December 4, 2008
Dearest Members of St. John and St. Anne,
You are my brothers and sisters in Christ I can claim nothing less. God bless you all for what you doing in Christ’s name here in Rugari Parish. As I get emails from some of you or talk with some of you via SKYPE I thank God for the blessings of technology as the loneliness sometimes can be overwhelming, but then I get contact from home and feel rejuvenated once again.
Today I will share a bit of my experiences in the past two weeks, some difficult, some very happy. Let me start with two weeks ago when I was driving past a local police office. On one side of the road is a furniture shop where craftsmen make furniture and I was actually slowing and looking for one craftsman in particular who is building some small office tables for CRS, which is the American Catholic relief agency working here with CARITAS Goma. I have been helping to get this work done and wanted to check in how things were going, but instead, my attention came to rest across the road at the Commune de Goma Office. I saw 3 women arguing vehemently with some of the police officers. Mind you, these officers are carrying AK47’s and these brave women were just brandishing their umbrellas and pointing them at the guns and shouting. About what they were saying I could not know, but they were terribly upset. As this shouting match escalated I pulled off the side of the road just to see what was happening. As I sat watching this argument escalate they began pushing and shoving. A local businessman came to my car and apologized for what happens here in Congo. He felt badly that I was witnessing such a debacle in his country. We visited about the sad condition of things here as we continued watching to see what was going to happen. Then we saw women being grabbed, then fighting broke out with the women eventually being thrown to the ground and then I saw one soldier kicking one of the women and they then pulled the women, dragging them across the ground into their offices and I just sat there stunned and did nothing. I started to get out of the car, but then what would I do, what could I do. I would leave my car unattended, very dangerous thing to do here, and then what if I made a scene, what would that do to my position here in this country, would I be able to continue here or would they throw me out. My mind was racing with so many questions going through my mind. The man sharing this horror with me said he did not know if I could do anything or not, but he shared my horror and discontent for what we saw transpiring but he also did not interfere. We are stuck here in DRC between a rock and hard place. We hate so much of what we see and hear, but often feel powerless to do anything to stop it. This powerlessness sometimes can be so hard to deal with, especially for a woman from the States who has been able to live a life of so much ability to do, to decide, and to be proactive; then to live here and be in this situation of not being free, not being free to stay where you want because of fear of the soldiers who rob and kill at night, not being free to take the photos you want, not being free to be out in the evening after dark, not being free to say what you want, and so much more. It is an experience let me tell you.
That brings me to reports last week of three nights of robberies and some killings in Goma again. Hardly a week passes without some such events happening and most often it is reported that they are people who are wearing soldier uniforms. Also last week we got some security reports about some FARDC soldiers entering into KIBATI IDP Camp and raping some of the women. Then just this past weekend we heard that FARDC soldiers opened fire in the camp during the night and I heard that one of our Rugari youth was shot in the stomach and another was shot in the upper back. I don’t hold much hope for them, but have not heard if they have survived their wounds or not.
December 18, 2008
Now onto good news for this newsletter, I met an American freelance photojournalist who is here for a month on a grant to do a story on the rapes that occur as a result of the war. It turns out she is doing the story from our parish of Rugari on the 9 year old girl who was raped by the FARDC soldier. She has come with me three weekends to Rugari to finish her work. Her name is Sherrlyn Borkgren and her home is in Oregon. Sherrlyn’s work history has taken her from Guatemala to Iraq, but this is her first time to Africa. If her story gets published for sure I will let you know. She is planning to set up a fund to help this family so that the children can be assured of receiving an education!!!
Some exciting news is also about the wonderful renewal of life up on the mountain above the parish. I went for a hike up on the mountain this last Saturday, December 13th, and saw many farms that are coming back to life, land being tilled, homes being built, and cattle grazing.
It was so wonderful to hike in this mountain area I have only dreamed of seeing until now. For now we are safe to come and go all the area of the mountain behind our parish. This is a refreshing taste of freedom that I have not known here since I arrived.
Now we are hearing of MAI MAI and FDLR who are massing in the area above KIWANJA on the roads towards ISHASHA and VITSHUMBI, we know all is not settled yet. The people yearn so for peace that will last, peace that will be real.
Other sad news this week is the news of two NGO staff attacked on the road to RUTSHURU, one was killed and the other injured by gunfire. It was a robbery by armed forces, but which forces we will probably never know. Of course those who are anti-CNDP say it was they and those who are anti-PARECHO say it was they or MAI MAI or FDLR. The area where it happened is an area of deep bush and park terrain/wilderness. It will be very difficult to ever know the murderers.
Things are not so safe and not so free as we could ask. There is the area in Nyiragongo National Park where we look out every evening to see the smoke rising from the charcoal cairns that are the work of FDLR who are still hiding deep in the park and making the black market charcoal as part of their work to stay alive. They come to the road with the black market charcoal and sell it to the systems they have set up through the local population.
We are enjoying so much wonderful peace and freedom and lack of oppression in Rugari and up on the mountain, but as we sit in the evening enjoying the air and the view, we are reminded by the smoke plumes of the charcoal cairns simmering in Nyiragongo Park that the conflict is still simmering here in Eastern DRC.
Now I close to pray for that rebirth and renewal of Peace, of Love, and of Hope that we receive each Christmas time. The annual renewal of what it means to believe in the Christ child, in the Father of all Love, and in the miraculous that is wraught by the Holy Spirit.
Love to you all in the Peace of Christ,
Jackie
