Worldcrunch
GOMA — The situation inside Goma’s Muzenza Prison, in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, is highly charged and threatening to explode as severe overcrowding mixes with questions about the justice system itself. As many as 1,087 prisoners are crammed into a building designed for 150. Four out of every five prisoners are there in pre-trial […]
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a new biometric system aims to prevent locals from pilfering supplies meant for victims of civil conflict. The aid often ends up at local markets.
After a nearly 10 percent jump in obesity, the first efforts have been launched at educating Congolese about both diet and exercise. But skinny to many means sick — and poor.
GOMA – While the Congolese government was keeping the public in the dark about the fall of Goma to the M23 rebels in mid-November, here the news had already gone viral on Facebook. Soon after the rest of Congo was checking in on a variety of social networks to follow news updates and the latest […]
BUKAVU – During the occupation of the Congolese city of Goma by the M23 rebels last month, the nearby border with Rwanda remained open, and daily exchanges between the two central African neighbors continued as usual. “We have no problem with the Rwandans as people. They are our brothers, our neighbors,” explains a Congolese teacher […]
GOMA – Following the withdrawal of the M23 rebel troops that for 12 days occupied the eastern city of Goma, locals remain cautious and fearful, despite reassurances from government authorities. Meanwhile, those who had supported the M23 are keeping a low profile. The M23 rebels took control of Goma, the capital of the North Kivu […]
MASISI – Every day at 6 a.m., a parking lot near a roundabout in this northeastern Congo city fills with minibuses, motorbikes and heavy cargo trucks. The atalakus (ticket sellers) shout out names of destinations: “Masisi! Nyabiondo!” Passengers board with their packages: manufactured goods, drinks, salted fish…Everyone is pushing each another, trying to get the […]
GOMA – There are more than a dozen Pygmy ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, making up between five and 10 percent of the country’s population. Traditionally these nomadic hunter-gatherers have lived in the Congolese rain forest, far removed from urban centers. But in recent years, Pygmies have been increasingly forced out of […]
BENI – Last June, with rebel groups trying to force him to enroll, Paluku managed to escape into the Rwenzori mountains, in northeastern Congo. Near his 20th birthday, this native of Eringeti, about 400 kilometers to the north of the Congolese capital, Goma, is hardly the only one to have fled a region where armed […]
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 […]