Breaking the Silence: Stanford’s inaugural Congo Week examines culture and challenges

Published Jan. 31, 2025, 11:43 p.m., last updated Jan. 31, 2025, 11:43 p.m.

Over twenty years ago, violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) forced Asukulu Songolo’s ’25 family to flee and resettle in the U.S. Now a second-generation Congolese-American, Songolo finds connection to the DRC through his family’s history, Congolese art and cuisine and social media advocacy.

This past summer, Songolo traveled to South Kivu, an embattled province in the country’s west. 

“Congo is a beautiful country,” he said. “The country’s most valuable resources beyond its riches are the people… I hope that someday they will be relieved of their suffering and be able to live in a peaceful country.” 

Despite living halfway across the globe, Songolo and other Congolese students have pieced together a vibrant understanding of their native country. The DRC is Africa’s second-largest nation and the world’s third-most mineral-rich country, which has experienced decades of ongoing conflict and human rights abuses. 

Over a hundred armed groups are operating in the DRC. Since 1996, an estimated seven million Congolese civilians have been killed and more than seven million others have been internally displaced. 

Terry Karl, professor of political science, said the conflict is primarily driven by “struggles to control land, mineral wealth and oil and by ethnic tensions.” 

Karl emphasized the conflict has led to an ongoing human rights crisis, as thousands of civilians are caught between rival groups. Sexual violence, especially mass rapes, are unchecked at roughly 400,000 per year — the highest in the world — as are mass killings, torture and kidnappings. Camps, which house 6.7 million internally displaced Congolese refugees, are regularly bombed

Ben Zuzi ’25, a Congolese-American whose family fled Goma — a province in eastern DRC — in 2000, emphasized the personal impact of the ongoing conflict.

“It’s so easy to view this conflict as another one of those skirmishes in the world,” he said, adding that his family adopted a girl who lost her family in the war before they emigrated. “This is a conflict that has real effects on people, on families and on communities.” 

Highlights of inaugural Congo Week

From Oct. 14 to Oct. 21 in 2024, Stanford hosted its first-ever Congo Week, “Breaking the Silence,” to raise awareness about challenges facing frontline communities in the Congo. Part of a global movement launched in 2008 and sponsored by the Friends of the Congo (FOTC), the event fostered knowledge exchange between Congolese experts and Stanford scholars. 

The week also featured exhibits commemorating the millions of lives lost in the Congo and discussions with members of the Basandja Coalition, an Indigenous union of approximately 10,000 artisanal miners and activists from the Congo Basin region. 

“This is such a pivotal moment to talk about the Congo on campus,” said Fatoumata Barrie ’24 M.A. ’25, lead organizer of Congo Week. “I feel filled with hope, especially after all our conversations…It’s just a matter of creating those bridges, having those conversations.” 

Stanford researchers address environmental challenges in the DRC

The Congo, part of Africa’s Copperbelt region, holds vast reserves of critical minerals like cobalt and coltan, essential for powering electronic devices. 

“There are companies that benefit one hundred percent from what is going on in Congo,” Zuzi said. “As someone who is looking to work in Silicon Valley, it pains me to see it get to a point where people don’t even come to realize how we are getting these resources.” 

To address these challenges, Stanford’s Mineral-X program is fostering sustainable mining practices in the DRC. Co-founder and program director David Zhen Yin said 300 new mines are needed to meet global climate transition demands, fueling a mining boom. To support sustainable development, Stanford Mineral-X, an affiliate program of the Doerr School of Sustainability, established a computer lab enabling Congolese students to learn remotely from Stanford researchers. 

To educate future generations and support the development of a socially sustainable mining industry, Mineral-X has established a long-term computer lab for Congolese students to learn remotely from Stanford researchers. The lab is part of a broader Mineral-X initiative to establish a joint education program between the DRC and Zambia that is funded by the U.S. Department of State.

Mineral-X uses AI-driven remote-sensing data to locate mineral deposits and increase transparency in mining practices.  

“The artisanal miners are not fully informed,” Yin said. “It is important to find a more hybrid mine and then have those discoveries be fully transparent, instead of hidden transactions.”

Dena Montague, a lecturer in environmental justice who has conducted research on DRC for over three decades, called Congo Week “an opportunity for people to reflect on what the energy transition means within a justice framework.” 

“I hope that the Congolese people can prosper on their terms,” Songolo said. “Many countries seek the riches of the Congo while exploiting and violating the Congolese people.” 

Addressing human rights abuse and health concerns

Hundreds of thousands of Congolese women have been forcibly evicted from their homes and subjected to human rights abuses including sexual assault due to industrial mining of critical minerals, said members of the Basandja Coalition and Congo Week organizers. 

This past summer, Jackline Wambua ’25, a leader of the Stanford African Students Association (SASA), traveled to Goma with Songolo to witness the conditions in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. 

At a Congo Week event highlighting Congolese women, Wambua said humanitarian aid often fails to meet cultural needs.

“One of the refugees told me that sometimes when they receive aid, they may sign a check of $75, but in reality, they receive only $15,” Wambua said. “This raises a big question: Are we misallocating resources? Who are we to decide what is best for a refugee?” 

She called for better research into direct cash payments for refugees and economic solutions tailored to their needs.

“Refugees are able to decide for themselves what they need,” Wambua said. “[I wanted to learn] better ways in which we could help uplift communities without taking away their autonomy or dignity.”

Congolese communities face persistent challenges tied to the treatment of gender-based violence, mental health and infectious diseases. 

The country’s strained healthcare system has worsened its ability to respond to crises such as the recent mpox outbreak, which the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern in August 2024. The DRC accounts for 90% of all reported mpox cases in Africa, with Goma at the epicenter. 

Wendy Bernstein, an adjunct clinical instructor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Medicine, has treated severely mentally ill refugees and other vulnerable populations from the DRC and other developing countries.  

“What was really remarkable was just how open the providers were to learning despite the stigma around mental illness and survivors of psyche violence in the region,” Bernstein said at a Congo Week health awareness event. 

Esther Elonga M.D. Ph.D. ’26, a Congolese student who has interacted with medical providers in the DRC, underscored the country’s lack of trained physicians and medical infrastructure. 

“No one wants to go to the Congo because it is war-torn, but at the same time, there are so many people who are suffering from war, diseases and malnutrition,” she said, emphasizing the urgent need for investment in medical education. 

Celebrating Congolese heritage  

Stanford’s Congo Week highlighted the resilience, strength and cultural richness of the Congolese people while raising awareness of the political, social and environmental issues affecting the DRC, organizers and students said. 

“The people of the DRC are the most resilient people on Earth,” Zuzi said. “That is the reason why I am proud to be Congolese. They’re the reason why I go around with my Congolese jersey, and I have my Congolese flag in my room.”

Despite survival being the primary concern for many, particularly in the country’s east, Zuzi emphasized “they are very spiritually tough people.” 

For Songolo, visiting Congo this summer reshaped his perspective on change within the country.

“I thought as though there was little hope for change in Congo. Though, after meeting people, both young and old, who had hope for a better future for Congo, I too hold hope that Congo’s future will be better than our present,” Songolo said. “Change and revolution in Congo will and should come from the Congolese people.”

Elonga reflected on the deep cultural heritage that continues to unite the Congolese, even across borders.

“I’m so glad I was born in the Congo because of the richness of languages and cultural expression,” she said. “Even as I’ve moved across the world, having that heritage has really helped me to still stay Congolese.”

As Songolo summed up the week’s message, he invoked the legacy of Congo’s first democratically elected leader, Patrice Lumumba: “One day, I hope that the Congolese people will be able to write their own story as he dreamed.” 



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