On Feb. 26, I am organizing a teach-in at my college about the situation in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo—formerly known as Zaire). The Congo is another domino in the line of unimaginable violence that is ripping central Africa apart. Rwanda. The Sudan. Congo.
I want to be very clear about what I'm doing here. Yes. I'm about to describe the brutality that is being practiced against the women and children, BUT do not turn your head away. There are THINGS YOU CAN DO to help stop the violence. But first, some brief notes from a ravaged land:
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.
And, if you can bear it, another one:
United Nations officials say the most sadistic rapes are committed by depraved killers who participated in Rwanda’s genocide in 1994 and then escaped into Congo. These attacks have left thousands of women with their insides destroyed. But the Congolese National Army, a ragtag undisciplined force of teenage troops who sport wrap-around shades and rusty rifles, has also been blamed. The government has been slow to punish its own, but Congolese generals recently announced they would set up new military tribunals to prosecute soldiers accused of rape.
No one — doctors, aid workers, Congolese and Western researchers — can explain exactly why Congo’s rape problem is the worst in the world. The attacks continue despite the presence of the largest United Nations peacekeeping force, with more than 17,000 troops. Impunity is thought to be a big factor, which is why there is now so much effort on bolstering Congo’s creaky and often corrupt justice system. The sheer number of armed groups spread over thousands of miles of thickly forested territory, fighting over Congo’s rich mineral spoils, also makes it incredibly difficult to protect civilians. The ceaseless instability has held the whole eastern swath of the country hostage.
In Bukavu, everywhere you look, something is broken: a railing, a window, a pickup cruising around with no fenders, a woman trudging along the road with no eyes.
In these images, the women and children of the Congo are victims of crimes almost beyond our ken to imagine. But, it is crucial that we not regard this as one more cry for help from a helpless people.
I believe the women of the Congo are formidable. I believe that, partnered with people from around the world who want to see them succeed, these women are capable of putting their lives back together: of healing, of reclaiming their bodies and their families, and of forming communities of women who will form their own cooperative small-commerce groups who can support themselves economically.
In the meantime, to help these women get to that place, there are many things that you can do. Some require you to write a letter; others to consider hosting a teach-in of your own. You might want to send money to some organizations I'm going to list; or you might want to buy something made by a Congolese woman.
First, Eve Ensler's organization, VDAY, has dedicated this year's proceeds of The Vagina Monologues and other activities to building a "City of Joy" where Congolese women will be able to go as they recuperate from their injuries. Ensler is partnered with Dr. Mukwege, who has dedicated his life to aiding the rape victims. He performs 10 surgeries a day, putting rape victims' reproductive organs and bowels back together after they have been mutilated. His hospital, Panzi Hospital, has become a center where women have gathered for help.
Write to the President of DRC,
His Excellency the President of DR Congo Joseph Kabila Kabange, urging the Government to do more to stop violence against women and girls and bring perpetrators to justice. Send letters to P.O. Box 3862, New York, NY 10163. (At the VDAY site, they have letters you can copy and send.)
Write to our own officials:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20500
Write to your Congressional Representatives
If you prefer to e-mail, you may do so here:
Write to the President of DRC, His Excellency the President of DR Congo Joseph Kabila Kabange, urging the Government to do more to stop violence against women and girls and bring perpetrators to justice. Send letters to P.O. Box 3862, New York, NY 10163.
Click here to download a letter you can sign and send.
Read the regular reports as the UN Mission in Democratic Congo (MONUC)
Follow the suggested actions at STOP RAPE NOW at
Take Action
Read and follow the suggestions at The Nation's
Ten Things
Buy a Congolese handmade wrap bag, available at:
The VDAY STORE.
Order from Netflix or watch on HBO the documentary, The Greatest Silence. The film details the lives of these remarkable women.
Finally, at the teach-in on February 26, five of my students have designed beautiful tee-shirts that will be sold to raise funds. As soon as I have photos of the tee-shirts, I will put them online. Tee-shirts will be sold for $15 (cash or check) (S, M, L, XL) and may be ordered from:
NeoVox
PO Box 2000
Cortland, NY 13045
(Postage will need to be included: send me a PM if you're interested in buying a shirt.)
Thank you for considering doing any or all of these things. I will continue to bring you updates.
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Comments
Thanks so much.
Anyway, my point is not to become the village Eeyore or Chicken Little. My hope is to always offer a list of things that can be done to help. I CAN'T keep closing my eyes to suffering in the world. It doesn't mean I can save everyone, but I do believe that we were put on this earth to help each other out. We do it on a daily basis, and sometimes, we are called to do it on a larger scale.
Peace.
Here in the West, we think these rituals are themselves "out moded" and do not understand their value, especially for males, and when the evidence is presented to us, we still can't see it.
Of course, this does not, and is not, meant to in any way condone something so horrible, and savage, but it shows how little we know. The study I saw was in Nigeria, where the same thing has happened, and to this day is practically lawless.
My eldest daughter is bringing a large number of students from her high school, too. Yes. Our daughters, I'm convinced, are going to outpace us in their care for the world.
Again thank you for this and I will do some letter writing at the very least!!
However, other than sending AU troops and finacial assistance, I see no way to end the problem. Western troops, white troops, would inflame the situation. Another problem is the limited mandate of UN Peacekeepers. I have written my elected officials on this topic for years, among other topics, but the solution has to be an African one.
rated
I don't want to impose any more imperialist crap on the Congo, just want to do what I can to assist Congolese women with their goals for self-sufficiency and safety.
Thank you for showing us ways that we can get involved in real ways, not just abstractly saying "Oh! That is awful" and then going on to other things.
Monte