GAP

Targeted Killings and a Climate of Terror

Those not on the frontlines live in constant fear. Journalists, students, street vendors, and young community leaders are being targeted for their voices or simply for existing.

In neighborhoods such as Majengo, Buhimba, and Katindo, dead bodies appear on the streets without explanation. Families are silenced by fear.

“My colleague was killed for hosting a peace radio program,” shares a young journalist now in hiding in Bukavu. “They called him a spy. Since then, nobody dares speak publicly.”

A culture of silence is spreading like wildfire. Expression has become fatal.

Social Collapse and Mass Displacement

The terror has shredded Congo’s social fabric. Trust within communities has evaporated. Local elders, churches, and leaders have lost influence. Entire families are abandoning homes, schools, churches, and businesses.

Displacement camps around Goma such as Kanyaruchinya, Mugunga, and Sake are overcrowded and undersupported. Young people, many of them former abductees, wander without education, mental health care, or opportunity.

Some have attempted suicide. Others have been abducted more than once.

A Generation of Progress, Erased

Years of grassroots work by youth-led organizations like Grand African Projects (GAP), SkillAid, and others are being undone in weeks.

GAP, which has trained over 500 youth leaders and supported thousands in displacement camps, has been forced to shut down several of its community centers.

“In Himbi, our women’s incubator is now empty,” says a SkillAid coordinator. “Three of our lead trainers are missing. Four years of work destroyed in two months.”

Local economies are collapsing. Agricultural cooperatives lie abandoned. Innovation hubs are silent. The momentum once driving Goma’s development has stalled.

Weaponizing Indoctrination: A War on the Mind

These are not simply child soldiers they are socially reprogrammed victims. Torn from their families, indoctrinated to despise their communities, and convinced there’s no path back, many returnees are emotionally shattered.

“They taught us to hate our neighbors and forget who we were,” confesses a 16-year-old survivor. “I came back, but I’m not the same.”

Reintegration programs are nearly non-existent. Psychological trauma remains untreated. And with little state support, civil society is overwhelmed.

The Quiet Exodus: Congo’s Brightest in Flight

Simultaneously, another tragedy unfolds the silent migration of the country’s best minds. University students, engineers, artists, activists, entrepreneurs the architects of tomorrow are leaving Goma in growing numbers.

“You can’t dream here anymore,” says a university lecturer now in Bukavu.
“This is not just war. It’s the suffocation of a generation.”

Universities are half empty. Startups are closing. Innovation has vanished. Hope is fading. One by one, Congo’s future builders are disappearing.

Testimony: Glorious, A Voice in Exile

Among the hundreds of displaced youth is DianzenzaTwakalao Glodie, known as “Glorious” a youth leader, trainer, and outspoken voice for truth. The latter was unjustly accused of being associated with the AFC/M23 armed groups by the WAZALENDOS after opposing the abduction of children from the MAFATHEDI orphanage. Threatened for his bravery, Glodie fled Goma, leaving behind his family, friends, and career. He now lives in exile.

We remember him as an honest, brave young man, always serving others. Glodie's voice continues to inspire youth from afar. His absence is deeply felt in Goma, like a missing pillar in a crumbling house.

Call to Action: The World Must Not Look Away

• Recognize and prosecute forced recruitment as a war crime
• Strengthen youth protection in vulnerable zones
• Fund and safeguard local organizations like GAP and SkillAid
• Provide trauma-informed psychological care for affected youth
• Offer scholarships, training, and job opportunities to displaced youth
• Involve youth in peacebuilding, governance, and reconstruction efforts

Conclusion: A Nation Without Its Youth Has No Future

What is happening in Goma is not just territorial warfare. It is a calculated attack on the minds, hopes, and futures of Congo’s next generation.

A generation once filled with purpose now scattered, silenced, or sacrificed.

But it’s not too late.

The soul of Congo still flickers in its youth in the voices of those who remain, those in exile, and those still dreaming. But without decisive action, we risk losing them forever.

Let us not allow silence to become complicity. The future of Congo and of Africa depends on what we do next.

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