Wonders: Life In An Abandoned Airport In DR Congo.

On the wing of an empty airplane, a young boy is practicing his backward-bend. In the cockpit, a crowd have gathered -- taking it
in turns to play captain.

From an outsider's perspective, Goma International Airport -- once a makeshift arsenal for the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo -- is probably the last place you'd expect to find a makeshift playground. To locals, such dichotomies are typical of the once conflict-ridden region.

"For me this captures the Congo experience," says Michael Christopher Brown, a photojournalist who shot the images in 2012.

"On the one hand, this is a place that is often in the news as a very horrific place, because of course, very horrific things have happened there. But there are also beautiful things that happen there," he says.

Years of war and a volcanic eruption in 2002 -- which saw much of the city and large swaths of the airport overrun with lava -- pretty much shut down any commercial activity at the site. Though Goma Airport essentially fell into disuse, the locals have made use of the leftover volcanic rocks -- from which many constructed their homes -- and the abandoned aircraft that pepper the place.

"While I was there, I saw children going through the planes, collecting parts and hacking at the engines to get the wires. My fixer, Horeb, said these materials were later sold on the street to be used in other products. A hunk of steel can be used in a stove, the wires could be used in other electronics. There, everything is recycled, in a way."

Source:CNN