A Few News Articles on the DRC

As Rwandan military forces begin to withdraw from the DRC, a war crimes trial for Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga is under way at the International Criminal Court. This is one of the ICC's first cases, and the article details Lubanga's use of child soldiers. I must warn you that the scenes described in this article are very disturbing.

Meanwhile, a delegation from the UN is visiting the scenes of LRA attacks in the DRC. The linked article also offers first-hand accounts of the Christmas Massacre and analysts' speculations on the current state of the LRA.

On a lighter note, actor George Clooney recently toured refugee camps in Chad in his continuing campaign to draw attention to the war in Darfur.

Shalom,
Drew

Opening Wide My Lens

Here's a submission from Gabrielle Dickinson, called "Opening Wide My Lens".

One minute of watching, and my eyes are so accustomed to this sight that they don't take long to adjust to the window on my screen. My eyes are sore from being apart from the reality of this for so long. They are just dirt roads. They really shouldn't have this effect on me. But they do. They always have, and they always will. It doesn't even take a minute, for me to realise that my heart is beating in sync with the music of this land. Their footsteps sound like drums, and their eyes look like fire. There is a steady togetherness about these ones. In their hands they mean to bring hope. Into their stories they have inscribed courage. Their bodies are not weighed down by the trauma their spirits have endured. Instead their souls are free and all about them is lightness of being. That is if you look away from their eyes.

With their dancing smiles, they will speak of what can never be taken from them. Really, their richness of spirit lays me to waste. They lay claim to things I would never dare to possess. But their hope is never in vain. Music will be the wave they ride upon. The crest that takes them to His love. In my shallow life, my mind has no boundaries that will give me room to imagine what living with 60,000 other people around you is like. Looking at their faces, you would never know why they are there. Nothing in the air gives a scent of injustice. The buzz that exists stems not from excitement. Questions take the place of fear, and conversations are perpetually in motion. They dwell in chaos, yet their chaos is ordered. Even their chaos keeps itself to a rhythm.

Displaced ones. The name is sewn into the fabric of their lives. They are out of place, and all the while the blood in their veins, is the same colour as mine. They too ache for a land called home, but they have arrived at this longing in a way I beg never to be attached to. Faces with skin that gives the appearance of perfection. Faces that look the same as mine does with tears over it. A little girl throws her soul into choking back the tears, as she speaks. It costs her far more to disburse the silence. My complacency is secure. My lips have never been barred from speech. Their shattered lives have hope locked inside. I see it written in the lines of their faces.

They have been told they dwell in safety, in this make-shift world of things they were never meant to belong to. Yet they know that even shelter has become an illusion. Meal-times have become storms, where tears soak food like streams of salt. They pray prayers that cause Heaven to sway and move, embracing them in their broken places. For each night, the light is the same. The moon keeps watch over them, and reminds them of better days to come.

They are a people who are moved, and who express the things that we tend to hide from. Captive in the palm of their own people, yet hope plays the stronger chord. While we shut our eyes to forget, they close their's to remember. Lives meant for amazing things, are instead sold out to violence of the worst kind. The voice of oppression rules in weakness, as they are forced to take even their own lives. Death, like an intimate enemy, forces it's crooked way into their souls. Each fragile frame holds a beating heart, covered in scars. Each scar makes a mockery of their strength. Still no voice holds the power to diminish the relentless spirits that are their foundations in life. Somehow, though different in depth, their scars are a line in the sand, just like mine. Scars that mark the entry to life, and the crescendo of a battle that was not worth the fight.

These are they, who brim with unreasonable dreams. The dreams I dare to dream are laughable when I listen to each of them tell of their dreams. They are more alive than I have ever been. Beaten, but not destroyed. Struck by the hand of terror, yet not abandoned to corners of darkness. Sometimes I forget that the smallest ones of all, can be the greatest giants. The ones who will fight with love burning brighter than the evil, that has tried to terrorise them. They are an army, whose hands are no longer stained by the blood of innocents, but are drenched in the blood of One Innocent. The only One to have ever lived.

Remember, if you want to see your stuff on the blog, don't hesitate to submit it or become a contributor.

Shalom,
Drew

A Brief History of the Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been in continuous turmoil since the beginning of the First Congo War in 1996, and a regime change in 1997. Many of the DRC's neighbors are also struggling with civil wars and milita groups - Uganda, Rwanda, and Sudan are all in a state of war: Uganda since 1987, Rwanda since 1986, and Sudan since 1983. These governments have backed rebel groups within their neighbors borders, leading to higher body counts. Many of the groups fled to teh DrC and are continuing their wars in new areas. Recntly the Conglese, Rwandan, Sudanese, and Ugandan governments have allied to combat the rebel groups operating in the DRC, including the Lord's Resistance Army. At present, the contingencies from Rwanda and Uganda are set to withdraw from the DRC by the end of the month.

