What's it like when it rains?

Let me show you!

And yes, the sound you hear is that of the rain on the roof :)

New photos

Hey everyone,

I finally uploaded some of my photos from the past year on Picasa. You can look at them by clicking on the photo album below!

Living in Beni

love,

Bethany

Interviewing Dr. David Kasali

David M. Kasali: Being transformed to transform

The founder of a university in the Democratic Republic of the Congo talks about why educating a new generation of leaders is one of the greatest needs, even in a country where people are dying every day.

Here is the link to the website with the interview and video with Dr. Kasali, it's about his leadership and vision for UCBC: http://www.faithandleadership.com/multimedia/david-m-kasali-being-transformed-transform 

"Certain problems will repeat themselves. You have to go to the roots. The root for me is leadership. Our suffering in Congo is dependent on the type of leaders that we have. If we can prepare a new generation of leaders who are critical in their thinking, who are grounded in ethics of love your enemies and love your neighbors, and who say, 'Enough is enough,' then in the long run we will change to a sustained development...”

Hope you'll check it out! 

love,
Bethany 

International Day of Peace

"My experience of conflict is that those who are involved in it long for even a day of peace. To have a day of cessation of violence, that to me is an idea whose time has come." 

Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Today is the International Day of Peace.

(www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/2010/) 

How do we attain it? How can we get to the point where all have a chance to experience peace? And not just temporary, but long-lasting and real peace?

How can we get past just talking about peace and how much we want it (I keep thinking about Miss Congeniality, a movie which shows Miss USA contestants and their brainless answers to the thing that society most needs - see the video!), to finding ways of reaching it? What can we, what can I do, to help all of us experience peace? And what does peace really entail?

Without God our attempts and hopes for peace will be in vain... True peace with ourselves, with others, can't come by our own doing... But it should start with us. God help us. It only comes from Him. 

Life in Beni

People always want to know what life is like in Beni, the town where I live in the DR Congo. And until people actually come and visit, see it with their own eyes, I will continue to be asked to describe it. Which is fine with me! I like telling people about life and living there. But for now, here are a few things that make Congo (or maybe this part of Africa, unique):

• The gorgeous but sporadic views of the Ruwenzori mountains to the east of us.
• Glaciers on the Equator (in the Ruwenzori mountain range)!
• Our students and their enthusiasm for learning.
• The vegetation is very green... All year round. If trees look like they're dying (as they do here during the Fall), it's because they are! 
• The way that people can always be heard singing (cooking any meal, walking down the street, working, etc). 
• The smells of cooking stews during the early evening hours.
• Some bleating goats sounds frighteningly like children crying... And the reverse can also be true. 
• Everyone greets one another if you pass on the street, especially around home. It can be very rude to not say even a simple "hello."
• Children can make musical instruments out of most any item... The sounds of these melodies can be heard late into the evening hours as they are walking home or sitting outside their houses. 
• Language is so diverse... Most Congolese know at least three languages... Others understand or are even fluent in eight! 
• The food is fresh - naturally grown, freshly cut or harvested and quickly eaten. You have not tasted pineapple until you've tried it in the Congo. Amazing.
• Church services can seem to go on for an eternity... But it is really time that is dedicated to our God, in honor and worship of Him. So it's not so bad after all.
• Most people start and end their days with the sun. Since we're on the Equator, we have a solid 12 hours of sunlight... About 2-3 hours after dark (so by 9pm), most people are in their homes, quiet, with their families, getting ready to sleep. 
• Work is hard. Gardening is nothing like gardening here... Being a butcher is totally different as well. But the people work, sometimes for hours on end. 
• When someone is happy - it is usually very obvious. Joy pours out of people's eyes, hearts, lives. This is an emotion that is not easily hidden or kept discrete. When someone is happy - it is expressed. Freely.
• Children watch after other children. Each one has one younger then him/herself, and they know they must take care of that smaller child. Parents don't usually have to worry about their children. They know they are being cared for. 
• Adults watch out for and discipline other people's kids as well. If a little boy does something wrong, but his mother isn't there to see it, you can bet another mother or loving adult is nearby, and believe me; he/she will be quick to correct that child! 
• Families are huge. Not because they are all having 20 children (that's uncommon and rare), but because who is included in the family is much broader than what's typical in the West. Not only are there the brothers and sisters of the husband and wife, but their inlaws and the family of the inlaws... There are cousins and more cousins and 5th cousins. Family members may have uncertain connections, but it's known that somehow, somewhere, he or she is connected to the family. 
• Some parents will sacrifice everything, to be able to send their children to school: leaking ceilings, broken bicycles and even food. Education is extremely important.
• There is no end to the people who love you and have your back. Family is always there. 
• Almost everything stops when it rains (pours). Not only do motorcycle drivers stop and seek shelter, so do those working in the fields, walking down the streets... Even inside, businessmen, teachers - many have to stop their work, because the sound of the rain drowns out all other noises! 
• Many children work as hard as their parents... Cooking, fetching firewood, cleaning, selling things on the streets, carrying gallons of water on their heads or backs... Everyone is expected to contribute. 
• Food can be scarce for most families, especially during certain times (drought, flood, hardship at work leading to less income, etc). But there is always something for each member of the household. And even surprise guests. 
• The sun is much closer to us there. One of my dear friends told me before I left the States in 2008 that the sun in Congo, feels like it's just above your forehead... Cooking you all day long! He was right. The sun is so powerful there. Thanks Baraka.

