Arlette Bashizi: Beyond Numbers

People in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been suffering from four years of war between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army. 7.8 million victims have been forced to leave their homes because of the fighting. With the series Beyond Numbers, the Congolese photographer brings the fateful stories behind the statistics to the fore, and draws attention to a conflict that has been overshadowed by world events.

A young woman sits upright on a bed inside a supplies tent belonging to the Mission Hospital in Goma, a city of millions in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). She looks to the side with a serious expression on her face. In her left hand she holds her new crutches. In May 2024 she lost a leg when the camp where she was staying with her family suffered a bomb attack by M23 rebels. Her name is Hope Mabuya. She is one of around 7.8 million internally displaced people in the DRC (status at the end of 2024), who have had to leave their homes and flee to camps close to the city, as a result of the on-going war between rebel groups and the Congolese Army.

The country has been a humanitarian crisis zone for decades – defined by the exploitative, Belgian colonial era into the late 1950s, followed by over 30 years of dictatorship, political instability and mass displacements. The second largest country on the African continent, the DRC – especially in the east of the country – disposes of rich deposits of gold, cobalt, coltan and copper – resources that also make the country vulnerable. For the past four years, M 23 rebels, supported by neighbouring Rwanda, have been fighting bitterly against the Congolese Army. The struggle is about power, political influence and access to the coveted raw materials. 

In her Beyond Numbers series, photographer Arlette Bashizi focusses her pictures on the stories of people like Hope, which speak about war and displacement, but also strength and resilience. “When the world pays attention to this conflict, it mainly talks about numbers, forgetting that there are names and human beings connected to those numbers. By highlighting stories of displaced people through projects like Beyond Numbers, I try to put names to the statistics and reports [that are shared by international NGOs],” Bashizi explains. Even when the conflict escalated again at the end of January 2025, and M23 rebels violently seized her home town of Goma, Bashizi was there with her camera. “As a local photographer, born and raised in a region affected by war for decades,” she points out, “it’s my responsibility to inform the world of what is happening in my country, and to document and keep archives for the next generations.”

Bashizi’s pictures document daily life with impressive vitality and precision. However, her series is more than mere documentation. She is not simply an observer, but also part of the action – a chronicler and a fighter at the same time. With sensitivity and dignity, she reveals all the facets of the members of her community. “I use my camera to amplify our voices,” she explains. “Whenever I’m about to take a photograph I ask my self if I would like to see anyone from my family being photographed the same way.” As long as the situation for her community does not improve, Beyond Numbers will remain and on-going project. Bashizi plans to expand her work to cover the whole eastern part of Congo – for a more humane portrayal of a conflict in the shadow of world public opinion.

Arlette Bashizi’s series was submitted by Fiona Wachera, one of this year’s group of international LOBA nominators.