ATROCITIES BEYOND WORDS

Where's the Church?



AN ARTICLE FROM ECONOMIST.COM
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ATROCITIES BEYOND WORDS
May 1st 2008


A barbarous campaign of rape

EVERYTHING in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country almost the size of western Europe, is on a scarcely imaginable scale--including the violence. Among the beautiful mountain vistas, terraced hillsides and lush tropical greens of eastern Congo, a bitter, decade-long civil war that officially ended in the rest of the country in 2003, and that has claimed several million lives as a result of fighting and disease, burns on in the eastern border provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. A ceasefire signed in the town of Goma in January between the government and more than a score of militias has so far done little to ease the plight of civilians in the east. All sides--government troops, says the United Nations, as well as the militias--continue to use rape as a weapon of war on a barbarous scale.

Most victims, as ever, are women and girls, some no more than toddlers, though men and boys have sometimes been targeted too. Local aid workers and UN reports tell of gang rapes, leaving victims with appalling physical and psychological injuries; rapes committed in front of families or whole communities; male relatives forced at gunpoint to rape their own daughters, mothers or sisters; women used as sex slaves forced to eat excrement or the flesh of murdered relatives. Some women victims have themselves been murdered by bullets fired from a gun barrel shoved into their vagina. Some men, says a worker for the UN's Children's Fund (Unicef), have been forced to simulate having sex in holes dug in the ground, with razor blades stuck inside.


Sometimes the motive is revenge for attacks by rival militias, sometimes it is ethnic cleansing and on other occasions an effort to undermine the morale of the enemy by spreading shame, injury and disease. The trauma and appalling injury suffered by women and men who survive such assaults cripple families and whole villages. In eastern Congo up to 80% of reported fistula cases in women are thought to result from rape attacks. The epidemic of violence also spreads HIV/AIDS.

According to a report published in October by the UN secretary-general in an effort to get governments to do more to protect civilians caught up in this and other conflicts, in the first six months of 2007 there were 4,500 cases of sexual violence reported in South Kivu alone. As a rule of thumb in such situations, says the UN, for every rape that is reported, as many as ten or 20 cases may go unreported.

Rape in warfare is nothing new. Congo has long had a culture of violence and an almost non-existent judicial system. Though rape is supposedly illegal, often it is the victim who is shunned. Neither army nor militia commanders seem to see rape as a serious offence and so take no action against their marauding soldiers. Some fighters are said to believe that the rape of a virgin bestows invincibility in combat.
But these are not random acts by misguided or crazed individuals, says the UN; they are a "deliberate attempt to dehumanise and destroy entire communities."

That process is proceeding apace. Since early last year an upsurge in violence has displaced some 550,000 people from their homes and villages in eastern Congo. The sprawling, hellish camps for displaced people that dot the road from Goma north to Rutshuru, their shelters made from branches lashed together, leaves and plastic sheeting, offer little protection. Not even the UN's more than 17,000 blue helmets and military observers, and close to 1,000 police (together its largest peacekeeping operation in the world), can hope to put an end to violence in so vast a region that is barely accessible by road or air.

And the Goma ceasefire? Pressure to observe it would be a start, even though not all armed groups signed up. Among those that did not are Hutu rebels from over the border in Rwanda who helped perpetrate the genocide there in 1994 and caused it to spill over the border into Congo. On April 23rd, 63 international and Congolese NGOs signed an appeal urging the UN to appoint a high-level special adviser on human rights for eastern Congo.

The idea is to help draw world attention to the plight of civilians, whose suffering is at least as extreme as anything witnessed in the better-publicised conflict in Sudan's western region of Darfur. The hope is that outside governments, the African Union, the European Union and the United States may offer political and financial support. Since all UN members have promised to observe a fundamental "responsibility to protect" their citizens from war crimes and crimes against humanity, focusing world attention on such crimes in eastern Congo is perhaps the least outsiders can do.

Internet in the Congo

Satellite Dish



The Lord has much better timing than us - the satellite equipment was found last
We started praying of course! Then we took action - Osee (sounds like José), our chief engineer, immediately rushed to a near town, Butembo, in hopes of finding the pipe. Justin Hubbard immediately called our contacts at the UN and OXFAM (a large NGO in the area). The pipes that the UN and OXFAM had would not work...our only hope is Osee...unfortunately, due to the plane crash in Goma, all of North Kivu shutdown...nothing can be bought in Butembo or our town, Beni! We have to wait but Souleyman has to leave in 4 days...he cannot wait long - our basketball pipes may have to be sacrificed! Since we need to pour concrete for the pipe soon, he gives us tomorrow at 6pm as a deadline - if we do not find a pipe by then, he cuts it...!

