what the future holds?

This week has been difficult as far as internet access and Wednesday, a block from the internet, met my teammate, C, who had left ahead of me, on the street. All the shops were closing (many had just opened) including the internet as the government wanted to encourage people to attend a large military pomp ceremony sending the invited Rwandan troups back home. There was much fanfare (I didn't attend but watched part of it on TV as we had grid power for part of the day) and the troops paraded back over the border. The joint mission is officially over and the agreed upon timeline was respected - this is very important for president Kabila to regain popularity in the war ravaged Kivu provinces. What's next remains to be seen.

The mission was successful, according to the diplomats, as the FDLR have been forced out of many areas they held, however they are still here and a joint effort between the UN forces MONUC and the DRC military (FARDC) is expected to continue - however, MONUCs mandate is to protect civilians and we had a final off the record meeting with MONUC political affairs yesterday which clarified a bit their position, mandate and resources, as well as the fact that the public announcement was the first they'd heard of this new joint iniative. They had been clearly disinvited from this most recent offensive.

However, what's next? Monday, our team visited a hospital to meet with and get the stories of, several survivors of an FDLR retaliatory attack. This is one of just a handful (presumably not reported abroad) and more are expexted now that the Rwandans have left. This war is not over.

I've posted some photos below but warn that they are graphic and not easy to view.

The first photo below is of a 36 year old woman and her 3 year old who both suffered gunshot wounds, and the next two are of a 32 year old woman and her 14 year old daughter who were severly burned when the FDLR set fire to their home and village last week, before opening fire. This was a village that had been under FDLR control and is about 100 km from Goma. The husband of this family escaped with a toddler without injury, but a two month old baby and 3 year old died in the fire. They were two of the 10 casualties in this village. In another ward, we met two men from another village that had been attacked - here it was unclear who the attacker was as they were dressed in military uniform so could have been Congolese military, CNDP or bandits. The old man's house had been attacked and he was asked for money - not having any, he refused and was shot and beaten, his arm broken by the butt of the gun - but survived. The other man was a younger man, who's infant son had been shot by a stray bullet.

I hesitate to post the photos but the survivors asked that their stories be shared and welcomed photos. They want people to know that this isn't over. These survivors were carried by neighbours to the closest MONUC base who then transported them to hospital in Goma. Our meetings this week, at which we continuously raised these attacks were clear that this is just the beginning of the retaliation and there is potential for great suffering of the civilians living in these former rebel areas, particularly if MONUC and the FARDC (which is corrupt, ill trained and lacking discipline) are not able to hold the ground they have recently won.

That is a bit of what the future might hold here. This will be last blog from Goma as I travel tomorrow morning but I will write again from Toronto. If you would like updates on any of the stories I've mentioned please email me directly and I am happy to provide more information that I wasn't able to put on the blog - in particular, the student killings I mentioned, there is more info available and a possibility to support the student body in the coming months.

My own future here is unclear, whether I'll be back remains to be seen. I have been deeply touched by the people I've met who've been willing to share their stories, both of pain and of hope and of courage to work for peace. It is difficult to leave at this time of particular vulnerability. There is much I'd like to do but alas I am only one person.

So, travel commences tomorrow and I will write again on my return to Toronto next week.

in peace,

a.

follow up to walikale

so, spend the better part of thursday in the MONUC (UN mission to DRC) air terminal along with some MONUC troops, civilian UN staff and ngo and other passengers, waiting for the flight that never took off. it was a lovely morning and i was looking forward to the helicopter ride over the mountains. it started to rain and it was unlikely we'd take off in rain, then it started to thunder....after the rain stopped, still nothing...after 3pm they finally let us know there was bad weather in walikale and the flight was cancelled, possibly to be rescheduled for the next day.

the following day spent most of yesterday morning waiting and communicating with MONUC finally to learn that the flight was not going then either. as our return flight was booked for today, my teammate went to get a refund and the trip is off. i'm actually not too disappointed as i was going mostly so the trip could happen but in the end had started to get excited about the possibility after meeting with an excellent research group here that gave me some very good ideas about the issues and what to look for. perhaps if i return to the region...

