article_snippet: (CNN)In 2011, journalists flocked to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congothe Congo, to cover the presidential election and the violence leading up to the vote.
article_snippet: I wanted to experience what life in the Congo was like ... to understand another side of those events -- not those usually reported, but one that was much more personal.
article_snippet: Stories of the Congo were narratives whispered into his European upbringing.
article_snippet: I had never been," to Congo, his said.
article_snippet: I don't feel particularly drawn to Belgium ... but going (to Congo) made me feel even more lost.
article_snippet: Connecting with his family in the Congo, the photographer attended baptisms and weddings, exorcisms and political rallies.
article_snippet: I was allowed into the life of people who were former strangers ... and got a deeper understanding of what daily life in the Congo could feel like.
highlights_snippet: the Congo has struggled over the years with civil war and election violence .