As if you didn’t know. It’s all over the news. Everyone is talking about it. Embassies burning, rebels advancing into towns, schools closing, Americans leaving…

The stereotypical imagine of the Congo shines bright in 2025 as it did in 1960 during independence, in 1991 during military lootings, in 2006 when Bemba didn’t agree with the election results and in 2012 when the M23 took Goma.

Ah Congo.

The narrative was supposed to change but sadly it seems to stay the same all these years later.

In 2060, the DRC will be 100 years old. What kind of Congo will that be?

X (ex-Twitter) and TikTok have been shut down. The east is threatened to completely fall under the M23 rebels backed by Rwandan hands if the DRC army doesn’t try to get it back or if negotiations fail. That will mean that the mineral rich soil will be completely controlled by the rebels and Rwanda. They claim they won’t stop until they come to Kinshasa. Who will stop them? It seems like the same situation as when Laurent Désiré Kabila took over from Mobutu with Rwanda’s help. Of course, the situation is somewhat different but one can’t help draw parallels and expect history to repeat itself.

Where are we headed? Some say a regional war, others say that a peace deal is still possible. Your guess is as good as mine.

All we can do is try to stay focused on the day to day, try not to get pillaged or beaten or shot or raped. To keep our children and families safe. To work and make sure risks are reduced as much as possible.

Let’s see where we go from here. We always think it can’t get any worse but somehow worse always seems to exist.

Looking at the glass half full might kill us.