so, this is my last week. a week from today i will be on a bus in rwanda where i plan to spend a night in ruhengeri with a friend from uganda, before heading on to kigali for the first leg of my return flight to toronto. this is a week of wrapping up the work, a few final meetings and farewell. there are some people here it will be very difficult to take leave of and a part of me is not ready to go. the other part of me is looking forward to being home amongst friends again and processing what i've learned, sharing photos and continuing on my own journey of this incredible life.

this morning, i woke at 5am as usual but just after i got out from under my mosquito net, i heard the most beautiful piano music....i went out to find that under the window of T's bedroom was an overturned bucket with a speaker on it facing into T's window, the long cable leading into the door of one of the other brothers (a Spaniard who has been teaching here for 27 years!). Today is T's 30th birthday and one of the brothers chose to wake him with music. It was beautiful, what a lovely way to wake up. Tonight we will join the Salesians in their birthday celebration.

happy weekend everyone! will be back online early next week...

xoxo

a short side trip

so what's happening as we wrap up the this experience in DRC? tomorrow morning, together with my teammate, C, and a local friend/interpreter, i may be boarding a UN helicopter and flying to Wali Kali (about 80 km northwest of Goma - i could be wrong so check a map!) which is at this point only accessible by air. the UN offers free rides to ngo workers assuming there is space - if i'd known that a little earlier might have used them for bunia - but also not sure how closely i want to be associated with UN, but still something to consider! the UN doesn't have a return trip until next tuesday so will be coming back on a local airline on saturday.

what's in Wali Kali? it's the nearest town to the largest mining site in North Kivu. the mine, bisie, is mined for cassiterite which is processed into tin and exported mostly to asia and the middle east. currently, because of global economic collapse, mineral prices are down and there isn't much production going on. however, this is a hot spot - we hope to meet with the two rival artisinal miner cooperatives as well as with the territorial administrator. one coop is backed by a large multinational mining company, the other by another local large company - both with profit as their only interest (from what we've heard so far). we'll be looking at the effect on the local population of both the mining (this is an area that depends on mining for income and is not heavily farmed as in other areas of the province) as well as the effect of the current military operations which may be heading that direction. bisie itself, is controlled by Col. Sammy of the 85th regiment. the 85th is a renegade regiment which was once part of the DRC military but split and is not led by Col. Sammy. it's a highly complex situation (I'm hoping to not meet Col. Sammy) but there is a lot of interest and a lot at stake.

last week we met with the UNDP rep. for North and South Kivu. she told us that mining is one area where the UN is not getting involved (unlike other African countries where she has served where it's been a large part of their work). the difference in DRC she said, was that too many member states have vested interest in minerals here. interesting. there are some excellent reports by two local research institute, pole institute and CREDDHO, on some of these issues.

we will not actually visit bisie as it's a 2 day hike through forest to get there and we do not have time to do that. we've been told by miners, researchers and ngos that bisie has the potential for incredible wealth, likely the richest deposit of cassiterite in the province, yet it's people are the poorest.

clearly, i'll write more after my return.

corruption runs deep in DRC and is visible at all levels. this is one of the biggest hinderances to peaceful change in the region, in my limited view.

personally, i didn't really want to go to wali kali, but neither did my other teammates. i was at least willing in order to make it possible and it could be potentially important research. however, my teammate, c, has really been getting to me lately (as the group of 4 tries to create a report and proposal for our leadership, with little agreement on what to say) and i frankly could use a break, as opposed to an intensive 3 day trip. alas, reality is what it is and luckly, being female i can at least be guaranteed my own room to retreat to for the sake of my sanity. please send good thoughts my way as i try to maintain my cool in this regard. i can be pushed pretty far, but to a point and that point is getting near.

with that i will sign off for today (apologies to those of you who like capitals, etc. i just don't feel inclined to follow any rules today).

cheers,
a.

natural beauty

Eastern DRC is stunning. I thought I'd share some of the local beauty with you. Am not feeling very motivated to write in depth today.

A view of lake Kivu.

This was taken on the way to Don Bosco Ngangi - another location of Salesians, 20 km from Goma, where over 4,000 displaced persons have been sheltered since the fighting last autumn. This is also the home of a vocational school to over 200 students, an orphanage, a residence for widows and a medical centre. The black in the photo is the path of the lava flow from the last eruption of the volcano in the background.

