Breaking the Conflict Cycle, Building Peaceful Communities: Participatory Photography and Storytelling With African Diasporas in Sydney

Abstract

Even after resettling in a new country, the trauma and resentment caused by the conflict experienced in their homeland are passed on from generation to generation among diaspora communities. One of the factors that perpetuate the conflict in their new reality is the ethnic separation that continues to be upheld and reinforced, from parents to children. This article discusses the experience of a participatory photography project that brought together young people from the Congolese, Rwandan, Burundian, and Ugandan communities living in Sydney (Australia), whose lives are still impacted by the legacy of the conflicts that have been ravaging the African Great Lakes region. This initiative, which wanted to provide a space to encourage communication between different groups and enable the promotion of peace between communities starting from the youth, is analyzed here, and reflections are offered on the use of this method with diaspora groups.