In Support of People in Eastern Congo
At 5:40 a.m. on July 5, 2016, Islamic ADF rebels are reported to have attached the Oicha Hospital. Congolese soldiers engaged the rebels in a shoot out, but 9 civilians were killed and only one rebel. The rebels were allegedly targeting medicines but stole chicken and goats as they left their trail of mayhem. Oicha is just north of Beni.
Yellow fever is carried by the same mosquito that spread Zika and dengue fever, but it is a much more serious disease. 67 cases are reported confirmed in Kinshasa but over 1,000 people are being monitored. With 12 million people and ideal breeding grounds for mosquitos, Kinshasa is at risk with only a small portion of the population vaccinated. Angola is also at risk and to a lesser extent in Masaka district south and west of Kampala, Uganda. There is no known cure once yellow fever is contracted although the vaccine is considered effective.
Health officials are concerned that the entire world’s supply of vaccination, said to be down to 6 million doses because of extensive distribution already, wouldn’t be enough in a true epidemic. Vaccines are made from chicken eggs and take a year to develop. World Health Organisation (WHO) advisers have recommended using a fifth of the standard dose of vaccine in the event of a global shortage – enough to immunize temporarily but not to give lifelong immunity that occurs with a full dose.
Severe illness results in jaundice (hence it’s name) and flu like symptoms. There is a 20% mortality rate once at the toxic stage, but historically a severe epidemic can have as high as a 50% mortality rate. Currently, 30,000 annually die from yellow fever, an entirely preventable disease.
James Kataliko has provided a brief update on some of our active projects:
The community chicken coop needed for transit purposes has been completed in Kalondo, in support of the My Chicken, Give Me Eggs project. Additionally, training has been arranged so that recipients unfamiliar with raising chickens can gain the necessary knowledge.
Recently, billionaire Bill Gates has caught on to the idea that raising chickens is a good idea for people living in poverty. Who knows, maybe he was following this blog.
https://www.gatesnotes.com/Development/Why-I-Would-Raise-Chickens
The water filter business wasn’t manned for a time, but it is again operational and has been earning some revenues. They continue to turn over their inventory based on the original capital made available.
The Ecole Maternelle les Moissonneurs in Beni is expanding through the addition of another primary classroom. James provides significant support to the school.
Installations of lightning rods in the Blessing Rain (Mvua Baraka) project had some supplier problems. I understand that a new domestic supplier has been found and the project has developed a small backlog.
The highly successful sewing project at the Muti wa Nzuki School for Orphans in Butembo run by Dorcas Mbambu continues to report excellent results. (I didn’t post 2016 Q1 results, but they continue to generate significant revenues while providing student training.) Additional funds have been sent to Dorcas for maintenance or new capital equipment as she wishes to prioritize.
While Americans react in shock to the terrorist attack in Orlando, imagine living in constant fear of armed terrorists arriving through a deep forest where they can quickly disappear. There will be no trained SWAT teams to come to the rescue. You will receive no support afterwards.
I have been receiving messages that clearly are pleas to let the world know what is happening in eastern Congo.
There was an attack by the AFDLR and NALU, against the FDRC (i.e. the army). Instead of reconciliation or proceeding with an election here, the rebels just kill, kidnap and rape the women and sexually attack men anally. These facts disturbs the population and makes it difficult in the East of our country especially in North Kivu, South Kivu and Orientale province. Tragedies have happened recently in the Mirki territory of Lubero and Beni of the territory Ndalia Kokola precisely and Eringeti from the May 14 and May 18,19,20. The population reacted against the President of the DRC by a march of anger for 3 days.
We have many victims of sexual violence who are suffering and needing emergency medical care. They are threatened with divorce and have gynecological and psychological problems. There is famine, unwanted pregnancy and vaginal fistula, however, they are still creatures of the Lord.
For this, we require spiritual and other assistance as they need to be re-integrated into society and be responsive to the word of God.
The following report is from Eringeti, Beni region in eastern Congo, blamed on the Islamic ADF:
BILAN PROVISOIR DE L’INCURSION DES REBELLES ADF/NALU DANS LA NUIT DU MARDI 03/05/ AU MERCREDI 04/05/2016 Fait étant de 11 personnes civiles tués dont 2 enfants, 7 hommes et 2 femmes dont 1 enceinte. Ce bilan peut être revu à la hausse car d’autres sources parlent deja de 19 personnes tuees, Nous continuions a documenter. De la source Onusienne sur place a Eringeti on parle de 17 personnes civiles tuees par balles, machettes et haches. Plusieurs maisons d’habitations brulees par les assailants.
Provisoir BALANCE OF REBEL RAID ADF / NALU OVERNIGHT TUESDAY 03/05 / AT Wednesday, 05.04.2016 Done being 11 civilians killed including 2 children, 7 men and 2 women, 1 pregnant. This total may be revised upwards because other sources speak of 19 persons already killed, we continue to document. The UN source locally has Eringeti talking about 17 civilians killed by bullets, machetes and axes. Several residential houses were burnt by Assailants.
