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Ep 13 | Lucille’s Story Part 1 – Congo: Before the Rebels Came
What does childhood look like in a place where conflict is always humming in the background?In this first chapter of Lucille’s oral history, we meet a daughter of Goma, North Kivu — a girl raised between volcanic soil, family tenderness, and the constant shadow of armed groups moving across her homeland.
Lucille grew up in a house where her father taught strength through discipline, her mother taught gentleness through faith, and the mountains around them taught unpredictability. Before displacement, before the rebels, before everything changed, she lived a life shaped by sickness, laughter, school mornings, and the warning signs of a country unraveling.
Part 1 brings us into those early years — the foundations of who Lucille became long before she was forced to flee. Her story reminds us that every internally displaced woman carries two timelines: the world she lost and the world she had to survive.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode
00:33 Introduction01:25 Early memories of illness, caretaking, and family life06:12 Lucille’s childhood in Butembo11:47 Cultural rhythms of Congolese girlhood17:55 Her Womanhood19:45 The prejudices of society21:56 The concept of displacement for Lucille
Why This Story Matters
For many Congolese women, especially those living through decades of conflict in North Kivu, displacement is not a single moment — it’s a lifetime of interruptions. Yet the world rarely hears from internally displaced mothers, even as they hold entire families together in the absence of stability, safety, and support.
Lucille’s voice brings us into the intimate world before the rupture — the place where resilience is first formed. Her childhood memories are not just nostalgia; they are testimony. They remind us that every woman uprooted by war once had a life full of ordinary routines and small joys that deserved to continue.
Listening to her story widens our understanding of what displacement steals — and what women rebuild anyway.
These oral histories reflect personal memory, shaped by time, trauma, and survival. The Refugee Archive holds space for these voices without political alignment or editorial interference.
The Refugee Archive: Global Center for Displaced FHH is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Get full access to The Refugee Archive: Global Center for Displaced FHH at therefugeearchive.substack.com/subscribe
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By The Refugee Archive TeamWhat does childhood look like in a place where conflict is always humming in the background?In this first chapter of Lucille’s oral history, we meet a daughter of Goma, North Kivu — a girl raised between volcanic soil, family tenderness, and the constant shadow of armed groups moving across her homeland.
Lucille grew up in a house where her father taught strength through discipline, her mother taught gentleness through faith, and the mountains around them taught unpredictability. Before displacement, before the rebels, before everything changed, she lived a life shaped by sickness, laughter, school mornings, and the warning signs of a country unraveling.
Part 1 brings us into those early years — the foundations of who Lucille became long before she was forced to flee. Her story reminds us that every internally displaced woman carries two timelines: the world she lost and the world she had to survive.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode
00:33 Introduction01:25 Early memories of illness, caretaking, and family life06:12 Lucille’s childhood in Butembo11:47 Cultural rhythms of Congolese girlhood17:55 Her Womanhood19:45 The prejudices of society21:56 The concept of displacement for Lucille
Why This Story Matters
For many Congolese women, especially those living through decades of conflict in North Kivu, displacement is not a single moment — it’s a lifetime of interruptions. Yet the world rarely hears from internally displaced mothers, even as they hold entire families together in the absence of stability, safety, and support.
Lucille’s voice brings us into the intimate world before the rupture — the place where resilience is first formed. Her childhood memories are not just nostalgia; they are testimony. They remind us that every woman uprooted by war once had a life full of ordinary routines and small joys that deserved to continue.
Listening to her story widens our understanding of what displacement steals — and what women rebuild anyway.
These oral histories reflect personal memory, shaped by time, trauma, and survival. The Refugee Archive holds space for these voices without political alignment or editorial interference.
The Refugee Archive: Global Center for Displaced FHH is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Get full access to The Refugee Archive: Global Center for Displaced FHH at therefugeearchive.substack.com/subscribe