Day 3 - Waiting for a pipe & prep time

As we wait we also prepare parts for a tower we will use to share the connection with other ministries in Beni. We also lay the conduit, grounding wire and dig a deep hole for the dish's mounting pipe. And we wait...and wait..and wait...Souleyman is getting antsy and sick...we take him home and give him some cold medicine. Our BBall pipes are saved for one more day :)


Laying the conduit and grounding wire

Day 4 - Pipe!
We continue prepping pieces for the tower, prepping the cement and waiting for the pipe - by now we heard from Osee that he has a pipe but we need it by the end of the day or we have to cut the Basketball pipe. As the day is coming to a close, Osee arrives just in time! Praise God!





Justin was VERY happy to see the pipe!

We quickly put the pipe in the hole and Honore, our humble, beloved academic dean, lays the first stone for the pipe's foundation. We heap stone layers upon cement layers until the pipe is in place and level.

Day 5 - Is the pipe OK?
It stormed that night - Souleymane and I rushed to the school first thing to check on the pipe - it was OK - Praise God!



Day 6 - mounting & pointing the satellite
Now that the concrete had dried enough, we were ready to mount the dish.

UCBC students helping Souleymane and Avuta mount the dish

Souleymane and Avuta quickly called the Internet Service Provider and started pointing the dish towards the satellite. The process can take an entire day...


After one day spent pointing the dish, we still had no internet connection...everything looked good on our end but the Internet Service Provider could not see us...we left that project and continued making the tower for sharing the internet signal.

To be continued!!!

Blessings: Eric

Eric is a short termer for the Congo initiative serving the university with his computer skills.
Eric has skills.

The forgotten sons of Senegal

this is a report from someone in Senegal...that work with the talibe

In Senegal, boys from 5 to 18 years of age are sent to live with a Koranic teacher, who teaches them to read Arabic script and memorize the Koran, the Muslim holy book. A good student with a good teacher should be able to recite the entire Koran at the age of 15. The teachers are supported by the donations that the boys are given as they beg on the street. There are many of these Koranic schools, called daaras, in the city of Dakar. This brings the problem of a huge lack of accountability for the teachers who have been entrusted with the boys, because they are often quite far from the boy's families. The system is often abused in that many boys end up doing nothing but begging for money for their teacher', who may not actually teach them anything. Often there are no provision for the boy's food, clothing or medical care.



We are seeing many boys with various problems every week. We have been able to help provide these boys with breakfast food, medical and dental care. This has been an exciting open door, and we are so thankful that God has built the trust relationships that we currently have with these boys and their teachers. There are now five Koranic teachers who send their sick or injured students to us for help! Please continue to pray for support of this strategic mercy ministry.

-Tad and Jane, Senegal

if you would like to find out more about this ministry or help with donations...please contact me at uwmwestafrica@yahoo.com

A Video Message from Dr. Kasali

Let the Good Times roll

You hear the stories...you know mission trips are challenging...out of your comfort zone.
But you know what? Mission trips can be fun. It's OK to have fun. It's OK to laugh with people and its OK to be laughed at.

Hope you enjoy a couple of moments Sadie and I shared here.

Reports out of the Congo

This is a report i recently got out of DRC...this woman gave her story in video below. She also made a beautiful dress for my wife. Pray that God will restore her.


Also, I hope you heard that one of our students, Seraphine, had a terribly car accident. A pick up knocked here and crashed her left arm. We praise the Lord because it missed her head just centimeters and also the bone was not broken. The whole flesh on the bone was unwrapped. It was hard even for me to see. This afternoon I visited her at hospital. I hope she will be okay. They removed the strings from the wound today and it became even more painful. But I hope now the final healing process has start.
It is amazing to see how supportive students are in all this. Everyday there are 4, 5 to 10 volunteers who come to the hospital to spend the night with her. And the next morning they are all at school. Then two or three stay to be with her. They are doing rotations. And this has been so encouraging for Seraphine and her family. In the beginning her mother would always collapse when she sees her daughter suffer but students stood beside her and the family.

Debate Rages Over Whether Country Faces Famine

Debate Rages Over Whether Country Faces Famine

The Nation (Nairobi)

NEWS
30 April 2008
Posted to the web 30 April 2008

By Hamadou Tidiane Sy
Dakar

"There is no hunger in Senegal and there will be no hunger in Senegal," President Abdoulaye Wade declared at the end of April, annoyed that the main topic of discussion throughout the country is the ongoing food crisis that affects countries worldwide.

Notably, the president made the announcement at a ceremony where he inaugurated a modern farm, a pilot project that will be replicated throughout the country to revive the declining agricultural sector.

