This Op-Doc video shows just one scene from a violent saga that has consumed the Democratic Republic of Congo
since 1998. Over that time the conflict has left more than five million
dead and churned up hundreds of thousands of refugees, a result of the
constant battle for control over the country’s abundant supply of
precious minerals. The epicenter of the fighting is Goma, one of the
largest cities in this central African nation and where this Op-Doc
segment was filmed. For more than a decade, Rwandan-backed rebel groups
based in Goma have been trying to overthrow Congo’s national government,
which is plagued by corruption.
This is not a typical story of good versus evil. Over the years,
soldiers on both sides have been known to terrorize local populations,
killing and raping with abandon (and impunity), emptying entire villages
of their residents with little more than what they can carry on their
heads. Precious possessions are left in ruins when villages are
attacked. One beleaguered man told me, “When the bombing begins, even
children are left behind.”
The events shown in this film took place in the summer of 2012. I
followed ordinary Congolese farmers as they fled their besieged villages
and undertook the long, dangerous journey along the road from Goma to
