Goma’s Cultural Scene Struggles Amid Ongoing Conflict

Goma's once vibrant music scene muted since M23 takeover

Justin Kabumba

Africa News

Inside the Goma Cultural Center, pianos and electronic keyboards lie under protective covers. Dozens of guitars, once used to teach Goma’s youth, hang silently on the wall. Usually serving as a gathering place for musicians, artists, and young people who want to see live music or enrol in music courses, the centre has been virtually shut down since M23 gained control of eastern DRC in January. The Rwanda-backed rebel group has since taken over eastern Congo’s second biggest city, too. Banks in Goma have been closed for months, and the economy has been stifled by the ongoing conflict. The centre, like many cultural institutions in Africa, relied heavily on grants and outside funding.

The centre's director Augustin Mosange estimated that 600 young people were enrolled on music courses there, and that 1,500 artists passed through each year to take part in concerts or other performances. “All of this is organized thanks to grants that we receive. And because of the crisis, we have been informed that several funding sources have been cut,” he said. It’s not just the cultural centre itself that has been shut down, but Goma’s larger artistic scene, including local bars and clubs.

The French Institute, which often held concerts and plays, stopped all activities in January. “Before, in Goma, every night in every bar there was a concert. Today there are no more,” said Mosange. “We are afraid of seeing culture disappear if the situation does not improve.” Jenny Paria, a Goma musician known for blending rap, slam poetry, and singing, winner of several slam poetry championships, said he has been personally hit by the conflict.

At home in his living room as he practiced with a fellow musician, he said that he and other artists live off of the income they get from performing. He had several concert dates lined up before M23 took over Goma, but they’ve all been canceled. “Unfortunately, the stomach can't go on break. You have to eat, you have to live,” he said. But Paria remains optimistic that Goma’s economy will recover and musicians will get back on stage. “People need it; they need to listen to good music, they need to see their artists on stage. I still think that culture also, at one point, even contributes to the solution in the quest for peace,” he said.

Paria has been recognised for his work towards peace through music. He won a prize from The Carter Centre in 2019 for singing for peace and democracy in the Congo, and was profiled last month in Radio France International for his efforts to bring Goma’s youth hope through music. On the streets of Goma, where some aspects of daily life seem to continue normally, Serge Wahemukire said he hasn’t been able to find any concerts since the crisis started. “It's a great shame to see this situation persist,” he said. “Before, we could go to the cultural center and listen to music, and it helped us de-stress.”