June Update

Dear Friends,

The latest update (and the first one in a while) is completed and ready for you!

June 2012 Report

Please read it, share it, and enjoy it!

With love,
Bethany and Noé

Waiting for election results.

At 9am in Kampala, Uganda... We're waiting to hear the announcement of the results in the DRC.
The CENI website (http://www.cei-rdc.cd/) is not loading... Maybe it's down with too many visitors?

Some friends in Congo yesterday told us that text messaging services had been suspended within the country. People can send international text messages, but not inside of the country. I believe they can receive messages from international numbers as well.

Additionally, some cities had curfews yesterday and maybe even on Sunday night.

There are lots of soldiers in North Kivu... People are anxiously waiting for the results to be announced, supposedly that will happen today.

So for now, we are waiting.

A few more articles that I've found which you may want to read, especially this op-ed piece on the Guardian by Jason Stearns, which is quoted in part below. Click the link (or here) to read the full article.
"The verdict of Congo's voters must not be sacrificed for 'stability'"
Foreign powers who choose to look the other way as polls are rigged will hardly make the country more stable

Tens of millions of Congolese went to the polls last Monday. It was an emotional day: women with infants strapped to their back waited for hours in the sun, while elsewhere old men hobbled through knee-deep water to cast their ballots. And yet, as the country heads towards a post-election crisis, western diplomats seem ready to see the voters' verdict sacrificed for a misguided notion of stability. 

These elections, the second since the end of a bloody civil war, have been mired in controversy for the past year. In January, President Joseph Kabila's party orchestrated a change in the constitution, getting rid of a runoff round of polls for the presidency. This effectively pitted opposition candidates against each other, improving Kabila's chances. The election law was also changed, allowing the ruling coalition to appoint the head of the election commission. Nonetheless, the incumbent has faced stiff competition, especially from firebrand opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who has been able to attract crowds of over 100,000 people. There has been no reliable polling, but preliminary results from voting stations suggest that the race is tight, meaning even minor rigging could be a game-changer.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has suffered from violence for the past 15 years, often due to unaccountable leadership. Looking the other way as polls are rigged will hardly make the country more stable. 

And other recent articles to read: 

Congolese crisis - The Nation 

DRC: Ceni publishes the fourth partial results of the presidential election - Radio Okapi - In French (but you can translate the page using translate.google.com). This says that Kabila is winning in both North and South Kivus by a large margin... Seems unlikely. 

DR Congo's Kabila leads top rival day before final result - AFP 

Clashes erupt in Congo ahead of vote results - Reuters 

How wars and poverty have saved DR Congo's forests - BBC - But this is election time, not time to talk about the rain forest!  

Congo election: Joseph Kabila leads in early results - The Guardian  

DR Congo 'to use army in event of poll chaos' - Al Jazeera News, video on YouTube 

I'll post again when we know the results, if they will even be published or announced today. 
Continuing to pray,
Bethany 

Congo voted, and now...

Hello from Kampala!

It's a cool morning (nearly noon, actually) and it's good to catch up a bit on what's going on in the DR Congo.

It's hard to be here right now... Part of me wants to give up the hot shower, almost constant electricity and access to restaurants... But I can't. We're still waiting to hear the results of the election (on the 6th), and the response of the people after that.

So for now, I'm just going to have to enjoy our grocery store, and other things Chelsie and I don't often experience in Congo! :)

Our friends in Beni and other areas of the country told us that things went well. Except for some *significant* problems in large cities, things passed well on Monday... And Tuesday... And I read today that there was even voting continuing in Kinshasa yesterday.

Classes were canceled at UCBC on Monday, for the election. But they resumed again on Tuesday and things are back to normal there once again.

As one dear friend in Beni told me this morning - "Our prayer is that the Lord will choose the person that He sees prepared to lead the destiny of the nation." Amen. Let's hope so.

Here are a few articles, to check out for updates on the elections in the Congo, the vote, etc.
IOL - Chaos in DR Congo poll
AFP - Observers call for patience in DR Congo vote
NY Times - Notes from a Young American in Congo
Congo Planet - Observers Hail Successful DR Congo Elections
The Guardian - DR Congo opposition candidate calls for election to be annulled
The Atlantic - In Congo Elections, More Than Just Democracy at Stake

And websites / blogs with more information as well:
http://texasinafrica.blogspot.com/
http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/
CENI - Congo's Electoral Commission

Continue to remember the Congo and to pray for the people.

Silence is "not" golden...

This is an interesting opinion piece on Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-otis-moss-iii/congo-breaking-the-silenc_b_1003431.html

I love when I find articles about Congo... Most aren't good or positive, but hearing and knowing people are talking (even if just a little) about this country, is so important!

