Guantanamo is the name of a area of Abidjan known for its high population of pro-Gbagbo militants, the base of the political violence necessary to maintain power during the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011. These young patriots from different regions found themselves unemployed and disillusioned as any hope of reintegration with society vanished with the fall of their president.
In collaboration with the Belgian anthropologist Karel Arnaud, who has been conducting field research there for many years, Raymond Dakoua went looking for images of these shattered lives, living off whatever they can steal and taking refuge in drugs and alcohol. A highly symbolic line is established between the buildings destroyed by the fighting, and the confusion of those who live among them, their eyes downcast, lost in hopeless dreams. Skull and crossbones tattoos echo the surrounding graffiti, creating a dialogue of immeasurable suffering.
Estelle Lecaille / Afrique in Visu