Contributing Problems:

• Rwanda - Former Belgian colony. The Belgians divided the population into two groups -- the Hutu and the Tutsi. The Tutsi were the upper class, and given administrative posts within the colonial government. When Belgium left, power was given to the Hutu, who very quickly extracted revenge. In 1986, Paul Kigame founded a Tutsi militia, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and took up arms against the Hutu government. In 1994, as the civil war between the RPF and Rwandan government was ending, the Rwandan president was assassinated and Hutu militias (the Interhamwe) began a 100-day campaign of genocide (I have written briefly on the background of the genocide here). The RPF reached the Rwandan capital of Kigali, overthrowing the government, and sending the Interhamwe and many Hutu nationalists into exile. The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Uganda (FDLR), a mainly Hutu militia and rebel group, many members of which were responsible for the 1994 genocide, now resides in the DRC.
• Uganda - Former British colony. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), founded in 1987 by leader Joseph Kony, is responsible for a campaign of terror in northern Uganda's Acholi territory. The LRA is notorious for the abduction and conscription of children. The conflict is considered to be one of the greatest on-going humanitarian catastrophes in the world today and is among the longest-lasting conflicts on the African continent. The LRA is currently carrying out operations and abductions in the DRC.
  
• Sudan - Former British colony. The current government, based in Khartoum, is composed of and favors the Arab-African population, and distributes access to and income from natural resources accordingly. In 1983, the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) took up arms in southern Sudan. The conflict ended with a peace treaty in 2005. Ongoing conflict in the western Darfur region (starting in 2003) has lead to accusations of genocide against both sides, most notably against the government-backed Janjiwid militia. Rebels from all sides of have taken up residence in the DRC.
• Democratic Republic of Congo - Former Belgian colony; formerly Zaire (1971-1997). Following the Rwandan genocide in 1994, many Interhamwe militamen fled to Zaire; to this day, extreme Hutu nationlist continue the slaughter of Congolese Tutsis. In 1997, the 26-year-old Zairian government was driven out of power by rebel groups. In 1998, the so-called Second Congo War (also called the African World War) began, with the DRC, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Chad, Mai-Mai militia, and various Hutu militias fighting against Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo, the Congolese Rally for Democracy, and various Tutsi militias. Though the war officially ended in 2003, hostilities continue and grow more severe with the involvement of the Hutu FDLR (see: Rwanda). In 2005, many LRA members began moving camps and operations from souther Sudan and northern Uganda into the DRC. The death toll for the ten year period has reached nearly six million.

The problems of the Great Lakes region of Africa are many, rooted in the post-colonial condition, and beyond a simple answer. None of the conflicts exist in a vaccuum; they are inter-related, and a single peace treaty will not bring an end to the slaughter. No single charity or government organization will bring an end to famine and disease.

But if they work together, change hoped for can become change ennacted.

We have a long way to go, and the going will be tough.

Instead of letting this deter our struggle, let it strengthen our resolve. We have been given much, so let us give much. We have the time, resources, and ability to see this through. We have already done so much, and can do so much more. With organizations such as Invisible Children, International Justice Mission, and Amnesty International, students everywhere are rising up, shouting out, and making ourselves heard. We say, "Never again," and we mean it. The involvment and devotion of individuals everywhere working as a community to serve our neighbors on another continent will be what brings about peace.

Shalom,
Drew

We the Living

We the Living is coming to Athens and doing a show just for us!

The image above is our flier for the event (courtesy of Jamal).

Be sure to tell your friends!

Shalom,
Drew

( ten cool things you should click on )

1. awesome video from charity: water with "Time Bomb" by Beck -- one of my fave songs!

2. Robert Egger: one voice for change (click for the website)

3. madtube. youtube for non-profits and humanitarian work (click for the website)

4. current.com video about a ugandan girl with HIV/AIDS (click for website)

5. our new and improved website! it's not completely done, but look around and tell me what you think! (www.uga.edu/icu)

6. vanguard. by far the coolest way to learn about invisible children and how you can be most effective. if you don't have the cd to install, let me (Meredith) know and i will get it to you asap! you need this! (http://vanguard.invisiblechildren.com)

7. behind the scenes (of the Rough Cut Feature Film) blog from Laren, Bobby, and Jason

(click here)

8. great article about obama and africa from enoughproject (click here)

9. ha, now this is just funny. and addicting (click here for a surprise!)

10. so, so great (click here)

Enjoy!

Meredith

n00b

Though certainly a child of the technological revolution, I have never quite embraced the art of 'blogging.' However, here I am and so I encourage all of you to follow in my tentative footsteps and pour forth your beautiful prose upon the digital page!

Peace out, yo.