‘According to our main moto taxi man, Ebu, when we were trying to make the initial, extremely protracted, deal with him: “Come, we go now, now! We will get to Kedougou (Senegal) in two hours” he assured us – compared to 6-7 hours in a vehicle. In the end, we haggled a deal for roughly $28 per person – down from $35 per person. Hey, when on a tight expedition budget, every single dollar saved counts…
At long last, almost 5 hours later, we were ready to hit the road. Ebu is still adamant that we would make Kedougou by dark. So much so, he very convincingly stated: “and I will return tonight, to Mali Ville, with a passenger from Kedougou, too!”. In actual fact, we would not reach Kedougou until 10 pm that evening!’ extract from the ‘River Gambia Expedition-1044km source-sea African odyssey’ blog by Helen Jones-Florio
Jason Florio is available for assignments, and for image licensing – Contact here
“What I learned from the interviews with victims is the range of abuses and atrocities that happened here during the 22 years of Jammeh. I have been coming to The Gambia for 20 years and I heard about things happening in the past but I had no idea about the range of abuses, including the use of forced medication, people forced to take HIV treatments. The tourists that came here had no idea about what was going on. Even I as a journalist who been here many times had no idea about what was really going on The Gambia,” Jason told The Chronicle.
23rd May 2019, the ‘Portraits for Positive Change’ exhibition was donated, by the British High Commission, to the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), to be used as a tool for advocacy and awareness during their outreach programs around The Gambia. The aim of which is to create a dialogue within communities, to help sensitise people on the plight of the victims – emphasising the importance of victims to come forward and engage in the TRRC process.
“Coming to terms with the legacy of the recent past provides the Gambian people an opportunity to reconcile and regain the hope and optimism for the future they so deserve” Sharon Wardle – British High Commissioner to The Gambia
The next step… which the portraits have already embarked on, is to take the exhibition further, into the international arena. First stop: the portraits were chosen by LensCulture Portrait Awards, in April.
The next step… which the portraits have already embarked on, is to take the exhibition further, into the international arena. First stop: the portraits were chosen by LensCulture Portrait Awards, in April
And, on May 27th-29th they will be digitally exhibited – on 10ftx10ft screens – at the Oslo Freedom Forum festival.
The Oslo Freedom Forum is a transformative annual conference where the world’s most engaging human rights advocates, artists, tech entrepreneurs, and world leaders meet to share their stories and brainstorm ways to expand freedom and unleash human potential across the globe.
‘Portraits for Positive Change’ exhibition handover to the TRRC, the Gambia. L-R: /Helen Jones-Florio, Essa Jallow, Communications Specialist TRRC, Jason Florio
A sneak preview of the front cover of our next exhibition booklet ‘Portraits for Positive Change‘. All images are taken from an on-going body of work, here in the Gambia, West Africa
The booklet is to accompany the portraits – and video – of our second exhibition of this work, in the Gambia. More news about the exhibition, coming soon… Jason Florio & Helen Jones-Florio
I was taken downstairs (everyone knows that this is where the bad things happen at the NIA -National Intelligence Agency). They covered my eyes with something, and I felt 3-4 people push behind me, and I felt an injection in my back – you know…like a big staple gun – and then I felt something enter my system…burning me inside. I was screaming, shouting, calling to Allah for help. Then they took me to the beating grounds…” Mr. Njie
Njie, a local taxi driver, was inadvertently caught up in a demonstration by the UDP opposition party on April 14th 2016 and arrested by the former president, Yahya Jammeh’s, security forces. Despite simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Njie was held, without charge for 3 months “Oh my god, Mile 2, it is like hell…no dignity, they treat you like donkeys, animals, even the smallest of boys…no respect” Mr.Njie
