Capoeira brings leisure and peace-building for refugees in northern DR Congo

URL: http://www.unhcr.org/541c54719.html

UNHCR, 19 Sep 2014

It's a hot, muggy Saturday afternoon in the Mole refugee camp, but while many people are taking a siesta, a hardy group of young men and women are indulging in their new obsession – capoeira. The Brazilian martial art includes elements of dance, acrobatics and music, and it is keeping people occupied and fit as well as helping ease tension between different groups of Central African Republic (CAR) refugees in this camp of more than 13,000 people in the far north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "Everyone can do it, women, elderly people, mothers and fathers. They can do it because it is a game. It can become an art to practise peace," says Maxime Obingui, a 37-year-old from Bangui. "Christians and Muslims are doing capoeira. We train together. We want to be together, like a family," he adds, alluding to the inter-communal conflict across the nearby Obangui River in his country...