In the Fight: Humanity and Tribal Conflict

In the Fight: Humanity and Tribal Conflict is a multimedia exhibition that shares stories of resilience amid warfare in the remote peaks and valleys of Papua New Guinea's highlands. This is a journey through the deep-rooted historical and cultural complexities of tribal warfare in Papua New Guinea. It is a story of how communities are working with the International Committee of the Red Cross to minimize the humanitarian consequences of being 'in the fight'.

Layered mountain peaks hide the harsh reality of conflict in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Sparked by disputes over issues ranging from land to election results, tribal fights lead to dozens of deaths and thousands of displacements every year.

Long seen as part of highland culture, tribal conflicts are held to be traditional ways of expressing grief and seeking restitution. Feuds can last generations, resurfacing to cause new casualties for old crimes.

Across the hills and valleys, villages lie abandoned. Ruined homes and crops serve as grim reminders of the violence. People who flee their ancestral lands must seek shelter in neighbouring communities.

Amid the risk of conflict, highland communities are working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to reduce the humanitarian consequences of the violence.

In the Fight: Humanity and Tribal Conflict shares their story.

Meet the nuns who act as negotiators, helping resolve disputes. Nurses who run into fights to provide aid to the wounded on both sides of the conflict. Teachers who rally communities to rebuild schools destroyed by fighting. Students, who as former fighters have returned to school to warn against turning to violence.