News About Congo

You Need to Read about Lisa and Generose

Just imagine a Run for Congo Women being held in Eastern Congo!  That's great.

Op-Ed Columnist - From ‘Oprah’ to Building a Sisterhood in Congo - NYTimes.com.

Five years ago, Lisa Shannon watched “Oprah” and learned about the savage, forgotten war here in eastern Congo, played out in massacres and mass rape. That show transformed Lisa’s life, costing her a good business, a beloved fiancé, and a comfortable home in Portland, Ore. — but giving her a chance to save lives in Congo.

“Technically, I had a good life before, but I wasn’t very happy,” she mused. “Now I feel I have much more of a sense of meaning.”

Maybe that’s why I gravitate toward Lisa’s story. In a land where so many “responsible” leaders eschew responsibility, Lisa has gone out of her way to assume responsibility and try to make a difference. Along with an unbelievable cast of plucky Congolese survivors such as Generose, she evokes hope.

On this visit to Congo, Lisa is organizing a Run for Congo Women right here in Bukavu, for Feb. 28, with Congolese rape survivors participating. You can sponsor them at www.runforCongowomen.org. And one of those participating in the run, hobbling along on crutches and her one leg, will be Generose.

Would You Prefer An Earthquake or A Hutu Militia?

Thanks to Nicholas Kristof for putting things into perspective.  PLEASE read his article (quoted and linked below).  He presents a perspective of death and suffering in Congo and in Haiti.

I was in Congo when the earthquake hit Haiti on January 12th.  So I missed all the pictures and video news coverage.  I had to follow it by the internet postings when possible.

So we heard about it.  Also, I felt the lost when UN workers in Kananga mourned the lost of their colleagues in Haiti.  Finally, we were puzzled when Congo government donated $2.5 million in emergency relief to Haiti.

Op-Ed Columnist - Orphaned, Raped and Ignored - NYTimes.com.

Sometimes I wish eastern Congo could suffer an earthquake or a tsunami, so that it might finally get the attention it needs. The barbaric civil war being waged here is the most lethal conflict since World War II and has claimed at least 30 times as many lives as the Haiti earthquake.

Yet no humanitarian crisis generates so little attention per million corpses, or such a pathetic international response.

That’s why I’m here in the lovely, lush and threatening hills west of Lake Kivu, where militias rape, mutilate and kill civilians with a savagery that is almost incomprehensible. I’m talking to a 9-year-old girl, Chance Tombola, an orphan whose eyes are luminous with fear.

Volcano erupts in Congo

I don't think I felt anything. It's amazing I get Congo's news from stateside sources. I got an email from my friend, Toby, who works at a TV station in Indy.

Also, CNN alerted me.

Volcano erupts in Congo
01/02/10 10:14 AM, EST
Africa's most active volcano, Mount Nyamuragira in the Democratic Republic of Congo, erupted early Saturday, spewing lava off its southern flank, the Congolese Wildlife Authority reported.
Read the full story at http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/01/02/congo.volcano/index.html

Three Problems with the 60 Minutes Story on “Congo Gold”

After watching the 60 Minutes program, I was left a little confused and lost, too.  I could not believe that "gold" was the source of conflicts in eastern Congo.  I had never heard about the gold conflict.

I thought 60 Minutes was trying to dumb-down the conflict to make it comparable to the past "blood diamond" conflicts of West Africa.  I believe coltan is more comparable to diamond both in fact and impact on the local population. 

But the problem with coltan which is primary component of cell or mobile phones is a close to a necessity versus a luxury.  No one is ready to get up a necessary item used worldwide by everyone including Africans.  Mobile phones are so critical to development in most of Africa.

Coltan and even gold can not be scientifically traced back to the mine of origin.  Although, research is progressing toward a Kimberly-like process for coltan.

So 60 Minutes did not want to open that can of worms.  But they hoped Americans could relate gold to Congo.  Also, the price of gold is at all time highs.  For Christmas, everyone could blame the waring factions of eastern Congo when they went jewelry shopping.

African Arguments » Blog Archive » Three Problems with the 60 Minutes Story on “Congo Gold”.

On 29 November 2009, the U.S. television news show 60 Minutes aired a segment called “Congo Gold”. This segment purported to expose the link between gold and war in Congo, but there were three major problems with the 60 Minutes story that merit attention and discussion.

1. Although the 60 Minutes story focuses on current conflict in South Kivu, most of the footage used in the story is of a gold mine in the relatively peaceful Ituri District, a few hundred miles to the north. ...

2. The second problem could be summarized as “The Enough Project”, but more specifically, the problem is the statements made by John Prendergast, Enough’s director. In the segment, Prendergast states: “If you do a conflict analysis you will find that when there are spikes in violence, it has something to do with contestation over the mineral resources, gold and the rest of them.”  ...

3. The third problem is the suggestion that gold can or should be cut off from Congo. In his interview with Scott Rumsey from the Responsible Jewelry Council, correspondent Scott Pelley asks: “Why can’t the industry cut off the [gold] supply from Congo and strangle the civil war there?”  ...

Obama's Nobel Acceptance Speech

In his acceptance speech, President Obama spoke about Congo.

In hope and pray that he can lead the international community to end the conflict and rapes in eastern Congo.

Transcript: Obama's Nobel acceptance - CNN.com.

President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday in Oslo, Norway.

"First, in dealing with those nations that break rules and laws, I believe that we must develop alternatives to violence that are tough enough to change behavior -- for if we want a lasting peace, then the words of the international community must mean something. Those regimes that break the rules must be held accountable. Sanctions must exact a real price. Intransigence must be met with increased pressure -- and such pressure exists only when the world stands together as one."

