We visit the Tumaini Festival which celebrates the heritage of refugees at Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi. Founded by the exiled Congolese poetry artist, Trésor Mpauni aka Menes La Plume, the festival is a change from the daily struggles of life in a refugee camp as well as a chance for those in exile to connect with their culture and showcase their talents.
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00:00 Tsaleka Refugee Camp is home to 50,000 inhabitants.
00:04 Since 2014, the camp has hosted an annual arts event
00:08 to showcase the talent and rich heritage of the people living there.
00:11 The festival is known as Tumayini, which is Swahili for "hope".
00:15 It was very difficult, first of all, to put people together
00:19 because everyone wanted to be in their communities and divided.
00:26 At that time, we worked and I started thinking of how I could unify those people.
00:33 What if we come together and do this association
00:38 where we can be sharing our cultures, to know each other better,
00:42 and to understand each other and everything.
00:46 So, yes, I started doing that and actually I managed to put together
00:51 about 30 young people from Somalia, DRC, Rwanda, Burundi.
00:57 The Tumayini Festival was established in 2014 by Tresor Mpauni,
01:02 also known as Mene La Plume, a slam poet who was forced to leave
01:06 the Democratic Republic of Congo due to his work and political activism.
01:11 As the festival approaches its 10th year, there is a burst of celebrations.
01:17 For many, it's a welcome distraction from their daily struggles
01:20 and for some young people, the music delivers a path to unlock meaningful opportunities.
01:26 Music is one of the best things I have because I can express what I have inside me.
01:37 This year it didn't help me a lot. Last year we also had Tumayini.
01:45 I of course met a lot of new people. I found many friends.
01:53 But what helped me more was that I received a small amount of money,
01:57 which helped me pay for my school fees.
02:04 The Dzaleka Camp was established in 1994 in response to the thousands
02:09 of fleeing genocide in Rwanda and wars in Burundi and the DRC.
02:14 Tumayini's founder believes that the festival has done more than just give residents
02:18 at Dzaleka a platform for music. It's given those in exile a way to connect to their home.
02:25 It also gives refugees the opportunity to celebrate themselves,
02:29 to celebrate their culture and to be proud of their culture.
02:32 So Tumayini is actually encouraging culture preservation for the refugees
02:39 because people come from their countries, they come to Malawi,
02:42 they leave everything behind. But we at least make sure through Tumayini
02:48 that people don't forget about their cultures, that people keep a sense of their identity
02:54 and celebrate it.
02:56 (upbeat music)