We've arrived safe and sound in Goma for part 2 of our visit. We spent last night having dinner and saying goodbye to many new friends. While Bukavu captured our hearts we're excited to see how the journey unfolds from here. Before we share about our day we just wanted to pause and thank our dear friend Janny for being an amazing host, a brilliant colleague, and a wonderful friend.
The day started at 5:45am when we woke up early to head out and catch our ferry. It was not as chaotic as we had thought it would be and the $25 first class tickets were WELL worth it. It was a very nice seating area and the free breakfast didn't hurt either! The ride was about 6 hours long and the views as we sailed by were extraordinary. We've said it many times before but we just can't say enough about the beauty of this country.
Unfortunately, the water was choppy near the end of our trip and as Liz was sick at the back of the boat I was chatting with a young man named Janvier (January in French, which is when he was born). He shared with me about how horrible the security situation is now in the Congo. I told him a little about our mission and that is when he opened up to me. He shared that he had been on the run from the military for months now. They were trying to bribe him and he refused to pay. As a result they harass and stalk him and his family wherever he goes. He is never safe and is hoping to get to Kinshasa where their hold is minimal. But he has three children who were not even able to finish their schooling this year because of their erratic movements. His story is not uncommon and he is just one of hundreds of thousands that are living in fear on a daily basis. He told me that he was sharing his story so that I would share it with you. Janvier said that America is the leader and whatever America decides to do the rest of the world will follow suit. I hope we will hear his words and take them to heart.
We've settled in at Esther and Camille's. We can already tell that they are so wise and they are doing such great work. They've got a packed week planned for us, with back to back meetings. We are excited to see how the week unfolds as we know we are going to learn a lot. Hope is alive here.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Unique Perspectives
We've become friends with a group of South African pilots who fly for the UN. We've spent the past week chatting informally with them about their experiences flying in Sudan, Angola, Chad, Afghanistan, DRC. They agreed to be a part of our documentary, so last night we interviewed them after dinner. They had a unique perspective as Africans who have worked with the UN in so many conflict zones. They were candid, honest, and provided one heck of a controversial interview. We appreciate their honesty because we know that their views are shared by many others, including most ordinary Americans. As Jesse said when the night was over, "we just shot the beginning of our documentary!"
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The Untold Stories
So sorry we haven't been able to keep up posting like we had hoped! The internet has been down again and we have been extremely busy. We wanted to share what we experienced yesterday and are so glad that the internet has been more cooperative today.
Yesterday was a tough day. It started with Jesse not feeling well from the night before, and Mara was up early throwing up in the bathroom. Despite their nausea they were bound and determined to go with Liz and Janny to the parish in a small village about an hour from Bukavu. That village has been one of the hardest hit, both in terms of the recent conflict dating back to 1996, and also in terms of sexual violence. This is because it is close to the forest where the armed rebel groups hide, as well as the border with Rwanda. The contrast between the incredibly beautiful drive up and the violent realities the village has known is stark.
When we arrived we were guests of the catholic priest of the parish. Although the parish normally turned away any interviews and filming, he was very supportive of the work we've been doing. He said that he wanted us to see firsthand so the truth could be told. The parish provides a safe haven for women and men who have been sexually assaulted, as well as those who have witnessed it and other violence. They showed us the books with the handwritten names of hundreds of women who have come to them for help. The number from this tiny village in just one year was already at 656. In fact we were told by Michele a visiting Journalism professor from Italy over lunch, that it was becoming more and more difficult to find women that hadn't experienced some form of violence. In the afternoon a military officer we had spoken to shared a story we had already heard about the Interahamwe. They wrote a village and in their letter they demanded $1000.00 as well as seven virgins, or they would attack. This was even announced on the radio and became public knowledge. The international presence here on the ground did nothing. The population lives in constant fear and as was stated, "where are they going to even find virgins who had not been raped." Unfortunately these kinds of stories are all too common.
The lunch was one of the most unexpectedly insightful hours that we've spent here. The table consisted of Michele, the army officer, and several local priests who had been here throughout the war. They talked to us about some controversial dynamics: we covered ethnic and historical tensions, tensions between Rwanda and the Congo, mining interests, and the motivations of regional and international actors. They raised some significant questions and provided significant answers from their point of view. We intend to take what they discussed and continue to unearth more details. As we looked back over our notes and video footage, we started to see just how big the things they said potentially are. It's information we take seriously and plan to share more when we get home and can process the whole picture. As we left the lunch the parish priest said to us "You have the truth use it, don't let it go to waste like so many have before you."
Lastly we wanted to share with you Francine's story. Francine is a beautiful 18 year old Congolese woman pregnant with her first child. Unfortunately this child was not Francine's choice but is a child conceived by rape. Before we sat with Francine we thought we would meet a woman with a broken spirit. Instead we we were introduced to a young woman who was the embodiment of courage. As Janny put it, "The women of the Congo are resilient, they are made of steel". She shared that although she still does not feel safe, she was also confident that things would change. When we asked what gave her hope she said prayer, and that "yes I believe it will get better. It has to." Though the man who invaded her home tried to break her spirit she told us she has hope for the future, both hers and that of her unborn child. This is the reason we are here, to be the voice for the hundreds and thousands of Francine's whose stories are never told and suffer in silence, and for the countless others who voice their suffering and are ignored.
