Bunia Ethnic Violence by Erik Refner

Bunia Ethnic Violence

People in the News, third prize stories

13-06-2003

A man in Mandro, a city held by the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC). In May 2003, a new wave of ethnic violence between Hema and Lendu militias hit the town of Bunia. The city, which once had 300,000 citizens, has experienced some of the most horrific atrocities of a conflict that has lasted nearly five years. An estimated 50,000 people from the region have been killed in the fighting and the rest have fled, leaving around just 10,000 survivors, mostly in and about UN buildings in the town.

Commissioned by: Rapho / Berlingske Tidende

 Photo Credit: Erik Refner

Erik Refner (Copenhagen, Denmark 1971) is a staff photographer at the Danish newspaper Berlingske. Before his film and still photo career, Refner was a sergeant in the Danish army, a member of The Danish National Pentathlon Team and worked as a model for seven years. He began working in photography when a photographer he was modeling for needed an assistant. Refner started his career behind the lens the next day. He built up a basic knowledge of photography for about a year and a half, and in 1998 Refner was admitted to the Danish School of Journalism, graduating in 2002. In 2003 he participated in World Press Photo’s Joop Swart Masterclass. As a photographer, Refner has received numerous professional honors, including five World Press Photo awards, including the World Press Photo of the Year 2002. Refner was still a student when he received this honor. His international recognitions also include the Visa d’or, and awards from POYi and NPPA. In his home country Denmark, Refner was named photographer of the year in 2003 and received the prestigious Cavling Prize in 2009. His early work focused on warzones such as Darfur, DR Congo, West Bank, Afghanistan and Iraq, but in recent years Refner has expanded into film. His photojournalistic work has been published in Time, Newsweek, the New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Elle and Marie Claire, amongst others. Commercial clients include Replay, Coca Cola and Nike.