This comic was produced for the Centre of Public Authority and International Development (CPAID) of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). It was supported by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Economic Social and Research Council (ESRC).

The story focuses on Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The park is Africa’s most biodiverse protected area, and the park guards are seen as heroes, creating a safe environment for tourists and protecting the wildlife. However, the people living near the park tell a different story. The family in this comic is fictional, but the story they tell is based on testimonies, gathered in Verweijen, J., Kubuya, S., Mahamba, E., Marijnen, E., Murairi, J., and Mvano, C. (2020) Conflicts around Virunga National Park: Grassroots perspectives. The Hague: Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law. The artwork is by Didier Kassi.

This summer we relaunched our website; the new comics journalism section is currently being developed and will be online soon. That's why we are publishing this comic on our blog first. Read the comic below or download the PDF version here. A French version is available here.

This comic is part of a series of six comics on public authority in different countries in Africa. Other installments:

Vigilantes: security or insecurity?