Mental health patients in Mali find their voice through theater

In the courtyard of the psychiatric ward in one of Bamako’s main hospitals, a small group of patients dance to the beat of a a djembe, a traditional West African drum.

The group then act out scenes of a village dispute.

A young patient, Mamadou Diarra, cries out to another in Bambara: “Hee hee ha ha ha ha! you don’t know anything! You don’t know anything. Just nonsense!”

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