A Crested Crane, one of two we came across on our way to a meeting.

These two have an incredible song and I see them every morning in our compound.

This one was in the garden eating grubs.
Will have to look it up when I get home, but a stunning bird!

amidst the hope, targeted violence continues

Yesterday, my teammate R, went in search of batteries for her flashlight. When she left the compound she came across a large group of people heading down the street into the residential area behind adjacent to our compound. She joined them when she learned they were going to the home of a university student, shot dead in his home at 8:00 the evening prior. Many of those gathered were fellow students and faculty, government officials were also pointed out to R. The students, overcome with grief - this is the fourth student in two months to be victims of what appear to be targeted killings - are also very angry. R was able to go into the home to be with the family and found the body of the young man, perhaps 20 years old, laid out on the table where they were washing his body.

We know very little about the situation. What we've learned is that he was an excellent scholar and not afraid to speak out (we don't know yet what he, or the other 3 spoke out against). We are planning to meet with the headmaster at the University to learn more about the risks the students face.

Shortly after I went to bed last night, just as I was about to drift off to sleep, I heard singing. Many had gathered to pay respects and they sang late into the night. I fell asleep several hours later to the sounds of drums and the voices of mourning in song.

a few quick links

I thought I'd pass on a few writings by my teammates to give other perspectives on the current situation here, which I've been meaning to do for some time. First, my teammate, Cliff has a blog at http://www.cpt.org/blogs/cliff-kindy. Next, Wendy, who was here for the month of December and who left before I arrived, was interviewed on Chicago Public Radio and recently wrote an article for a US Mennonite magazine relating to mining in eastern Congo. The links are
http://www.mennoweekly.org/2009/2/9/economic-exploitation-fuels-congo-conflict/?page=1
and http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=31486. Lastly, at http://www.cpt.org/work/africa_great_lakes you'll find articles and personal reflections written by all three of my current teammates.

The situation here is changing dramatically - yesterday we visited again the town of Minova and village of Kashenda and found people talking about the newfound safety they feel and their interpretation of current events. We stopped at a market on the way home to pick up some produce and I saw two soldiers walking side by side, one in CNDP uniform, the other in DRC military uniform. Former enemies just weeks ago, now walking amicably together, a result of a current integration program. What it all means for the future is hard to predict and people are still full of doubts but it's a promising sign.

a few stories

The internet has been down this week at the cafe we use regularly and the nearest next cafe has a long wait with the extra customers so a frustrating week for internet access. At our compound we've had no electricity (other than our scheduled generator times), apparently a line has been cut somewhere, and this morning woke up for that cold 5 am shower to find no water! We're in the rainy season so it rains daily, usually between 1 and 3 for anywhere from a half to two hours, the cisterns are full and there is lots of water but somethings not working with the pump so no showers. Not that I mind, a bucket bath is less of a jolt to the system than that cold shower!

So I'm into the final month here and am not ready to go, there are many things here that I am really enjoying and that I will miss. Occasionally, however, there are incidents and stories that I just don't know what to do with or can't do anything about, that bring me back to the reality of eastern DRC.

First, the trip to Bunia - the bus from Butembo to Bunia travels through what is now a mostly rebel free area, post conflict for some time - though there are many checkpoints these are conducted by police and tend to be before and after any town and usually require a quick bribe to pass through (salaries are incredibly low!). After leaving one such checkpoint and passing out of a small town (I was in the front passenger seat), people at the side of the road were gesturing to our driver...we crested a small hill and saw what they'd been gesturing about...in the middle of the road, shufflying towards us, was a man, possibly in his mid-30's -he had been stripped to a pair of red shorts and was handcuffed at the wrists (his hands in front of him) and at the ankles. The bus passed him as people gathered along the side of the road to see...but no one approached him. Being in a public bus one can't exactly ask to stop and even if I had, what would I have done? I don't know the context, why was he there, who put him there, was this some form of punishment, had he escaped from somewhere? - there were no police or soldiers to be seen anywhere...the man looked parched and exhausted as though he'd been walking for some time and this was in the midday sun. That image stayed with me for a long time.

