The Nile, longest and most storied, carried the dreams and cosmologies of ancient Nubia and Egypt. It was not merely a water source; it was a deity, a calendar, and a covenant. Its floods signaled life, fertility, and harmony with nature. The pharaohs built temples in its honor. Farmers sowed in anticipation of its rhythm. But in the postcolonial present, the Nile has become a site of tension. Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam is hailed as a beacon of sovereignty by some and feared as a threat by others. Egypt, whose legal and political narratives around the Nile still echo colonial water rights, finds itself in conflict with upstream nations asserting new claims. In this, the Nile is not just water—it is a record of power, still contested. The Congo River pulses through one of the world’s most biologically rich regions and one of its most wounded. It flows through the heart of Central Africa, carving its path through rainforest and red soil, and through centuries of suffering. The colonial brutality of King Leopold’s regime turned the Congo River into a conveyor belt for extractive violence. Millions died, their lives and labor swallowed by the thirst of European greed. The river absorbed it all—the blood, the cries, the stolen wealth. Today, its banks are dotted with mining sites and conflict zones, and its depths mirror the unhealed wounds of exploitation. But the river also carries hope. Grassroots movements, Indigenous leaders, and young activists are rising, defending the rainforest with the same resilience that once birthed anti-colonial resistance. … (rest of chapter text continues — paste your full chapter here or load from your server) …