One hand covering the mouth and the other pointing to the temple. This is how the Franco-Congoleño footballer Cédric Bakambu (Vitry-Sur-Seine, France, 33 years) protests when scoring a goal against the conflict that ravages the. The, in the east of the country, at the end of January the violence of an armed conflict that lasts almost three decades and that in its last spiral of violence has claimed the lives of more than 7,000 people, according to the official figures of the Congolese government has been exacerbated again. “The hand in the temple represents death and I do that to say that they are killing us through this war. And the hand in the mouth is that nobody talks about it, ”explains Real Betis striker, during an interview by video call with this medium.
Bakambu feels Congolese. Despite having been born and grown in France, after their parents migrated by (1965-1997), the culture, traditions and food was always present at home. But he has also not lived oblivious to the consequences of a conflict, which although he has suffered from a distance, has left him a deep imprint as the son of expatriates.
Since the rebels of (M23), supported by Rwanda, on January 27, the footballer’s protests have increased and repeated the gesture every time it marks. The last time he did was during Conference League On March 6.
“It is a pride to be able to represent mine with this gesture,” says Bakambu, who was not the creator of this sign, but says he has been the first to do it in public. “Now everyone knows her and does it,” he adds. Remember that last year, in the Africa de Nations Cup, while the HYMN of RDC sounded before starting the match against Costa de Marfil, the 11 starting players on the grass made that sign against the war.
Bakambu shares that the conflict responds to certain international interests. Although the confrontation has an, it is largely motivated by, mainly the coltan and cobalt – necessary for the manufacture of technological devices such as mobile phones or computers. The Congo has 60% of the cobalt of world reserves, and between 60% and 80% of coltan, according to other estimates, such as that of the expert Michael Nest in , They reduce their world reserves to 9%, after the discovery of new deposits in other areas of the planet.
However, Rwanda has become one of the main exporters of these. For 2023 the Eastern African country exported more minerals than the Congo, according to the Parliament document. And at least 150 tons of Coltán were exported “fraudulent” to Rwanda monthly. “Everyone is aware of what happens and looks the other way when there are thousands of dead [en RDC]. They do not care for everyone in order to have a mobile phone. They don’t care about the background of knowing where this comes from and how things are happening. What is angry is the hypocrisy of looking the other way and that nobody says anything, ”says the player.
Neither the Alto for the M23 on February 4 – which lasted less than a week – nor the demands to end the conflict by other countries have served to stop this humanitarian crisis. Bakambu is contrary and thinks that they are only empty speeches. “The president of France can come out to give a speech that the situation cannot continue like this, but then there is no sanction …”, criticizes. “I am not a politician, I am just a footballer, and all I can do is that the whole world see what happens, but there are very proven facts that there are interests,” he adds.
“Help rubber to stand up”
Bakambu felt “in debt for luck” after the passage that his parents took to migrate and the opportunities he has had in France. For that reason, he created five years ago – which bears his name – to distribute food, modernize schools and build temporary shelters for those around rubber. The UN estimates that until the resumption of hostilities last January, some 700,000 people had sought refuge in the vicinity of the capital of Northern Kivu.
Not only have Congolese roots join the Central African country. He still has a family in Kinshasa – RDC capital -, where the foundation headquarters is located, with whom he maintains daily communication and helps him coordinate the aid delivery.
“Let’s help rubber to stand up,” was one of the first campaigns of its foundation to raise funds and, he says, attend 200 families and 10,000 children. “I receive many videos, photos and messages of people who ask for help. People do not think about the political conflict, or in the long term, but think where they sleep every night, if their children will be able to have breakfast or dinner, if a person is sick … they are much more local and direct needs. ”
After this new burst of violence and the taking of the rubber airport by the M23 – crucial access to humanitarian aid – the Foundation has had to look for alternatives to send supplies, which in these circumstances arrive with counters. Kigali Airport (Rwanda) is the new most accessible route they have, and then transport them by road.
Although, that of the Bakambu Foundation still has several foster families, says Pascal Safari, representative of the institution in rubber. “Many are still here because, if their houses were destroyed, they still have no return and the security situation is still unstable,” he adds through WhatsApp.
Safari details that the current situation after rubber taking is chaotic for the “looting to which the city has been subjected.” It ensures that it is urgent to intervene in the fields of displaced: “Otherwise we go to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.”
The continuous confrontation and the elongated security instability has caused the displacement of 6.5 million people throughout the country, of which 2.6 million are children, according to UNICEF. This UN agency that childhood is the one that most suffers the consequences of the war: almost 800,000 children are now without schooling, after the closure of more than 2,500 schools and teaching spaces in Kivu del Norte and Kivu del Sur, since the beginning of the year.
Education is one of the main objectives of the Bakambu Foundation, so that young people have the greatest possible opportunities. “They are the ones that will integrate society or make the decisions of the future, if they are not aware of what is happening, the possibilities of educating and developing a head that thinks for oneself …”, Bakambu reflects.
One of Bakambu’s long -term bets is to build a village for displaced and victims of war: The City of Hope (City of Hope), a city where children will go to school, he says. He says he is optimistic and hopes that things “can balance and avoid so many deaths, injustices and so much cruelty.”
