The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has erupted into chaos. In the heart of Goma, a city of over 2 million people, the saga of war, betrayal, and human resilience plays out like a grim tale no one wanted to tell. Rebels from the Rwanda-backed M23 militia now dominate the city, leaving its residents and defeated Congolese soldiers reeling from the collapse of order.
A Week of Despair in Goma
Imagine this: a city, vibrant and alive, reduced to rubble and muffled cries. Hospitals overflow with the wounded, morgues outpace their ability to manage the dead, and the streets of Goma tell gruesome stories of war and survival. The situation is dire. Water and food are scarce as Goma’s residents cautiously emerge from hiding places to scavenge for the basics they need to stay alive.
Meanwhile, the Congolese military, known as F.A.R.D.C., has fallen. And not just in defeat but in disarray and abandonment. Videos and photographs reveal its leaders fleeing in the dead of night—vehicles left behind, men forgotten, and spirits shattered.
On Thursday, just outside Goma’s largest stadium, around 1,000 captured F.A.R.D.C. soldiers stood packed in truck beds. Many were seething—not at the rebels, but at Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and the commanders who had abandoned them to fight alone.
Tshisekedi will pay for this, one soldier shouted in anger. Another vowed to capture the president himself. The betrayal stung deeper than bullets.
Among those surrendering was Lt. Col. John Asegi, a high-ranking commander. When asked, he accepted their fate with a chilling resignation. “If we are sent to fight the F.A.R.D.C.,” he explained, “we will fight the F.A.R.D.C.” That cold reality underscores the rebels’ chokehold. They appear organized and well-armed, contrasting starkly with the weary Congolese soldiers, whose morale was buried somewhere in this defeated city.
The Rebels’ Growing Ambitions
Rwanda-backed M23 is no stranger to conflict. Now they control vast swaths of mineral-rich territory in the DRC. Surprisingly, the rebels handed captured Romanian mercenaries over to neighboring Rwanda, further solidifying their connections to Kigali.
The militia’s ambitions are terrifying: they aim to march westward almost 1,000 miles to Kinshasa, Congo’s capital. Whether this is bluster or a dangerous reality in the making, only time will tell. What’s clear is the immediate grip they have on Goma. A rebel leader, Corneille Nangaa, publicly addressed Goma’s citizens. Flanked by men in combat gear, he coolly told residents to "go back to normal activities." But the black lava-carved streets of Goma are far from normal. Corpses lie abandoned. Looting has ravaged stores, supermarkets, and humanitarian warehouses. Cholera looms as the water supply has been severed.
Families Torn and Broken
Perhaps the costliest toll is the one on families. The upheaval has scattered loved ones to unknown corners, with so many yet to reunite. Elysée Mopanda’s life is in tatters. Her husband, a soldier, is now a prisoner of the rebels. Her two children remain lost in the chaos. For a mother who has watched her family disintegrate, the future feels like a question with no answer. “I don’t know where to go,” she said softly.
For those without shelter, the misery compounds. Camps outside the city—home to hundreds of thousands displaced by this latest surge of violence—became battlegrounds themselves. Many fled yet again, retreating to Goma before it too was overtaken. These displaced populations are particularly vulnerable, especially women and girls, who face heightened risks of violence and exploitation.
One family, escaping a camp, sought refuge in an educational center. Their survival depended on the kindness of strangers who shared some rice and beans. Furaha Kabasele, a 34-year-old mother, held her infant and worried as any parent would. “Without that kindness,” she admitted, “I don’t know how we would have survived.” However, even that moment of relief gives way to uncertainty. “We have no idea what to do now,” she said.
Searching for Water and Hope
In Goma, the present is shaped by unbearable thirst. Without clean water to drink, people have no choice but to improvise. The city’s water, power, and internet systems were wiped out during the battle. With the water lines dry, those who stockpiled jerrycans watched them dwindle, while others begged or paid exorbitant prices—up to $5.20 for a jerrycan that typically costs less than 20 cents.
But desperation bends rules. As bullets stopped flying, hundreds risked their safety to gather at Lake Kivu, the city’s natural water source. They carried chlorine to purify the water—hardly a perfect solution but perhaps their only shield against waterborne diseases that come for the weak and the scared.
There, on the lake’s shimmering edge, stood 13-year-old Tailor Mukendi. The fighting had trapped him and his family inside their home for days, paralyzing them with terror. Without water, his family grew desperate. On Thursday, Tailor ventured toward Lake Kivu, carrying two worn yellow jerrycans. He stepped into the water with bare feet, filled the cans, and strained under their weight as he struggled to carry them home. In his small act of courage, we see a glimpse of Goma’s flailing but unbreakable will.
The City’s Fragile Future
As Goma wakes to its new reality under rebel rule, the city embodies a peculiar mix of heartbreak and resilience. On the one hand, the situation is unimaginably grim—fathers separated from children, disease encroaching, homes lost, and futures shattered. On the other, Goma’s residents still walk, still search, still fight to survive.
The larger question looming over this fragile existence is what comes next. M23 shows no signs of retreating. The Congolese government, weakened and humiliated, faces a daunting task of reorganization and resistance. President Tshisekedi has become an easy scapegoat for the military’s collapse, further destabilizing his administration.
But at a human level, this crisis transcends politics and names. It’s the haunting question of life in ruins: How do you rebuild when everything is lost? For families like Marie Sifa’s, survival depends on finding a shred of stability amid the chaos. Her husband is missing, and all she has left is four children clinging to her side as she wonders how to navigate through impossible circumstances.
For now, as the dust from the battle for Goma settles, one thing is clear: its people do not give up easily. Whether fetching water from a troubled lake, mourning lost families, or finding refuge in the kindness of strangers, Goma stands as a testament to humanity’s painful perseverance in the face of unimaginable adversity.
