Great Lakes Region

"A Pygmy community shelters on Goma territory, near the city. (…) The land granted to it consists of nothing but piles of pebbles or volcanic rocks, so the men and women are forced to hire themselves out for half a dollar per day to hoe the distant fields of others… In far-off places, accessed by risky roads. (…) Henriette’s 'village' resembles a homeless persons’ camp, but has an unbeatable view of Lake Kivu, beyond the Mugunga refugee camp. A clear horizon that, here, only stirs up sadness as it is a reminder of the large forest from which the Pygmies were chased. The forest handed over, without consultation, to forestry companies, chopped down by Bantu farmers, requisitioned by national parks or used as refuges by multiple armed groups…

Goma, the capital of North Kivu – in other words, Congo’s capital of conflicts and business – is all grey. Built on grey volcanic rock, stifled by grey dust stirred up all day long by an appalling conglomerate of Chinese motorcycles and sluggish cars spitting grey smoke. Invisible but palpable, there is above all a gloomy distress, an unease that lies over the city like screeds of lead piled up in layers, going by the names of DRC, CNDP, Mai-Mai, PNC, FARDC, ANR… (…) Justine is an activist along with Cathy from Butembo; both are trailblazers in the struggle for the rights of women from the Great Lakes. The denial of justice is their cause. When you observe their solid determination, you can sometimes catch yourself dreaming about the possibility of better days."

Extract from Ténèbres au Paradis, 2011, Éditions Gallimard