Yesterday was a tough day. It started with Jesse not feeling well from the night before, and Mara was up early throwing up in the bathroom. Despite their nausea they were bound and determined to go with Liz and Janny to the parish in a small village about an hour from Bukavu. That village has been one of the hardest hit, both in terms of the recent conflict dating back to 1996, and also in terms of sexual violence. This is because it is close to the forest where the armed rebel groups hide, as well as the border with Rwanda. The contrast between the incredibly beautiful drive up and the violent realities the village has known is stark.
When we arrived we were guests of the catholic priest of the parish. Although the parish normally turned away any interviews and filming, he was very supportive of the work we've been doing. He said that he wanted us to see firsthand so the truth could be told. The parish provides a safe haven for women and men who have been sexually assaulted, as well as those who have witnessed it and other violence. They showed us the books with the handwritten names of hundreds of women who have come to them for help. The number from this tiny village in just one year was already at 656. In fact we were told by Michele a visiting Journalism professor from Italy over lunch, that it was becoming more and more difficult to find women that hadn't experienced some form of violence. In the afternoon a military officer we had spoken to shared a story we had already heard about the Interahamwe. They wrote a village and in their letter they demanded $1000.00 as well as seven virgins, or they would attack. This was even announced on the radio and became public knowledge. The international presence here on the ground did nothing. The population lives in constant fear and as was stated, "where are they going to even find virgins who had not been raped." Unfortunately these kinds of stories are all too common.
The lunch was one of the most unexpectedly insightful hours that we've spent here. The table consisted of Michele, the army officer, and several local priests who had been here throughout the war. They talked to us about some controversial dynamics: we covered ethnic and historical tensions, tensions between Rwanda and the Congo, mining interests, and the motivations of regional and international actors. They raised some significant questions and provided significant answers from their point of view. We intend to take what they discussed and continue to unearth more details. As we looked back over our notes and video footage, we started to see just how big the things they said potentially are. It's information we take seriously and plan to share more when we get home and can process the whole picture. As we left the lunch the parish priest said to us "You have the truth use it, don't let it go to waste like so many have before you."
Lastly we wanted to share with you Francine's story. Francine is a beautiful 18 year old Congolese woman pregnant with her first child. Unfortunately this child was not Francine's choice but is a child conceived by rape. Before we sat with Francine we thought we would meet a woman with a broken spirit. Instead we we were introduced to a young woman who was the embodiment of courage. As Janny put it, "The women of the Congo are resilient, they are made of steel". She shared that although she still does not feel safe, she was also confident that things would change. When we asked what gave her hope she said prayer, and that "yes I believe it will get better. It has to." Though the man who invaded her home tried to break her spirit she told us she has hope for the future, both hers and that of her unborn child. This is the reason we are here, to be the voice for the hundreds and thousands of Francine's whose stories are never told and suffer in silence, and for the countless others who voice their suffering and are ignored.
Monday, July 4, 2011
The Adventure Continues...
So sorry we've been off the grid! The electricity has been out and basically put the internet on the fritz. Right now we are at a restaurant that has free wi-fi so that we could make sure to share with you all! It's been a really productive weekend. We have moved from our hotel to Janny's apartment overlooking Lake Kivu. We feel so blessed to have met her... she has introduced us to many stakeholders and has now opened up her home to us, as well. It's going to be an intense work week of interviews and filming. We will be meeting with activists, survivors of sexual violence, military representatives and a couple of other key players (more details to come). We ask for your continued prayers and/or positive thoughts as the days to come will be extraordinarily emotional and difficult.
Before we begin what is sure to be an intense week-- we have shared so many moments of laughter here as a team and we wanted to share a few with you.
There are young men who carry around huge yellow jugs and when Jesse asked what they were, Philippe (Mara's cousin) explained they were selling petrol (gas). They buy the gas and then sell it at a higher price when the gas stations are closed... They call them Gaddafis.
We came back to Janny's before heading to meet with some female Congolese activists and journalists to do some work. We entered the kitchen to find a live chicken sitting on the floor next to the world's smallest bananas (still on the branch). As we sat in the living room typing away there was a raucous coming from the kitchen and then, as Poe would say, "the raven cried no more." I guess we're having chicken for dinner?
Jesse went for a walk and met Bruno the mask seller. He keeps his masks displayed in a tree but his shop is down the road in a sewer. He wanted to show Jesse his wares but a UN truck was parked over the "entrance" (a.k.a. manhole) to his shop. Now who says the Congolese aren't entrepreneurial and resourceful people?!
