the interviews expressed the shocking things he witnessed, “Bambuti people are being killed and exterminated by rebel groups, they are being forced to leave their homes and becoming IPs, being exposed to harsh conditions of living. Women are dying giving birth, children suffering from malnutrition and they receive little to no support because they are based in the red zone where no local or international NGOs want to go, so are forget and abandoned. Unfortunately, women and young girls are becoming victims of sexual violence, especially in the refugee camps, and because of poverty young girls are going into prostitution just to get a bit of cash to buy their basic needs in order to survive”.