International Opinion: Gaza Mobilizes, Congo Agonizes

A wounded continent in the shadows

For too long, Africa has been experiencing untold tragedies. While Western screens and demonstrations fill with the slogan "Israel is committing genocide in Gaza," the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues to sink into a conflict that has already cost the lives of more than six million people since the beginning of the century. Six million shattered lives, a hundred times more than the Palestinian death toll , and yet indifference prevails.

Not a rivalry of pains

The Congolese are not asking for a hierarchy of suffering. Every people affected by war deserves justice and compassion. But it is legitimate to ask: why does Palestinian pain mobilize crowds, chancelleries, and social networks, while Congolese blood flows in almost total silence?

Kagame, the key man behind the chaos

At the heart of this drama, one name always comes up: Paul Kagame. For more than 20 years, the Rwandan president has been accused by many observers of fueling chaos in eastern DRC. His alleged support for the M23 rebels, regularly denounced by the UN, aims to maintain control of the Kivu mineral resources. Officially, Kigali denies this. But the accumulated facts leave little doubt: Kagame is profiting from a conflict that is torturing millions of civilians.

It is no coincidence that some have now dubbed him the "Rwandan Netanyahu" : an authoritarian leader, in power for decades, who presents himself as the protector of his people but whose external actions trigger indignation and accusations of massive crimes.

The Israeli Shadow

The comparison doesn't end there. In critical circles, people often talk about "the Israeli shadow behind Kagame." Relations between Kigali and Tel Aviv are solid: official visits, agricultural and technological partnerships, and closer diplomatic ties. Kagame also admires the way Israel has transformed the memory of the Holocaust into political power, and how Netanyahu manages to impose his security priorities on the international community.

It's a small step from there to thinking that he's drawing inspiration from it for his own strategy in the DRC. Some analysts even suspect concrete assistance: security training, surveillance technologies, or even discreet diplomatic support. In the absence of direct evidence, this remains at the level of extrapolation, but the similarity is striking: two states small in size, but which rely on a memory of victimhood and a narrative of legitimacy to justify contested interventions.

The Congolese speak out

Faced with the silence of the chancelleries, Congolese youth are making their voices heard. On X, we read more and more often: "Rwanda is committing genocide in the Congo." Viral messages, repeated thousands of times, seek to shake consciences. These voices remind us that in Kivu, hundreds of thousands are being killed, raped, and displaced—and that the world is looking the other way.

The culpable absence of the international community

War crimes have been documented by the UN, millions of deaths have been established, and hundreds of thousands of displaced people have been displaced. Yet, there has been no global mobilization comparable to that for Gaza. No strong sanctions, no international tribunal, no mass marches for the Congo. Kinshasa remains alone, abandoned to a war that is engulfing its people.

Why this silence? Electoral opportunism

One explanation often comes up: political opportunism . In Western Europe, the Palestinian cause has become a powerful ideological marker, especially on the left, because it resonates directly with the Muslim electorate. France has 7 to 8 million Muslims, while Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom have several million each. Being pro-Palestine is a morally motivated but also electorally profitable cause.

Congo, on the other hand, lacks this resonance. Apart from its diaspora, no large community has made it its flag. There is no structured African solidarity, no powerful lobby, and no direct electoral impact. As a result, a far more deadly conflict remains on the margins of public debate in Europe.

The duty of memory and justice

Looking at Gaza should not make us forget about Congo. Both peoples are suffering, and neither deserves to be forgotten. Africa is a reminder of the obvious: every life counts . After more than twenty years of massacres, the silence surrounding the DRC has become an unbearable injustice. The time has come to denounce, to name those responsible, and to demand that the world finally look towards Kivu.