RASKOLS (2004)
According to the financial paper The Economist, Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea, is the world’s least livable city. Two-thirds of the residents live in slums; seventy percent are unemployed. The city is a spawning ground for RASKOLS (2004), street gangs that rob and plunder. The proceeds go to their own community. Stephen Dupont photographed one of the oldest gangs, the Kips Kaboni or Red Devils. The members themselves decided how they would pose, often as tough guys. In this way Dupont emphasizes the dignity of the raskols. In his eyes, more than anything else the gang members are victims of the crisis in their country, and Robin Hood figures of a sort.
