A man looks out toward the hills of Rwanda from the eastern edge of Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's eastern city of Goma. Congo is the crossroads of Africa, bordered by nine countries. It is the continent's second-largest country in area (behind Algeria) and fourth-largest in population (behind Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt).
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
A man looks out toward the hills of Rwanda from the eastern edge of Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's eastern city of Goma. Congo is the crossroads of Africa, bordered by nine countries. It is the continent's second-largest country in area (behind Algeria) and fourth-largest in population (behind Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt).
PHIL MOORE/AFP/Getty Images
Young men milk cows at the headquarters for the National Congress for the Defense of the People in Tebero.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
Young men milk cows at the headquarters for the National Congress for the Defense of the People in Tebero.
Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
A Congolese woman arranges fish into clusters to sell at her stand in the southeastern Kivu province.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
A Congolese woman arranges fish into clusters to sell at her stand in the southeastern Kivu province.
TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images
Residents sit on a wall at Volcanoes Stadium in Goma.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
Residents sit on a wall at Volcanoes Stadium in Goma.
PHIL MOORE/AFP/Getty Images
A displaced Congolese girl holds a child in a classroom used for shelter in the village of Kibati, on the outskirts of Goma.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
A displaced Congolese girl holds a child in a classroom used for shelter in the village of Kibati, on the outskirts of Goma.
PHIL MOORE/AFP/Getty Images
People attend a service at the Katinde Nazareen church in Goma.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
People attend a service at the Katinde Nazareen church in Goma.
PHIL MOORE/AFP/Getty Images
A girl climbs a tree at a displacement camp set up in the North Kivu town of Kiwanja. The Democratic Republic of Congo has seen more than its share of violence over the decades. Civil wars have left millions dead across the country and displaced entire generations.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
A girl climbs a tree at a displacement camp set up in the North Kivu town of Kiwanja. The Democratic Republic of Congo has seen more than its share of violence over the decades. Civil wars have left millions dead across the country and displaced entire generations.
WALTER ASTRADA/AFP/Getty Images
Displaced children stand against the gate of a religious organization on the outskirts of Goma.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
Displaced children stand against the gate of a religious organization on the outskirts of Goma.
PHIL MOORE/AFP/Getty Images
A chain of volcanoes borders the Virunga National Park, which is home to roughly 25% of the world's mountain gorillas. It is Africa's oldest national park.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
A chain of volcanoes borders the Virunga National Park, which is home to roughly 25% of the world's mountain gorillas. It is Africa's oldest national park.
RICCARDO GANGALE/AFP/Getty Images
Mapendo, an orphan lowland gorilla, gets into bed with her caregiver in Goma.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
Mapendo, an orphan lowland gorilla, gets into bed with her caregiver in Goma.
Brent Stirton/Getty Images
Street vendor sell food at the Virunga market in Goma.
A tour of the Congo —
Street vendor sell food at the Virunga market in Goma.
SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images
Congolese boys return home from the market in Mushaki with their chikudus. The wooden scooters are as much a source of local pride as they are a part of the local economy.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
Congolese boys return home from the market in Mushaki with their chikudus. The wooden scooters are as much a source of local pride as they are a part of the local economy.
SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images
Men work in a gold mine in Chudja, near Bunia. Conflict in the Congo has often been linked to a struggle for control over its natural resources.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
Men work in a gold mine in Chudja, near Bunia. Conflict in the Congo has often been linked to a struggle for control over its natural resources.
LIONEL HEALING/AFP/Getty Images
A group of Congolese gather around fish being smoked in the Mugunga camp near Goma.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
A group of Congolese gather around fish being smoked in the Mugunga camp near Goma.
PHIL MOORE/AFP/Getty Images
The local Busara Dance Company rehearses at an arts center in Goma. "The dance is about innocence," said Chiku Lwambo, who started the group with his twin brother in 2009. "Everything that we want to live, the freedom that everybody wants, it's scoffed at by someone."
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
The local Busara Dance Company rehearses at an arts center in Goma. "The dance is about innocence," said Chiku Lwambo, who started the group with his twin brother in 2009. "Everything that we want to live, the freedom that everybody wants, it's scoffed at by someone."
PHIL MOORE/AFP/Getty Images
An internally displaced Congolese boy shelters from the rain under a truck in the Mugunga III camp.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
An internally displaced Congolese boy shelters from the rain under a truck in the Mugunga III camp.
PHIL MOORE/AFP/Getty Images
Men work at the Mudere mine near Rubaya, digging for manganese and other valuable minerals.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
Men work at the Mudere mine near Rubaya, digging for manganese and other valuable minerals.
Junior D. Kannah/AFP/Getty Images
A woman walks with her child down the main road in the village of Luvungi.
Congo: Land of beauty, misery —
A woman walks with her child down the main road in the village of Luvungi.
MARC HOFFER/AFP/Getty Images