Lara Aitor

Baka, Guardians of the Forest

The Baka, indigenous peoples of Cameroon, are facing a serious departure from their traditional way of life due to the increasingly sedentary lifestyle that has been forced upon them for years. They were expelled from their ancestral lands, which have been turned into protected areas of the Dja Faunal Reserve and into concessions granted to transnational companies that exploit natural resources such as gold, iron and wood. However, the Baka People see themselves as the guardians of the forest.

The economic development policies of the Cameroon government have focused on mining, wood and extensive agriculture of mono-crops such as oil palm and rubber, causing the progressive disappearance of the rainforest. This has all triggered an accelerated loss of the collective identity of the Baka community, which is driving them toward alcoholism, malnutrition and the proliferation of diseases like HIV and AIDS.

Profoundly disoriented, settled at the gate of the rainforest, the Baka people are deprived of the fundamental right to property of their own land, as recognized by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007.

This essay was Shortlisted for the EPF 2016

A baka pygmie man walks through an area devastated by the chopping down of trees by the timber industry. Ndjibot, Dja Faunal Reserve.

A baka pygmie man comes down a branch after having climbed a tree to retrieve honey from a beehive. Village of Ndjibot, Dja Faunal Reserve.

The baka pygmie chief of the village of Bosquet poses in his house next to a photo of the President of Cameroon, Paul Bija. Dja Faunal Reserve.

Members of a bagyeli pygmie family bring the day’s hunt to the Bantu house where they work as servants. Kribi Cameroon.

An abandoned canoe near Ngoila, in the Dja Faunal Reserve. Cameroon.

A baka pygmie man collecting honey tree. Village of Ndjibot, Dja Faunal Reserve.

A baka pygmie man dances under the influence of alcohol in the village of Mantisone in the Dja Faunal Reserve.

An abandoned car near village of Mantisone in the Dja Faunal Reserve, Cameroon.

A baka pygmie smoke and rest while hunting in the rainforest. Bosquet, Dja Faunal Reserve.

Several baka pygmie women sing at dawn in a ceremony to attract animals for hunting and fishing. Village of Bosquet, Dja Faunal Reserve in Cameroon.

Old presbyterian church built in the sixties in the rainforest, Bipindi, Cameroon.

An elderly baka pygmie, Mama Rosette, is treated in the dispensary of the mission in Bengbis, financed by the Spanish NGO Zerca y Lejos (Near and Far). She is suffering from strong chest pains due to pneumonia. Dja Faunal Reserve.

The dust cloud of a truck at high speed carrying the cut trees in the forest. Dja Faunal Reserve.

A young baka pygmie attends a gathering where traditional tales are told. Village of Bosquet, Dja Faunal Reserve.

Bio

Spain, 1974. Based in Sevilla, Spain. Background in Philosophy. Aitor´s professional career began in 1999 upon receiving the photography award from Spanish gallerist Juana de Aizpuru, and participating in international fairs such as ARCO and ParisPhoto. In 2004, he received the Ruy de Clavijo grant from Casa Asia to carry out a project in Uzbekistan. His work has appeared in magazines such as NewsWeek, CNN, NBC, Financial Times, Ojo de Pez, Vokrug Sveta. He has published four books: Maestranza (2007),Tower of Silence (Casa Asia, 2008), Ronda Goyesca and PHotoBolsillo (La Fábrica, 2012, 2015). His photographic report about the bullring of Seville has been exhibited at the front of the FNAC building in Seville since 2009. He has received the ENDESA Grant for Art in 2013 and the PhotoEspaña Ojo de Pez Award of Human Values in 2014 for Save the Children report on Spain´s child poverty crisis. Honorable mention of UNICEF Photo of the Year 2014.

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Lara Aitor