When thinking of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the misery of Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness is among the first things that comes to mind. But there is much more to this forgotten country, a population of 54 million people, and an eight-year war which actual combat was only a small portion, the Congolese people suffer extreme preventable deprivation.

Although the war itself ended in with a peace accord in 2002, the death toll has reached 1,200 people per day in the eastern portion of the country where the instability is at its peak. With their first elections in 40 years just around the corner this June, tensions are running high.

“We really hope to raise awareness,” said Helen O’Neill, Deputy Director of Operations at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), “and photographs are a great medium.” According to her, the ‘Forgotten War” exhibit, showcases the lack of awareness and foreign compassion.

“Someone loses a child everyday, when you see a woman lose half her children, then the last one, what do you say?” Said O’Neill, who has been working in the DRC since the beginning, “She accepts it, she understands what life is like.”

From May until August 2005, MSF sent five renowned photographers from the VII Photo Agency to capture this inhumanity to show an underreported tragedy to the world. Ron Haviv, Gary Knight, Antonin Kratochvil, Joachim Ladefoged, and James Nachtwey are the artistic masters behind the ‘Forgotten War’ exhibit.

For U of T sisters Mera and Arabhi Nirmalan-Nathan the exhibit was a true education.

‘”Reading about a situation is one thing, but there’s only so much you can imagine,” said first year student Arabhi, “You don’t want to think about what the torture is, but when its right in front of you and your confronted with it, it makes u think of the situation another way. Visually it takes you to another level.”

According to Arabhi, the general hope here is that people associate with pictures more than with words, “How many people did u hear talking about Rwanda before the movie?,” she asked. This underreported way of life is neglected not only by the media but by the greater outside world, leaving the Congolese people forgotten.

“We are pretty aware as a group of people, the student body is quite informed,” said third-year linguistics major Mera, “but we should be doing something more productive with that information. There should be more information, before this exhibit I didn’t know much about it. What we know about on campus are things that are big in the news.”

MSF is heavily involved in the eastern part of the country, where there is the most risk with preventable diseases, destitution, fear of rape and murder, and endless death. MSF dispenses vaccinations for malaria and measles, and trying to quell the extreme illnesses that are barely a problem in the west.

“People believe that because there is an ongoing peace process that the problem in the Congo is over and we can move on, that’s not the case,” said O’Neill, “It’s unstable, people are in a constant state of running, they sow crops but can’t stay long enough to harvest. Everyone has been displaced at least once.”

For O’Neill, it’s a constant heartbreak, and also a constant reminder that in the heart of Africa where misery seems to run rampant, humanity still exists. “Everyone has lost someone, it’s all a struggle to survive, but they all know how to be patient. They are waiting for it to get better.”