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In Congo, The Return Of Immigrants Who Failed To Strike It Rich In Europe

Return to Congo
Return to Congo
Mustapha Mulonda

GOMA – After trying their luck in Europe, a growing number of Congolese immigrants are returning home to Goma in the North Kivu province to start their own businesses. Their accounts of hardships – which offer an alternative view of Europe - discourage those who are thinking of following in their paths.

“Life in Europe is nice but it is even nicer to live here in Goma where everything is cheaper,” says Jospin Yoto, a young Congolese who returned to Goma after spending seven years in London. Just like Jospin, many immigrants, particularly those who stayed illegally abroad, failed to cope with their living conditions in these beautiful European cities formerly seen as an Eldorado.

Most have learned that Western life is no sure path to paradise. “I made $50 a day in a joiner’s workshop, which seems like a fair amount of money,” ” says Fiston Matungulu, who just came back to Goma after an extended stay in France. “But I was always afraid of getting caught by the police and I quickly realized that I could no longer handle hiding like a fugitive.”

Five years ago, sending a child to Europe was seen as prestigious for many Congolese, and other families across Africa. To make this dream come true, some had to sell valuables, hoping that the future immigrant would quickly succeed and the whole family would share the benefits.

"Doomed" to poverty

Yet for many immigrants, the dream often turns grim as soon as they set foot in Europe, and their once hopeful parents are left with both disappointment and despair. “I sold one of my houses to send my eldest son abroad,” explains Morisho K’s father. His son has never been able to make up for his initial travel costs.

Still, despite the many difficulties and risks of staying illegally in Europe, a lot of immigrants refuse to go home. They are afraid of having to start all over again or face seeing a childhood friend who managed to secure a job, a family and house in Congo.

For those who have come back, it is all clear: “I’m doing my best to make up for the time lost because my friends and my brothers who have stayed home have also succeeded in their own companies,” explains JKM, who came back from Ireland two years ago. He says that many Congolese abroad still believe that Congo is doomed to poverty, conflict and violence. JKM does not regret his decision to come back, since his mattress import business is booming.

According to an immigration official, dozens of Congolese come home from Europe every month and register to start their own businesses. “I have opened a multimedia studio to conceive and direct documentary films about our country” explains computer engineer Hashim Sambu, who particularly enjoys the flexibility of the local council as it often grants additional time and waivers for tax payments.

Back in Goma, some returnees get involved giving advice to their fellow citizens who still dream about trying their luck in Europe. While they do acknowledge the beauty of European cities, they mainly stress the hardships they experienced there, especially those who were living illegally.

Since he came home, James Bugera keeps telling his younger brothers about his painful journey: “I was working 12 hours a day as a handler in a cold storage facility and I was not making any money besides food and a place to sleep in my boss’ basement.”

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Green

Forest Networks? Revisiting The Science Of Trees And Funghi "Reaching Out"

A compelling story about how forest fungal networks communicate has garnered much public interest. Is any of it true?

Thomas Brail films the roots of a cut tree with his smartphone.

Arborist and conservationist Thomas Brail at a clearcutting near his hometown of Mazamet in the Tarn, France.

Melanie Jones, Jason Hoeksema, & Justine Karst

Over the past few years, a fascinating narrative about forests and fungi has captured the public imagination. It holds that the roots of neighboring trees can be connected by fungal filaments, forming massive underground networks that can span entire forests — a so-called wood-wide web. Through this web, the story goes, trees share carbon, water, and other nutrients, and even send chemical warnings of dangers such as insect attacks. The narrative — recounted in books, podcasts, TV series, documentaries, and news articles — has prompted some experts to rethink not only forest management but the relationships between self-interest and altruism in human society.

But is any of it true?

The three of us have studied forest fungi for our whole careers, and even we were surprised by some of the more extraordinary claims surfacing in the media about the wood-wide web. Thinking we had missed something, we thoroughly reviewed 26 field studies, including several of our own, that looked at the role fungal networks play in resource transfer in forests. What we found shows how easily confirmation bias, unchecked claims, and credulous news reporting can, over time, distort research findings beyond recognition. It should serve as a cautionary tale for scientists and journalists alike.

First, let’s be clear: Fungi do grow inside and on tree roots, forming a symbiosis called a mycorrhiza, or fungus-root. Mycorrhizae are essential for the normal growth of trees. Among other things, the fungi can take up from the soil, and transfer to the tree, nutrients that roots could not otherwise access. In return, fungi receive from the roots sugars they need to grow.

As fungal filaments spread out through forest soil, they will often, at least temporarily, physically connect the roots of two neighboring trees. The resulting system of interconnected tree roots is called a common mycorrhizal network, or CMN.

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