I love where I live. It is a beautiful place. And these few things listed above - just scratch the surface of what it's like there. But I hope it will give you even a glimpse into life in Beni, DR Congo.

Peace,
Bethany

Holding Rwanda Accountable - NPR

NPR has recently published a strong article on the UN document set for release, that Rwanda is trying to block. The report describes horrible events that could be used to claim that Rwanda, shortly after the Rwandan genocide in their country, committed acts of genocide in Congo. It is probably one of the best articles on the report accusing Rwanda of genocide.

The writer says:

Even if some future tribunal concludes that the dreadful acts amount "only" to crimes against humanity, this meticulous document offers a powerful rebuke both to Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who has adroitly and cynically used his country's suffering as a shield behind which to advance its regional interests, and to his backers in Washington and London, who have unquestioningly accepted the country's unique victim status.

Rwanda for years, has been able to gain the sympathy for the crimes committed against their people... This has lead to strong support from Britain and the USA - both strong supportors... So strong that Rwanda has joined the Commonwealth and the USA continues to sing the praises of President Kagame (with closed eyes). 


Without in any way diminishing the unique monstrousness of the 1994 genocide, the report essentially puts an end to Rwanda's victim status. The Great Lakes region, comprising Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo, has been engulfed since the 1970s in a politics of genocide, in which groups seek to gain and retain power by destroying their rivals. Kagame's RPF, and perhaps Kagame himself, drank from this poisoned stream.

The full article is here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129696478

I encourage you to read it. It isn't too confusing and I believe that it can shed some light on the importance of this report - on Congo and on the people in the region. 

Am I doing all that I that I can?

Rape Victims in Congo Raid Now More Than 240 - NY Times
Excerpts from this article are below. The full story can be read here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/03/world/africa/03congo.html?ref=africa

The number of rape victims from a four-day rebel attack in eastern Congo a month ago has risen to more than 240 and will likely go higher, aid officials said Thursday.
[...]
On July 30, hundreds of members of Rwandan and Congolese rebel groups occupied villages in the Walikale region of North Kivu, assaulting their victims in groups of two to six.
Countering reports from the area that some victims were male infants, Mr. Trombatore said that all were female and that the youngest was 16 years old and the oldest 75.
[...]
Since the United Nations first publicly reported the mass rapes on Aug. 22, questions have arisen over how much the United Nations knew about the attacks as they were under way.
United Nations officials have said the peacekeepers did not know about the rapes until Aug. 12.
But a leaked United Nations e-mail dated July 30 shows that officials there were aware that the rebels had taken over one of the villages and raped one woman within the first day of the attack. By Aug. 10, the United Nations was aware that at least 25 women had been raped, according to another United Nations bulletin, published online.

They knew. And yet they still didn't act. They knew one woman had been harmed and villages taken over. But they told others to stay away. And they didn't try to stop it or to help.

How often do we, do I, act in a similar way, with other things? Knowing someone is in need, seeing them in their pain, their struggle... Yet there I am, frozen. Unwilling or unsympathetic to move. Afraid of what I might find or might I might have to give up, in order to help someone else.

Ah Lord, that my heart would break for the things that break yours. And that I would act in response to the brokenness that I see and that I know about. Even if it's in a small way, but the best I can manage. I should not remain silent. I must act.  

C'est ne pas possible

How did rebels rape 200 women just miles from UN base in Congo? - The Independent
 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/how-did-rebels-rape-200-women-just-miles-from-un-base-in-congo-2063258.html

This article questions the effectiveness and the point in the UN peacekeeping mission currently in the DR Congo (and arguably other countries as well).


Is the UN in Congo to help? To keep the peace? To serve and protect?

Who are they there to help? Where is the peace? Who are they serving?