在戈馬一家吉他商店裡放著一首戰爭時的情歌,學生們在這裡練習和絃。
同時在外面軍隊同頑強的叛軍士兵正展開激烈交戰。
店主伊曼紐爾·貝魯比稱剛果人民對於吉他有一種與生俱來的天賦。
不過他表示遺憾的是在這場衝突當中,沒人願意將錢花在音樂上。
“當有戰爭發生,人們不願購買任何東西。
但當和平到來,人們就萬事OK,他們不用提心吊膽，就會來買把吉他。”貝魯比解釋道。
經過城外近兩周的激烈戰鬥後, 貝魯比希望軍隊能夠徹底擊垮M23叛軍。
“他們所有的時間都在談論和平,但到目前為止沒有解決方案。
所以我的願望是,軍隊繼續戰鬥,直到他們結束戰爭,”他說道。
在過去的兩周, 聯合國維和部隊支持的剛果軍隊使反政府武裝從戈馬的攻擊距離撤出。
反政府武裝在11月曾一度控制了這座城市,直到現在,佔據的地點離人口聚集地僅10公里。
持續的衝突已造成平民們痛苦不堪。
自去年開始反抗成千上萬的人逃離到這樣的營地。
隨著最近的戰事不斷,新湧入的人已經造成資源的壓力並提高生活成本。
牧格利·讓·巴蒂斯特·南迪從去年11月的戰鬥加劇以來就逃到附近山上的穆甘加營地。
“這裡充滿饑餓。民不聊生。
看看我睡覺的地方,看看孩子們的生活,這些都是我們的問題。”
剛果東部地區一直飽受戰爭,這是由於鄰近地區因歷史淵源的緊張關係及爭奪自然資源所致。
隨著該地區的領導人的指手畫腳及胡亂責怪,這裡的人們只是希望戰爭能夠停止足夠長的時間以便正常的生活重新開始。
A love song in a time of war is heard inside a guitar shop in Goma, where students practice their chord progressions.
Meanwhile outside, the military battles a tenacious group of rebel soldiers.
Shop owner Emmanuel Birubi said Congolese people have a natural gift for guitar.
Sadly, though, in the midst of conflict, he said nobody has the money to spend on music.
“When there is war, people don't have the means to buy anything.
But when there is peace, people are OK, they don't worry, they can come to buy a guitar,” explained Birubi.
After nearly two weeks of fierce fighting outside the city, Birubi hopes the military will finish off the M23 rebels once and for all.
“All the time, they talk about peace, but so far no solution.
So my wish is that the army will continue to fight until they finish the war,” he said.
In the last two weeks, Congolese armed forces, backed by United Nations peacekeepers, have pushed the rebels back from within striking distance of Goma.
The rebels had briefly seized control of the city in November, and until now, had held positions just 10 kilometers from the population.
The ongoing conflict has taken its greatest toll on civilians.
Thousands of people have fled to camps like this since the rebellion began last year.
With fighting recently renewed, a new influx of people has put a real strain on resources and has raised the cost of living.
Muchengeri Jean-Baptiste Ndandi fled to the Mugunga camp from the nearby hills as fighting intensified last November.
“There is hunger. We are suffering.
See the place where I'm sleeping, see how the children are living, these are the problem we have here.”
Eastern Congo has long been wracked by war, fueled by historic tension between neighbors and the scramble for natural resources.
As the region's leaders point fingers and trade blame, people here just hope the fighting will stop long enough for a more normal life to begin again.
