This is my long-term project about the devastation and aftermath
of the events surrounding the atrocities committed by Kony (LRA,
Lord´s Resistance Army) where I had the opportunity to interview
and portray war victims in Uganda.
More than 100,000 people were severely affected by this civil and
brutal war in Northern Uganda from 1987-2006 and nearly two
million were forced to seek refuge in displacement camps.
A former Catholic altar boy from northern Uganda, Joseph Kony
claims that his LRA movement has been fighting to install a
government in Uganda based on the Biblical 10 Commandments.
But his rebels now terrorize large swathes of the Democratic
Republic of Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic,
communities live with the constant and paralyzing fear that their
children will be abducted, and either killed or transformed into
killers. From 1987-2006 thousands were brutally killed, family
members were lost and misplaced. More than 10,000 survivors are
still waiting and hoping for justice against those who committed
murder and rape during the insurgency.
Years of abductions, where children were forced to kill their own
parents or friends in brutal initiations, has left the group both
feared and hated. The International Criminal Court in The Hague
has indicted their leader and self-styled messiah for crimes
against humanity. African union troops are trying to hunt them
down with the help of US Special Forces soldiers.
Most victims feel that government failed to protect them and that
no real compensation and repairs took place, knowing that no
money of the world can repair the physical and mental damages.
Many promises have been made by registration campaigns of
them, mostly before special events like elections.
Peter Bauza is a German photographer who works in the documentary and storytelling world. He is very committed to social and geopolitical issues especially in the areas of conservation, global health, diminishing cultures, sustainability and the environment. He has resided in South America and Europe for more than 20 years and also frequently travels to Africa.
Peter’s work has been exhibited in museums, galleries and cultural spaces in Berlin, Lille, Perpignan (Visa pour LImage), Paris, Siena, Daejeon (Korea), Milan, Quito, Moscow, Salta, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach, California.
He has been published in Aftenposten, The Guardian, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, GEO, LA NACION, Leica M Magazine, LFI, Marie Claire, Volkskrant, Stern, NZZ, doc! Magazine, Vrij, Days Japan, NYT Lens, Courrier international, Vanity Fair, VSD, Alma Magazine, Clarin, El Federal, Die Zeit, DOUBLETruck Magazine, DF, among others.
Awards WorldPressPhoto 2017, Visa Pour L'Image 2016 (Visa D'or), American Photography AP31+32, LAF 5, POYLat 2017, Prix De La Photographie Paris, Days Japan Photojournalism Award 2016, Mifa, Hansel-Mieth, among others.
