Accounting for Violence in Eastern Congo: Young People’s Narratives of War and Peace in North and South Kivu

Abstract

This article presents the results of a 2009 survey of students from Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on what they think accounts for the violence in their provinces and what they think can be done to bring about peace. The author finds that the Rwandan people are often a prominent feature of the students' accounts of war and peace and that they are seen by the students as being responsible for the suffering of the people in the Congo. He argues that if these attitudes are not addressed by the country and other stakeholders, violence will likely continue in the region.