Africa report
Darfur: in El-Geneina, the theater to promote peace in a region ravaged by war [3/3]
Audio 02:13
A street in El-Geneina, West Darfur.
© AFP
By: Eliott Brachet Follow
3 mins
In April, following the massacre of 179 people in the village of Kreinik, the clashes had spread to El-Geneina where armed factions killed each other even in the hospitals of the city center.
In the midst of the violence, several associations are trying to rebuild the link in a fragmented city.
This is the case of the Al-Ajawid collective, which wants to use theater as a weapon of peace.
Report from the collective in a district of El-Geneina, populated by thousands of people displaced by conflict.
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From our special correspondent in El-Geneina,
On the tunes of "zinik", a music popular everywhere in the country, the al-Ajawid troupe arrives in the camp of Ardamata, Omer Ogal is 40 years old.
He is the founder of this theater troupe that talks about peaceful coexistence.
Words that these hordes of excited children are not used to hearing every day.
In 2021, 2022, the war has rekindled in the middle of the city.
There were conflicts in all neighborhoods.
The behavior of the children has changed.
They use more and more drugs.
They arm themselves, sometimes with pistols, sometimes with knives.
They argue a lot more.
It is the result of daily violence.
Psychologically, it is very difficult for these young people.
► To read also: Darfur: in Kreinik, a precarious calm after the massacre
Standing aside from the show, Faez, 20, cap screwed on his head, casts a morose look on the gathering.
The theater does not interest him, he has come to relieve boredom.
“
Me, my childhood never started.
We have always been great.
Before I was born my family lived outside this camp, they worked in the fields and were moved by Arabs.
They killed our grandparents, our mothers and our fathers.
And today it's the same story.
The future ?
there are not any.
Except die.
In the Beyond, we may be more peaceful.
»
“Darfur is populated by good people”
Ardamata is a city within a city, with its own police and barricades at the entrance.
The band of Al-Ajawid, which means “the generous ones” in Arabic, organizes performances throughout the region, without differentiating between tribes.
We sometimes go to areas where the state cannot go.
We do shows in souks which are divided between tribes.
The fighters lay down their arms and unite even for a short time.
With art, we manage to transcend these borders.
News about destruction, death and massacres travels much faster than news about peace or love.
Our message to us, even if it takes its time, wants to convince everyone here that Darfur is populated by good people.
They're not just monsters as people say.
The actor aims to create an African film studio in West Darfur.
He hopes that Darfur will cease to be "
a graveyard for dreams
".
► To read also: Darfur: tensions in El-Geneina, which has become a huge camp for displaced people
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