EN 
NL 
With great ambition in my suitcases, I land in the capital Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Saturday 17 November 2018. A city of 12 million women, men and children. I will stay here until 30 December.
You can look at this city in two ways. You can say: 'it's a chaotic city where nothing works'. You can also look beyond that chaos and say: 'I see 12 million possibilities and opportunities here'. And the latter is my attitude.
With that set-up, I am going to talk to young people. I'm going to inspire them. I am going to figure out with them how, together, we can turn those 12 million opportunities into jobs, businesses and projects. I am also going to talk to politicians, businesses, international institutions and embassies. But above all, I am going to talk to the Congolese authorities. How do they plan to create jobs for young people? With elections coming up, how do politicians think about young people, and what are their plans?
More than 50% of Kinshasa's inhabitants are young people aged between 15 and 35. Young people from internal migration, but also young people who have recently graduated and cannot find work, potential candidates for regional migration within Africa or beyond; Europe, Canada or the United States. How to go about ensuring that this brain drain stops? Congo needs its own brains and strengths right now, after all these years of wars and conflicts.
Wewa, symbol of migration
Several roads in Kinshasa lead to the busy and expensive city centre. At every side street of these roads, many young people on motorbikes are waiting for customers who have just got out of the taxi and want to continue to their final destination. The boys on the motorbikes are called the 'Wewa'. This means 'You' in Tshiluba, the language of the Kasai provinces. In Kinshasa, the taxi does not take you to the final destination, nor are you alone, but with up to four other passengers unless you pay extra.
These Wewa are the symbol of the huge internal migration Kinshasa has experienced in recent times. It is not clear how many of these Wewa are in Kinshasa, but they do form the face of the city.
My visit to City Hall to talk to Governor André Kimbuta will not bring me much. The governor himself is busy campaigning. His adviser, who admires the initiative, asks me to come back after the elections. "Because everyone is busy surviving the elections right now. The elections should produce a president and a parliament.
Figures
There is talk of 12 million internal refugees roaming throughout Congo. Last year, the OCHA - Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a UN humanitarian organisation - came up with even more recent figures of 4.5 million internal refugees. Those figures were disputed by the Congolese authorities. For political reasons, OCHA adjusted those figures, from 4.5 million to 1.5 million. They do not want to argue with Congolese authorities. Neither OCHA nor the Congolese authorities know the exact numbers. There is no shelter for everyone. Most people fleeing the interior end up quietly in Kinshasa. Those who have family go to relatives. Those who have no family end up on the streets. The new president has a big challenge to give this group of people a future perspective.
Lacoste
I am on the back of a Wewa taking me home. It is raining. He is wet. He is shaking from the cold. He is singing. He has no mackintosh. I ask him if he is cheerful for the elections. "No, my brother. In this country, whoever is elected by the people does not come to power. I am not busy with the elections. I am busy making money for my family here in Kinshasa and my family in Kasai. They need to be able to celebrate Christmas and New Year well". Lacoste is his nickname. Lacoste has been living in Kinshasa for 10 years. His goal is to earn money. He has never had training to drive a motorbike. A friend of his taught him. The motorbike does not belong to him. He is employed by the boss. Every night he has to bring an agreed amount to the boss. Anything above that amount he gets to keep. "God has given everyone the same number of hands and feet. I count on myself". The Wewa are the sight of the city. Their number is not known, not even to City Hall.
Ministere du Travail
I also visit the 'Ministère du Travail' on Avenue Ituri in the city. I want to talk to the person in charge of employment. The lady behind the counter is mostly busy with her smartphone. Other people in the waiting room are employees who do nothing but make political analyses and polls on the elections. The elections that, besides a president, should also deliver a new 500-member parliament. Everyone has their hopes and despairs about the outcome.
"Sir, you should know that you have to submit a written request if you want to speak to the chief". I ask her for pen and paper and put on it what the purpose of my visit is. I neatly hand over the letter to her. She takes it, reads it and looks at me: "Sir, please take back your letter. This is fine as it is. Now go to a cyber cafe and type that with the computer. Then put it in an envelope and then come back to me and I will arrange the meeting for you". I take my letter , thank her for her manners and procedures and I leave with the idea of never coming back here.
The Orange Corner
But when I am outside and call someone in my network to tell the story, I get the number of Mr Anaclet Shamba, an important official who will do welcome me here with honour and without too much bureaucracy. With him, I discuss my ambition and, above all, ask him what their policy is. He praises my "good intentions" and tells me that the minister and President Kabila are very aware of the huge unemployment among the youth. "Congo is a country with a large number of young people with university and technical vocational training," he says. He adds, "It is better to come back after the elections. Then everyone will be calm again and we can see how to work with the new government". I thank Mr Anaclet and leave for the embassy of Norway.