The project is among the many plans the government has launched in the past eight years to boost local agricultural production and ensure food security.

So far it has not been able to reach this target, despite several promising announcements. In response to the president's statement, and using strong symbols, thousands of protesters held a peaceful demonstration in Dakar last Saturday, carrying empty rice bags, tomato tins and other foodstuffs to show that they were hungry; the items also served as a "red card", symbolising their desire to see Mr Wade go.

The demonstration, the first by the opposition not to be banned and dispersed by police in three years, was organised by a coalition of opposition youth movements. To fight the government, opposition parties have united under an umbrella organisation, Front Siggil Senegal (FSS) or the Front to Save Senegal. All the main opposition parties' top leadership attended the demonstration.

The protesters made it clear that there is hunger in Senegal, adding that they wanted more food and a lasting solution to the food crisis.

Ever since a demonstration called by a couple of consumer associations to protest against the high cost of living was severely suppressed by police on March 30, the government and the opposition have been engaged in a tough battle of semantics.

Is there hunger or famine in the country or is it simply a "food crisis" similar to what several other countries around the world are experiencing?

What annoyed President Wade was that the March 30 protest was referred to as "hunger riots" by the local and foreign media, and was included in a list of similar events that had taken place, not only in other African countries, but also in other parts of the world.

At stake for the government are two things: its image abroad, and its popularity at home.

For the opposition, it is a matter of proving that the country's current leadership has forgotten its electoral promises. Mr Wade, in particular, had pledged to halve the price of rice if elected president but has only seen the commodity's price reach unprecedented highs since he was voted in eight years ago.

But for the millions of ordinary citizens, the bottom line is that the price of food has shot up beyond their means.

President Wade was elected on the promise that he would improve the living conditions that seriously deteriorated in the '80s and '90s. That means the current situation is a personal matter for Mr Wade and for the past two weeks he has been at various functions defending his position.

On the day the opposition held a demonstration, for instance, President Wade called a meeting of his own party, which quickly became a "popular" rally to launch a harsh offensive against the opposition.

While the private media focused on the protesters, who were demanding the president's resignation and affordable food, state media showed the president questioning the qualifications, abilities and competencies of the main opposition leaders, most of whom supported him in the 2000 election.

"In 2008, we are not in times of disaster as some destabilising groups want to prove. These groups are more interested in taking power than finding solutions to the problems posed by a global trend," the pro-government daily, Le Soleil, wrote in a full-page editorial.

Written in the form of a letter, the editorial ended with a promise of an invitation over lunch, with a plateful of rice, the country's main staple. It reflected the position the government has taken since the crisis started - denying the seriousness of the problem while pointing an accusing finger at "enemies" both inside the country and abroad, who it claims want to jeopardise the current regime's legacy.

Leading the battle

And leading the battle against both internal and external enemies is none other than "General Wade" - as the president referred to himself to mobilise his supporters. "I am an army general who has just started a battle and I urge my soldiers to engage in the war," he told a gathering of young supporters while inviting them to get involved in his many agricultural projects.

However, beyond the mere rhetoric, few believe he is taking the matter seriously, as the opposition has pointed out several times.

Last week, however, these accusations got some indirect backing from a less politically inclined personality. In an article widely circulated in the local media, the World Bank's country director, Madani Tall, pointed out that "food prices in Senegal are 24 per cent above the African average," and are the highest in West Africa, apart from Nigeria and Cape Verde.

"For a country with a port that even supplies landlocked countries, this is an irony worth noting," Mr Tall wrote.

He added: "We need to face facts and take a look at agriculture in particular, which has been neglected in favour of super-protected industries that are not competitive and do not even generate that many jobs," the World Bank executive said, ignoring that his own institution has also been criticised by local civil society activists as being part of the problem and partially responsible for the failure of Senegal's agricultural sector.

Meanwhile, Mr Jacques Diouf, a Senegalese national who is the director of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), had some harsh words for Mr Wade, who, while responding to a statement issued by FAO a few days earlier, had alleged that the organisation of using 20 per cent of the aid money it receives from donors for salaries and operational costs.

Mr Diouf strongly denied the allegation. "I don't know where Wade has got his 20 per cent from," he said, adding the Mr Wade would not solve the food crisis by criticising the FAO.

Less than a week after he unveiled his ambitious plan to boost local production, President Wade announced that he has reached a deal with India to import 600,000 tonnes of rice from the Asian country for six years. One private newspaper, Le Quotidien, bluntly asked: "Under such circumstances [importing rice from India] why would a farmer in the Valley [a region in the north] see the need to boost his production?"

Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).