Silence Is 'Not' Golden When It Comes To The Congo

Rev. Otis Moss III
Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago

The ancient proverbial statement says, "Silence is golden." But how can a person, especially a person of faith, be silent when a woman is raped every minute and 45,000 children, women and men are dying in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the one of the most mineral-rich countries in the world. 64 percent of the world's reserve of Coltan, the mineral that allows you to read this on your iPad, laptop, desktop computer or cell phone -- comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The commercial sale of cell phones and computers is a $1 billion dollar per year global industry. But 80 percent of Congolese women, men and children live on 30 cents or less per day. At the July 2011 "Voices from the Congo" Conference at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) , who has traveled to the Congo twice said, "It is a nation of breathtaking natural beauty, rich in natural resources. It is also a badly broken country dominated by relentless poverty, war lords, pillaging soldiers, and horrific, almost incomprehensible violence."

The national and global politics of Blood Coltan mining includes the minute-by-minute rape of women and the deaths of children every day. The six million deaths caused by Blood Coltan mining exceeds the number of people who have died around the world in any war in the history of humanity. Why is the world silent? Why is the Christian community silent? Why is the interfaith community silent about this indescribable human tragedy?

Like the Bible, each religion's source of truth emphasizes that love, righteousness and justice are guiding principles for human beings. Yet, silence is offered instead of an interfaith clarion call for justice on behalf of our beloved Congolese sisters and brothers. Are we not our brothers' and sisters' keepers?

We must break the silence about the daily child deaths, rape of women and economic and human exploitation that is occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo and around the world.

Trinity United Church of Christ and the rest of the global "Breaking the Silence" community will participate in the Blood Coltan "Cell Out" Awareness Campaign, October 16 -22. While the challenges seem overwhelming, we can stop the maiming, rape and exploitation of children, families and communities. It's critical that even after this campaign we continue to nonviolently protest the Blood Coltan mining tragedy. By not using your cell phone every Wednesday from noon until 1:00 p.m. and from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. you can show your solidarity with those being exploited. I also encourage you to email and call members of Congress with a clear moral message: stop the exploitation, and protect the people of the Congo.

Silence is not golden when 45,000 people die every month and innocent youth are forced to be child soldiers. How can we as a nation and a faith community ignore these horrific injustices? Silence to wrongful death is not golden. Silence to exploitation of the poor is not golden. It is time to "Break the Silence." The sins of racism and oppression in the Congo and around the world must stop.

More calls for the UN to withdraw peacekeepers from Congo...

DR Congo calls on UN to withdraw peacekeepers

(AFP) – 1 day ago

UNITED NATIONS — Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday made a new call for UN peacekeepers to withdraw, despite warnings from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that armed groups remain a significant threat there.

DR Congo's international cooperation minister Raymond Tshibanda told the UN Security Council that his government want an "orderly, progressive withdrawal" of UN troops from the giant central African country, where millions are said to have died in conflict in the past two decades.

The resource-rich country is to hold a key presidential election in November, amid fears of unrest.
[...]

The rest of the article can be viewed here.

The things we have

Sometimes I really think that ignorance is bliss. It's better to be unaware than to know, and be responsible for the knowledge that I (could) have. If I don't know, I won't worry, won't think about or talk about it. 

I think at one time that had been my attitude about some things... Some things just seemed far enough removed from me, my family, friends, life - that it didn't really matter. To me. 

But that is irresponsible. That is neglecting my neighbors, my brothers and sisters. It's not right. Although it's easier, it is not right. 

It seems to be common for people to think: If someone has a phone which has certain components in it that were taken at the expense of others, at the cost of people's lives - ok. If someone wears a sweater that was made in a sweatshop by poor starving children. Or enslaved women - ok. 

A boy pans for gold in a river in Iga Barriere, northeastern Congo.

Because we don't think past what it is that we have, we just see our new toy. Not the expense with which it came. 

I don't need to know about it right? I mean, it's their lot, their fate, their choices which put them in those places anyway... Isn't it? 

This is something that we need to talk about. We need to be aware of what is happening to those around us... What our desires, obsessions, WANTS are doing to others around the world. We need to take responsibility for our own actions. My want of a new camera - who does that impact, and how? Do I have to buy Cannon? Is there another brand that can make a good camera, without using minerals that were taken from conflict areas? What about my cellphone, computer and mp3 player? 

"Although Congo's conflict stems from long-standing grievances, the trade in conflict minerals provides the primary fuel for the conflict," according to the Enough Project - Taken from the article which I believe everyone should read, IS YOUR CHRISTMAS GIFT FUELING WAR, by Tristan McConnell. http://www.npr.org/2010/12/16/132089765/is-your-christmas-gift-fueling-war

What does it really cost to get the latest computer you've been drooling over? The incredible cell phone that does exactly what you want? The mp3 player that I think I need?

What are the things that we have, our possessions, doing to contribute to the pain, suffering, torture and loss of live, of others? Who and what should we be focused on, instead of ourselves and the newest gadgets that we long to have? Not just at Christmas time (although it's a good time to start!), but throughout the year? 

As we quickly approach Christmas... What can I do to help someone else? The money that could be spent on gifts for me, what else could be done? Do I really need much more? And if I don't buy that mp3 player, could I be helping someone who is trapped in the conflict surrounding these sought-after minerals?