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.

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.

Can Hillary Clinton Stop the Sexual Violence in Eastern Congo?

I am hopeful that Hillary's visit to Goma will bring an end to the rape epidemic.  I hope Congo, at least, get the attention it deserved. 

Hillary Clinton presses DR Congo on rape epidemic - Taiwan News Online.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday offered U.S. help to punish perpetrators of soaring sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo as she paid a lightning visit to its war-weary east.

Leaving aside her government jet for a small U.N. plane, Clinton became the highest ranking U.S. official to tour the desolate lakeside town of Goma to highlight a rape epidemic afflicting tens of thousands of women.

Clinton offered personal comfort to two rape survivors, one of whom was violated when she was eight months pregnant with the fetus ripped out. Speaking later to reporters as she flew on to Nigeria, Clinton said she felt "overwhelmed" by what she saw.

"It is almost impossible to describe the level of suffering and despair," Clinton said of the region torn by conflict with Hutu militants.

Clinton met with President Joseph Kabila in a tent outside the governor's mansion in Goma for what she described as "a very frank discussion" on sexual violence - including calling on him to arrest key officers accused of rape.

Fireworks spread terror in war weary town

Fireworks are not a universal sign of celebration.

Last year, I was in Kananga (DR Congo) for Congo's Independence Day.  That evening, I was a little shocked to hear explosions.  Finally, I saw them.  What a relief! 

Then I could not believe the government would sponsor a fireworks show.  Also, it occurred late in the evening (10pm) when most Congolese were asleep.

Fireworks spread terror in war weary town | Oddly Enough | Reuters.

GOMA, Congo (Reuters) - Independence day fireworks sent terrified Congolese sprinting for cover on Tuesday in fear that war had broken out again in their eastern city.

Officials had organized the display in Goma to highlight efforts to end more than a decade of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and to show a sign of normal life returning to the region, where a peace deal took hold in January.

But residents feared it was a raging gun battle.

"I hit the ground not knowing what was going on," said 23-year-old student Aminata Kavugho.

Around 5.4 million people have died as a result of Congo's 1998-2003 war and the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, making it the world's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Former Fighters Turn to Peaceful Means to Express Themselves

This is another great trial to promote the peace process in eastern Congo.  The government of Congo needs to encourage peaceful discourse. 

DRC: Armed groups sign their own “death certificate”

Eighteen rebel and self-defence militia groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed an agreement on 18 April to dissolve their organisations, although some expressed concern that the grievances that led them to take up arms had not been fully addressed.

The agreement follows a series of undertakings aimed at restoring peace to the region’s restive Kivu provinces, a process that has already seen thousands of fighters integrated into the national army.

“In this declaration all the groups clearly announced that they no longer exist,” said Apollinaire Malumalu, the coordinator of the committee that is following up progress on the various peace accords.

“From now on, former fighters who integrate into civilian life will use peaceful means to express themselves,” he said.