Here, they have a minimal crew with two small departments: climate and humanitarian, and everything goes through the multilateral organisations like the UN. Even at the Dutch embassy in Kinshasa, where I will talk to Ambassador Robert Schuddeboom and his staff, there is not much in this area. However, there are some initiatives like the Orange Corner, such a hub to give young people the opportunity to start businesses. But this too is still in its infancy. Again, the Congolese elections are decisive for what the Netherlands will do with Congo in the near future.
Batetela
For the occasion, I rented an office on the third floor of an office building on Boulevard du 30 juin, right in the city centre. With a small team of six motivated guys and girls, we come here every day to brainstorm. Among them are graduates and students. While everyone here is pessimistic about the future, these young people exude unprecedented optimism. They too do not expect so much from politicians and elections, but they continue to believe in their own strength and initiative. With them, I study all possibilities. From services to a chip shop, everything is discussed. We also host others interested young people who come to feed us with ideas. The idea is to distil a larger project from all these ideas and turn them into a concrete project. And ideas abound here, now all we need is a financial boost.
Campaigning with money, beer and prayer
Congo has given me a lot; life and education. The school infrastructure, teachers and tutors were paid to educate me, with the knowledge that later, when I start working, I will pay taxes. That way, the infrastructure can be maintained and future generations can also enjoy it. I have to pay back my debt. That is the foundation of my motivation for coming here with this initiative.
Politicians here cannot be trusted. Where, in fact, can they be? They promise all kinds of things, but once in power, they do whatever they want. Most don't even have a programme for society. For instance, along with my team, we spoke to a parliamentary candidate. We asked him what he wanted to do for the youth. His answer went in all directions, except the side of optimism.
"Look, I was born and raised in Lingwala. Everyone saw me growing up there. I never left. They will vote for me because of that. I am one of them. But I am not going to tell them that I am going to stop the ongoing floods. No, those floods were there when I was born and they will be there," he says. Campaigning he does with money, beer and prayer. Not with a clear programme.
Stealing together
Another parliamentary candidate tells a remarkable story. He is from the opposition. We received him at the office. What will you do differently from the regime? And this was his answer: "You have to be with them first. Steal with them. And only then talk to them about change and good governance". The discussion with the youth from the team is heated. Mami from the team has plans to set up a fashion school and asks what the candidate can do for her. "Nothing," he says. We are exhausted and the conclusion comes from Christian, our team leader: "Let politicians do their work, we do our work. That is why we have to believe in our own project".
A lawyer leaving
We met with many policymakers, as well as the Wewa people, lawyers and doctors. Adrien is one of the doctors works in a private hospital as a surgeon. "I am a surgeon, but we sometimes miss anaesthetic during surgery". In the future, Adrien wants to start his own hospital where he can help fine people. Would I like to help him do that?
Adrien's story is also Jean's story, Christoph's story, Kalala's story, Mulumba's story, Claude's story, Papy's story, Jean Beaugard's story, Faustin's story.
Faustin was working in Kananga, in Kasai province, about a thousand kilometres from Kinshasa. He worked there as a lawyer until mid-2016. Then armed conflict broke out, the so-called 'Kamwuina Nsapu conflict'. All the boys in the region were classified as rebels. Many of them were arrested. The young lawyer went to Kinshasa. There, he is trying to rebuild his life and work, but with difficulty. "I love my country immensely, but if I have to start from scratch every time, only one option remains: Leave Congo".
Where to, I asked him. "I was in Brussels once. Then we went to Amsterdam. People told me I could stay there to seek asylum. I didn't want to, because I love my country so much. But with everything that's happening now, unrest everywhere, and starting all over again, it's not going to work. I am 41 now, I have children, I can still go to Europe to ensure my children's future."
And that is just the kind of brain drain I want to stop. But how can I tackle this and with whom?
I leave Kinshasa with high hopes
Faustin wants to go to Europe, but I have also spoken to many young people who came back from Morocco, Gabon, Nigeria, South Africa. They feel more at home in Congo. What they lack is initial capital and structure to start something for themselves. To create more awareness, I went on national television several times. I wanted to call on politicians and wealthy Congolese to invest in the young people.
I came to Kinshasa with ambitions in my suitcases, now I leave with a lot of hope. I know there are optimistic young people in Kinshasa who want to make something of their lives, in Congo. I left because my time is up, but not because my project is finished. After the elections, I will go back. Not with words in my suitcases, but with concrete projects. That is my resolution for 2019!
By Alphonse Muambi
