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Photos: In Central Africa, Bayaka pygmies struggle amid the Covid crisis
As reported by AFP photographer Florent Vergines, the authorities of the Dzanga-Sangha Park are pushing pygmies into the forests amid the coronavirus outbreak. A tropical rainforest ecosystem with exclusively natural forest clearings, the Dzanfa-Sangha park is also home to the indigenous population of the Central African Republic-- the Bayaka pygmies, who've been accusing some farmers of giving them low wages to extract medicinal plants and at times to work in illegal diamond mines.
Updated on: Jun 04, 2020 5:06 PM IST
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Ganga, a traditional Bayaka pygmy healer prepares for a demonstration in the forest in Bayanga, Central African Republic. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the authorities of the Dzanga-Sangha Park have been pushing pygmies into the forests, as reported by the AFP photographer. (Florent Vergnes / AFP)
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A picker of the pygmy traditional medicine cuts bark from a tree believed to have medicinal properties in Bayanga. (Florent Vergnes / AFP)
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A picker shows berries that he’s picked in the equatorial forest in Bayanga. (Florent Vergnes / AFP)
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A group of young Bayaka pygmies walk inside the forest while on a journey to a hunting camp. The farmers take advantage of the pygmies to get free or very low paid labour to work in illegal diamond mines and agricultural fields, as reported by AFP. (Florent Vergnes / AFP)
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A tree, whose bark is believed to prevent painful menstruation, according to Pygmy traditional medicine, is seen covered with scars from a collection, in Bayanga. (Florent Vergnes / AFP)
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Henriette Memba, a Pygmy traditional medicine picker extracts juice from a leaf in Bayanga. (Florent Vergnes / AFP)
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A young Bayaka pygmy carries a tree branch while setting up camp in the equatorial forest in Bayanga. (Florent Vergnes / AFP)
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A man from Bayanga shows diamonds traded to pygmies for sachets of alcohol. (Florent Vergnes / AFP)
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