GLOSSARY

This town in the east of DRC is situated on the northern banks of Lake Kivu, which lends its name to the regions of North and South Kivu. Goma lies in the western foothills of the Great Rift Valley, a trench which runs through Africa between two tectonic plates. This geographical location presents a constant threat of earthquakes for the 500,000 inhabitants of the city. In addition, the Nyiaragongo volcano, which has recently become active once more, presents another danger for the quickly growing economic area of North Kivu, covering part of the airport and the shanty suburbs with fiery lava in the not-too-distant past.

As if that weren’t bad enough, another volcano on the bed of Lake Kivu is threatening the population with a potential carbon dioxide eruption. Leaks and CO₂ eruptions have already killed hundreds of animals and people. For some years now, there have been attempts to drain the odourless gas and transform it into energy. This, however, risks an uncontrolled eruption which would endanger thousands of lives.

To many people, the civil conflict in the east of DRC seems to be the final proof that a curse lies over the area. Many people have fled to Goma from the surrounding areas, which are still being fought over to this day, enduring the danger and the poverty of the city with stoicism. Goma experienced the largest wave of refugees in 1994, when hundreds of thousands of Hutu people sought protection in the dense forests from revenge attacks by Tutsi rebels in the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Since then, the FDLR militia, who were the perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide, have settled not far away from Goma in the impenetrable jungle.

The Second Congo War of 1998 has seen the establishment of further refugee camps. Even today, a form of silent civil war still rages in the region around Goma. The formerly lively and green city, which was famous for its nightlife, is now run-down and controlled by militias. Most young people are unemployed. As long as the international community continues to turn a blind eye and refuse to place pressure on not only the Congolese government but also the neighbouring countries looking to exploit natural mineral resources, the catastrophic situation does not look set to change.

The forests, which are rich in natural resources, are a breeding ground for political conflict. Coltan, gold and other precious metals are mined in improvised tunnels and under life-threatening conditions. Coltan is used all over the world in the production of mobile phones, and is most commonly found in East Congo. The illegal exportation of coltan is carried out via Goma airport. This has made the city a symbol for the injustice brought about by globalisation.

The Gulu Walk initiative was started by two Canadians in memory of the fate suffered by many children in the war with the LRA. Every evening, these walks take place in the north Ugandan city of Gulu to commemorate their lives. Similar events take place annually in major cities around the world, such as Berlin and Toronto. The demonstration is one of the most impressive spectacles of the northern Ugandan war, which has seen children suffer especially. Joseph Kony’s LRA kidnaps children between the ages of six and twelve, mainly during the night. During the day, the streets and villages of northern Uganda are under the control of the Ugandan army (UPDF).

At night, the military supremacy of the UPDF was contested by the LRA due to its local knowledge. Whereas the soldiers from the south returned to their camps at daybreak, small numbers of LRA troops began their lightning-fast attacks at this time, which they launched from their hiding-places in the forests. Parents have had to watch and see their children kidnapped before their very eyes. Often the victims were forced to carry out atrocities against their own parents, so that they themselves became perpetrators. Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, wanted to break their will to escape and flee back home. The idea that the children would now be classified as murderers and that nobody in the village would take them back was drummed into their minds.

At the high point of the spate of kidnappings, there were around 20,000 children fighting for the LRA. Parents began to try and protect their children by sending them to army checkpoints before sundown in cities such as Gulu and Kitgum. They had to protect their belongings unarmed from the LRA themselves. A convoy of children set off in the afternoon. Thousands of them marched for hours on end over the dusty roads, hand in hand with their siblings. They eventually spread their bamboo mats over the pavements and spent the night there. The ghostly procession returned early in the morning to the villages. Every day, these so called “night commuters” went on their way. For the first time, the disturbing pictures of these defenceless children drew attention to the forgotten conflict in Uganda. Wolfgang Niedecken wrote the song “Noh Gulu” about the fate of these “night commuters”.