Written by
JOHN PRENDERGAST & FIDEL BAFILEMBA
With foreword by SORAYA AZIZ SOULEYMANE, postscript by DAVE EGGERS, afterword by CHOUCHOU NAMEGABE, illustrations by SAM ILUS, and photographs by RYAN GOSLING
Written by
JOHN PRENDERGAST & FIDEL BAFILEMBA
With foreword by SORAYA AZIZ SOULEYMANE, postscript by DAVE EGGERS, afterword by CHOUCHOU NAMEGABE, illustrations by SAM ILUS, and photographs by RYAN GOSLING
About the Book
For five centuries right up to the present, Americans and Europeans have benefited enormously from an astonishing history of exploitation of the people and natural resources of a country in the heart of Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The people of Congo are fighting back, risking their lives to resist and alter the deadly status quo. And human rights movements led by young people in the U.S. and Europe are supporting those Congolese change-makers. As a result, the way the world deals with Congo is finally changing.
Fidel Bafilemba, Ryan Gosling and John Prendergast traveled to Congo in order to better understand that history and to document stories of Congolese upstanders who are building a better future for their country, and young Congolese overcoming enormous odds just to go to school and care for their families.
Through Gosling’s photographs of Congolese daily life, Bafilemba’s profiles of heroic Congolese activists, and Prendergast’s narratives of the extraordinary history and evolving social movements that directly link Congo with the United States and Europe, CONGO STORIES provides windows into the history, the people, the challenges, the possibilities, and the movements that are impacting the course of Congo’s destiny.
[Une version française de CongoStories.org arrivera bientôt]
The Upstander Fund
100 percent of the authors’ proceeds from the book will go to support Congolese Upstanders working for peace and human rights in Congo.
Many want to help but don’t know where to start. The book will link you to a vast network of Congolese and friends of Congo who unite to build awareness, change policy, and support local initiatives. Be part of the story, be part of the change.
We’re fighting for generations to come! We’re aware that the struggle is a long process, but it’s upon me to fight for those generations to come.
Successes that stick with me are those we achieve when a woman comes to us crying and saying she no longer wants to live. ‘I must die. I’m nothing. I’ve been abused.’ But after we have attend to her, she realizes that she is an integral woman and feels confident and decides to fight for herself. That is our success!
Women in particular pay the heaviest price of these repeated wars, disasters, and violence. Strong and enduring, they have always fought for the survival of the community and never given up. They never gave up working, never gave up taking care of their family. They even never gave up smiling! And that is the foundation of my hope.
‘Congo Stories’ brings much needed attention to many of the issues that we are jointly tackling together, including ending sexual violence and stopping the flow of blood minerals, which are killing Congo’s children, into our electric cars and other high technology items.
Contributors
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Coauthor
is a Congolese field researcher who coordinates a civil society network called GATT-RN.
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Coauthor
is a New York Times bestselling author who founded and runs both the Enough Project and the Sentry.
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Photography
is an actor and filmmaker.
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Afterword
is a Congolese journalist.
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Foreword
is a Congolese development specialist.
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Postscript
is a writer and co-founder of the International Congress of Youth Voices.
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Illustrations
is a Congolese artist.
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Additional Content
is a Congo analyst.
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Additional Content
is a human rights advocate.
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Additional Content
is a Congolese children’s rights advocate.
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Additional Content
is a human rights lawyer and policy analyst.