Dr. Denis Mukwege named among Time’s 100 most influential people
Nobel-prize nominated Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege, who surgically treats war rape victims, was named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
The 61-year-old doctor founded the Panzi Hospital in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999 to help women and girls who had been raped during the conflict then raging in the country. Unfortunately, his work at Panzi Hospital continues.
Jason Stearns expelled from DRC
Jason’s organization, the Congo Research Group, had released a report “Who are the killers of Beni?” that said the responsibility for various massacres went beyond the Islamic group ADF. The government also formally denounced the report. The Congo Research Group believes the government has mischaracterized the claims in the report.
President Kabila has yet to state his intentions
President Joseph Kabila is technically subject to constitutional term limits that in theory prevent him from running in the presidential elections earmarked for November. Recent governor elections throughout the country were predominately won by Kabila supporters which is believed to increase the odds that Kabila will want to continue as president, historically consistent with most African leaders.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called for Kabila to cement his overall strong legacy by resigning. Meanwhile, election related violence is starting to rear it’s head as many Congolese, especially in Kinshasa where Kabila has never had strong support, is increasing.
My Chicken, Give Me Eggs
Thanks to a generous donation, the My Chicken, Give Me Eggs project has been expanded in Kalondo. The additional funds will support a community chicken coop that will allow for the facilitation and expansion of the micro-finance project which obligates the lendee to return two chickens in the future after having received two chickens.
Commodity Prices threaten the Congo economy
The decline in the price of oil is well known, but the price of copper and other commodities has also fallen dramatically. This is having a severe impact on the economy as commodities are the main source of export and government revenues. Until the decline in commodity prices, the economy had been performing relatively well with GDP growth over 8%.
James Kataliko has produced the following video to provide some background on our My Chicken, Give Me Eggs micro-financing project in remote Kalondo.
The original post: “My chicken, give me eggs!”
Updated to include English subtitles
Turbulence in North Kivu has resulted in 30,000 or more displaced refugees completely cut off from aid. The U.N. reports that a surge in kidnappings and general insecurity in North Kivu province in recent months has made delivering life-saving humanitarian aid a “Herculean task”. In January, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF or Doctors Without Borders) closed one of its projects in Congo following a December attack on one of their convoys and abduction of two of their staff. None of MONUSCO (U.N.), FARDC (Congo army) or any other military force are capable of providing the needed security.
Blue helmeted Uruguayan soldiers serving with MONUSCO prepare to leave their base in the village of Mpati, eastern Congo, April 14, 2014. (Washington Post)
The economic migrants flooding into Europe have the immense benefit of being safely accessible in order to receive help. Years of security concerns in Congo have limited even the most courageous aid agencies from providing the most basic of aid.
Through our direct contacts, we are able to wire funds directly (using Western Union) to people who can make a difference in eastern Congo. If you are willing to able to provide funds of any nature, please contact me at michael.ben @ rogers . com and I will facilitate a transfer.
The Congo Research Group has been investigating the various massacres in the Beni region and has published some initial conclusions.
Massacres in Beni Territory, published by the Congo Research Group
The CRG reports on the ADF: Rather than a foreign Islamist group driven by revenge, CRG research points to a group that has forged strong ties with local interest groups and militias over the course of twenty years of insurrection around Beni. Moreover, our preliminary findings indicate that responsibility does not lie with the ADF alone. In addition to commanders directly tied to the ADF, members of the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC), the national army; former members of the Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie—Kisangani/Mouvement de libération (RCD–K/ML), as well as members of communal militias have also been involved in attacks on the civilian population.
Their key claim is that responsibility for the massacres goes well beyond the Islamic ADF to include members of the Congo army (FARDC). An indictment of both the army and the UN (Monusco) follows: Despite losing hundreds of soldiers in operations conducted against the ADF prior to July 2014, the FARDC have frequently failed to react in time to protect the population during and after events—and MONUSCO has demonstrated a similar lack of initiative. Our researchers have documented cases in which FARDC officers discouraged their units from intervening during massacres and there is extensive evidence indicating that members of the FARDC have actively participated in massacres.
An extensive full report in French and a brief summary in English are available.
Jean-Pierre Bemba has been found guilty of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Bemba was vice-president of Congo from 2003 to 2006 and was the main opponent to Joseph Kabila in the 2006 Congo presidential race. He won majority support in western Congo in that election while eventually losing to Kabila. He is a big fish.
The significance is that he is the first conviction by the ICC for his deemed assent to rape as a weapon of war. He was accused of not acting to stop militia under his control from raping, murdering and pillaging, events which took place in the Central African Republic in 2002 to 2003, not in the D.R.C.
With few exceptions such as the Nuremberg Trials and for former Yugoslavia, war criminals are rarely brought to justice. This is a hugely confirming event for the ICC which was formed in 2002. The United States has yet to ratify their participation in the ICC, primarily on the grounds that excessive zeal by political foes could unjustly threaten members of their armed forces.
It took the court two years to reach the verdict (which verifies some expressed U.S. concerns over having fair and expedient trials). Sentencing will follow in a subsequent hearing. Bemba is also facing an additional trial for the charge of bribing a witness in this main trial. His conviction also rules out the chance of his running for president which some had suggested in the event he was found not guilty.
Bens in Congo 