"The same principle applies to those who violate international law by brutalizing their own people. When there is genocide in Darfur; systematic rape in Congo; or repression in Burma -- there must be consequences. And the closer we stand together, the less likely we will be faced with the choice between armed intervention and complicity in oppression."

Yellow fever vaccine push amid shortages, resurgence

One of the requirements to enter the Congo, beyond having a visa, and blind courage or a sense of adventure, is proof of a Yellow Fever vaccination.  I always thought it was a joke since western countries do not ask for it or require.  But I guess it's not a problem in Congo for that reason.  Congo is not among the 13 most at-risk countries in Africa

Yellow fever vaccine push amid shortages, resurgence.

DAKAR, 23 November 2009 (IRIN) - The world’s first multi-country yellow fever vaccination campaign began on 23 November, with 12 million people targeted across Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The push comes as the killer mosquito-borne disease is resurging in some sub-Saharan African countries and vaccine stocks are running low.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says 160 million Africans are at risk if further funding is not secured, as the current vaccine stockpile is expected to run out in 2010.

The three countries are the latest of the 13 most at-risk– Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo – to carry out preventive campaigns. Global health partnership GAVI Alliance has committed funding for campaigns in the 13 countries.

Congolese Airplane Overshoots Runway

Congo Airlines have been modernizing their fleet with newer (but) used from the United States and other western countries.  Have these newer planes have outgrown the older runaway?  Or is it just plain-old poor maintenance issues? 

AFP: Injuries as DR.Congo plane overshoots runway.

Injuries as DR.Congo plane overshoots runway (AFP) – 1 day ago

KINSHASA — Ten passengers aboard a Congolese airliner were slightly injured Thursday when the plane overshot the runway as it landed at a regional airport, witnesses and the airline said.

More than 120 passengers and crew were on board the MD-80 airliner which landed at Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after a flight from the capital Kinshasa.

The pilot failed to break in time to make a turn at the end of the runway, said David Blattner, head of the Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (CAA) which operates the plane, adding that he did not know the accident's precise cause.

"The passengers were evacuated on the emergency chutes and in the rainy conditions, there were a number who were slightly injured," Blattner said.

The nose of the plane crashed into blocks of lava which have marked the end of the runway at Goma since a nearby volcano erupted in 2002.

Congo fishing rights clashes ‘force thousands to flee’

When western countries fight over fishing rights, it's a territorial dispute.  The parties go before an international group or the two governments mediate the dispute. 

But when African countries or intra-country groups fight over fishing rights.  And there is no stable or transparent government to mediate the dispute, it becomes violent.

Similar situations happen through out Congo and other African countries.  But it is really an ethnic or tribal conflict?

BBC News - Congo fishing rights clashes ‘force thousands to flee’.

More than 50,000 people have fled clashes between two ethnic groups in north-western Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks, the UN says.

Many of those fleeing are reported to be unaccompanied children, and some people have drowned trying cross a river into Republic of Congo.

The UN says at least 100 people have been killed in clashes between Lobala and Boba people in Equateur province.

The violence started last month after a dispute over fishing rights.

Congo Gives South African Farmers Control Over 10 Million Hectares of Land

Congolese officials have not been known to negotiate good contracts.  So who got a GREAT deal, SA or DRC?

The South African farmers had been negotiating with Republic of Congo (ROC, Congo-Brazzeville).  Maybe, just maybe, the reporters cited the wrong Congo.  It is a common mistake!

Business Report - DRC deal gives SA farmers access to land.

South Africa had signed a deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that would give South African farmers access to up to 10 million hectares of land, Theo de Jager, the deputy president of union Agri SA, said yesterday.

The deal, potentially one of the largest land agreements on the continent and part of the DRC's plan to improve food security, would allow South African farmers to lease land for maize, soya beans, poultry, dairy cattle and other produce. De Jager said: "We have signed the agreement and it's initially for a 30-year renewable lease."

The deal included tax exemptions on importing agricultural inputs and equipment and allowed full expatriation of profits. - Reuters

Developement not aid.

 Imagine the US 150 years ago, abundant untapped  natural resources and a diverse population. Those are what made the US strong. First came the green revolution when John Deere built a plow that would cut through the tough middle american soil. Then came the industrial revolution that was fuelled by abundant power and raw materials. But America got it wrong in that it didn't look far enough ahead at the consequences of what it was doing. Overuse of pesticides and fertilizers has polluted the streams and rivers. Automobiles have polluted the air. Greed has replaced innovation.

The DR Congo has a clean slate and the potential to get it right. 

The Congo river from Kinshasa to Boma has the hydroelectric potential of all the lakes, rivers and streams in North America and since the Congo river basin spans the equator the river is always supplied by a rainy season somewhere. If the rivers were all exploited for electricity we could not only power the DR Congo with abundant energy but all of Africa and a good chunk of Europe as well.

There are tens of millions of acres of arable land not populated by migratory animals or tropical forrests. Managed properly to prevent the mistakes of the US and Europe food security for the continant could be assured. Much land that would be unsuitable for food crops could be used for other crops for paper production and bio-fuels.

We all know about the minerals. Why are so many products imported that could be manufactured for far less here? Cement, windows, nails, wire, steel all imported yet often made from materials from here! Fish is imported to a nation with a huge river system. Corned beef despite millions of idle savanna acres.

Developement is what is needed, not aid.