*War is not only about bullets and territories. It also destroys dreams, careers, and identities. I know this because I am a Congolese artist, and my life is proof of it.
My name is Anzor Alem. I was born in Kisangani in 2001, grew up in Goma with my mother after my parents’ divorce, and later pursued my studies and my first artistic steps in Lubumbashi. As an actor and musician, I have always believed that the stage and the screen could give Congolese youth a space for dignity and expression beyond borders. But for months now, my life has become a series of obstacles that perfectly mirror the tragedy faced by my generation.
In January 2025, I was in Goma for an audition. What was supposed to be a moment of creation turned into a nightmare. The city fell into the hands of the M23 rebel movement, and I found myself trapped. Bullets whistled, families fled, markets emptied. I was afraid. Like thousands of others, I took refuge in a safer neighborhood, not knowing if I would be able to leave the city. The airport was closed, and the roads were blocked.
Since then, Goma and its neighbor, Bukavu, have lived under the constant shadow of war. The United Nations and Human Rights Watch have documented civilian executions, massacres in villages near Virunga National Park, and massive displacements: nearly one million people were forced from their homes in 2025. Hospitals have been attacked, electricity and water supplies cut, and humanitarian access restricted. Meanwhile, food prices continue to soar.
For many outside observers, these numbers define the crisis. But for us, Congolese, every number is a face, every statistic a broken story. Behind “100,000 displaced” is a student who no longer has a school. Behind “soaring prices” is a musician who can no longer rehearse because there is no power. Behind “the fall of Goma” is a generation growing up with fear as its only companion.
My story is just one example. After fleeing Goma, I ended up in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. But there, another barrier awaited me: administration. Like many Congolese in the diaspora, I could not renew my passport. The government introduced a new biometric system, but there is no enrollment center in Tanzania. I was issued only a temporary travel pass, insufficient to leave the country. As a result, I am stuck.
This is what my daily life has become: forced exile, not by choice, but through an entanglement of war and bureaucracy. I am an artist, but I cannot perform, film, or travel. My voice has been silenced by both weapons and red tape.
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Some may say this is “just an individual story” within a much larger tragedy. But that is exactly what I want to challenge. Because my story reflects the fate of millions of young Congolese. We have dreams, talent, and immense creative energy. Yet we are blocked at every step: by war that destroys our cities, by institutions that close doors, by the indifference of an international community too accustomed to our suffering.
The future of Congo cannot be built only through ceasefire agreements. It must be built through recognition of this youth, through its freedom to move, to create, to dream. If culture dies, if artists disappear, if students can no longer learn, then peace will always remain fragile.
I write this editorial because I refuse to stay silent. Because I want readers around the world to know that Goma and Bukavu are not only places of war, but also homes of life, culture, and hope. Because I want to remind everyone that every bullet fired is a silence imposed on a voice like mine.
The Democratic Republic of Congo deserves better. Its youth deserves better. And I, like so many others, will continue to speak — even stuck, even silenced — because our voice is our last freedom.
Congolese actor and musician Anzor Alem is part of the cast of the film “Rumba Royale,” expected in African theaters on December 12, 2025. Get more info at Broadway World. Visit his IG page, here. Learn more about his current plight at adiac-congo.com. Communicate with him via: [email protected]
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