Malawi festival unites refugees and locals

Tumaini Festival in Malawi unites refugees and locals through music, art, and crafts, fostering connection and hope.

A 72-year-old singer with tinted hair, oversized sunglasses and a flashy tracksuit hobbled up onto the main stage at the Tumaini Festival in Malawi as the crowd erupted with joy.

"Ine ndi ndani?" (Who am I?) she said, addressing the crowd of some 12,000 people, who roared back: "Ine ndi Jetu!" (I am Jetu!)

Billed as the world's only music festival at a refugee camp, Tumaini, which runs from Thursday to Saturday and has been held annually since 2014, brings together refugees and locals to share music, art and crafts.

Only a few kilometres outside Malawi's capital Lilongwe, Dzaleka Refugee Camp was a prison before it was transformed into a camp following a massive influx of refugees from Africa's Great Lakes region in 1994.

The camp is home to people originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Somalia, amongst others.

The camp was meant to accommodate about 10,000 refugees but is now home to more than 60,000 people.

"Not many people my age get to go on stage and perform to such a crowd. I am really grateful," Jetu, a great-grandmother, told AFP in an interview after her performance.