Then last week, after returning to the reality of Goma (Bunia has a large UN presence whereas Goma has a larger UN presence (at least 6,000 of the UN's 17,000 troops are in Goma), as well as a significant Congolese military presence and police) we were visited by an Italian priest. During his visit he mentioned his colleagues who had a mission (school, hospital, etc) in what has been heavy rebel territory until the joint Rwandan/DRC offensive currently underway. He told us that the military had come to the town and gathered all of the local people - they were told to harvest what they could of their fields within the next days as after that there would be fighting. It's commendable, I think, to forewarn people of imminent fighting, but then what? We have not yet heard what has happened there. The concerns of all of the human rights groups, both local and international, with the relation to this offensive, has been the cost to civilians - we are already hearing stories of people fleeing.

We met earlier this week with Human Rights Watch researchers who told us that in this conflict, after this many years, people no longer wait for the fighting to begin, it's an ebb and flow - as soon as there are rumours of fighting, people flee - as soon as rumours are heard that fighting has stopped, they return - it's a continual tide. HRW will be releasing two reports in the next few months - one in relation to the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army, who conducted several massacres in northern DRC (near the border of Sudan and Central African Republic) and one about the current situation in North Kivu.

A grave concern is Bosco Tnaganda, the second in command of the Tutsi rebel group CNDP who allegedly overthrew Laurent Nkunda (who is currently said to be under house arrest in Rwanda). Bosco is frequently in Goma now that he has joined with the Congolese army and is integrating a portion of the CNDP troops - however, there are many concerns - there are rebels loyal to Nkunda who have no interest in joining this military, the status of Nkunda is unclear - as far as we know there are no charges pending in Rwanda and his detention is likely illegal according to international law and is merely a political strategy on Rwanda's part (they are not cooperating with DRC requests for extradition where warrants are outstanding). As for Bosco, he has outstanding warrants with the International Criminal Court, to which the DRC is a signatory, yet President Kabila is not willing to turn over Bosco for trial (his charges include the abduction and use of child soldiers in Ituri - a current ICC trial is currently underway for a rebel leader from Ituri on similar charges). International pressure is needed for the DRC to respect it's international obligations.

Lastly, on Wednesday, R and I travelled to the town of Sake for a meeting (J and C are currently in Kinshasa). On the way we found that all of the checkpoints we experienced on our last trip, have been cleared away. People we met with were hopeful for change as they had seen CNDP rebels leave the area and had witnessed Rwandan soldiers moving into that former rebel area (there are still at least 7 other rebel groups active in the area however). However, on our bus ride we experienced a tragic accident. The roads are often narrow and are definitely not smoothly paved, yet people drive fast. Our bus had slowed somewhat as we were passing a series of IDP camps - on the other side of the street a few people were climbing down from a large truck, a young woman, with a baby on her back, jumped down and dashed across the street - I don't think she even saw our bus and while our driver braked and swerved the bus struck her with a heart-stopping thump. While he didn't hit her directly - that baby was on her back. As we climbed out of the bus the woman had already gotten to her feet and was pulling the baby round to her front - he was bleeding from the ear and head and wasn't crying. She was bleeding a bit as well but it was clearly the infant that was in distress. People came running to assist and nearby soldiers and police also came at a run, getting the driver back into the bus (who was in shock and trying to help), they took him and piled into the truck and also took the woman and child to get them to hospital. We were taken to another bus to finish our journey.

The sound of the impact, the image of that woman and baby, has stayed with me these last few days. There is no way to know if that baby lived or what might have happened to the driver. Accidents are not unique to Congo and I've seen my share, but this will stay with me. I wasn't driving, but I was in the vehicle and there was nothing I could do.

I write these stories to share what, in any given day, we might deal with. Sometimes I just need to take a few hours off and weep for the victims.

a.

a few more photos...

a few photos...finally able to upload! The streets in Butembo after the rain! (and women wear heels!)

These scooters all over, used for carrying people, goods and all sorts of produce! Quite something to see when they race downhill, but a real struggle when pushed uphill, often requiring a few men to push.

A roadside market selling pineapple and passionfruit (in the long baskets)


The 15 seater Twin Otter J and I flew from Goma to Butembo, a stunning flight!!

Our bus from Butembo to Bunia - 21 passengers.

In addition to the wooden scooters, the other main mode of transport (aside from the primary method - walking and carrying firewood, produce, etc. on one's head or back)