Goma is a city where life continues, but not freely.

In this second part of Marie’s story, we return with her to a place she knows well, yet experiences differently each time she comes back. She speaks about living in Goma now—not as a child moving between homes, but as a mother responsible for three children, navigating a city shaped by conflict, uncertainty, and watchfulness.

She describes what daily life looks like when movement is limited, when trust is fragile, and when routines are built around caution. Even small decisions—when to leave the house, where to go, who to speak to—carry weight. The city has changed. So have the people in it.

Marie also reflects on what it means to raise children in this environment. She manages fear quietly, making sure it does not settle into them the same way it has settled into the city. At the same time, she carries the full responsibility of providing—food, education, stability—without a partner, and with limited support.

Through local women’s groups and small savings systems, she works alongside other women to create some form of continuity. It is not enough to remove the uncertainty, but it allows life to keep moving.

This part of her story does not move toward resolution. It stays with what is here: a woman, her children, and a city where leaving is not always possible.

Timestamps

00:00 Returning to Goma06:10 Living under constant vigilance13:45 Motherhood and responsibility21:30 What it means to stay

About The Archive Speaks

The Archive Speaks documents oral histories of displaced women and female heads of households. These stories are preserved as they are told—without interpretation, without alignment—so that lived experiences remain visible in their own terms.