The electricity and internet have been a bit spotty, but we will try to keep you as up to date as possible as the week progresses. As promised, we want to provide you with a few options to find more information on the DRC, its history and what fuels the current conflict.
Check out these websites:
www.enoughproject.org
www.vday.org
www.irc.org.
or search the New York times website and Jeffrey Gettleman for recent news.
For those of you who are looking for good summer reads and are interested in more detailed information, the following books are great.
King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hothschild
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters by Jason Stearns
or for a less "intellectual" read Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible.
Before we begin what is sure to be an intense week-- we have shared so many moments of laughter here as a team and we wanted to share a few with you.
There are young men who carry around huge yellow jugs and when Jesse asked what they were, Philippe (Mara's cousin) explained they were selling petrol (gas). They buy the gas and then sell it at a higher price when the gas stations are closed... They call them Gaddafis.
We came back to Janny's before heading to meet with some female Congolese activists and journalists to do some work. We entered the kitchen to find a live chicken sitting on the floor next to the world's smallest bananas (still on the branch). As we sat in the living room typing away there was a raucous coming from the kitchen and then, as Poe would say, "the raven cried no more." I guess we're having chicken for dinner?
Jesse went for a walk and met Bruno the mask seller. He keeps his masks displayed in a tree but his shop is down the road in a sewer. He wanted to show Jesse his wares but a UN truck was parked over the "entrance" (a.k.a. manhole) to his shop. Now who says the Congolese aren't entrepreneurial and resourceful people?!
The electricity and internet have been a bit spotty, but we will try to keep you as up to date as possible as the week progresses. As promised, we want to provide you with a few options to find more information on the DRC, its history and what fuels the current conflict.
Check out these websites:
www.enoughproject.org
www.vday.org
www.irc.org.
or search the New York times website and Jeffrey Gettleman for recent news.
For those of you who are looking for good summer reads and are interested in more detailed information, the following books are great.
King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hothschild
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters by Jason Stearns
or for a less "intellectual" read Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Bukavu - who knew?
Mara:
Last night, Janny was kind enough to invite us to join her and some NGO and businessman friends for a night out in Bukavu. It was the last thing we expected when we began our Congo adventure. The night started out at a local bar with Janny, her friend Vera and Vera's local IRC team. There was an incredible Congolese band, playing the music I grew up with! It was such a special moment to realize that I was in the DRC listening to live Congolese music, almost a homecoming of sorts and truly a "getting back in touch with your roots" moment.
Liz:
We then headed back to our hotel (because it's one of the best restaurants in town) for dinner. After our meal (where we met the head of the IRC GBV division, a safari and tour director, as well as a German man who's doing mining certification-- great connections that we intend to use) we headed to the home of Janny's friends who were Lebanese businessmen. The view from their incredible home by the lake was spectacular and I was able to take some amazing pictures of the city lights reflecting on the lake. We had a great time with them and later we were invited to join all the expats at a bar/club called Chez Victoria. We danced until the wee hours of the morning and were dropped off at home by a UN driver.
Both:
All in all we were amazed at what we saw at every turn. This is NOT the Bukavu the media and our research had told us about. The people here go out at night because they have the freedom here to enjoy life, and music, and dancing. And we're not talking about just the expat community. The city was alive with people crowding markets and homes. Bukavu is a thriving city with plenty of room for investment and for the savvy, business here is booming. Not just the bad kind. Yes, there is A LOT of darkness and exploitation and coltan smuggling and corruption. The violence concentrated in villages is a seemingly inhuman brutality. We don't seek to minimize it with this post. Our days to come will certainly be filled with things that are hard to see and hard to speak about. But, one of the goals of our project is and always has been to show that there is also LIFE here. There is a country that is ready for growth and peace and ripe for legitimate investment.
We ended our night sitting on a dock on Lake Kivu with a few South African pilots talking about the beauty that is the continent of Africa and the travesty that is its image throughout the world. People stay away from Africa because it's seen as this scary place filled with only violence and poverty. But, if you could step one foot on this magnificent continent and see it for what it is, just as it is... its raw beauty, its vibrant culture-- you could see beyond the corruption and the conflicts and the swollen bellies to see the real Africa. A place that even in the midst of hardship continues to breath life into this world. Millions of people call Africa home, call Bukavu home. This is the real Bukavu: laughter, love, friends, family, fun, LIFE... Who knew?
Last night, Janny was kind enough to invite us to join her and some NGO and businessman friends for a night out in Bukavu. It was the last thing we expected when we began our Congo adventure. The night started out at a local bar with Janny, her friend Vera and Vera's local IRC team. There was an incredible Congolese band, playing the music I grew up with! It was such a special moment to realize that I was in the DRC listening to live Congolese music, almost a homecoming of sorts and truly a "getting back in touch with your roots" moment.
Liz:
We then headed back to our hotel (because it's one of the best restaurants in town) for dinner. After our meal (where we met the head of the IRC GBV division, a safari and tour director, as well as a German man who's doing mining certification-- great connections that we intend to use) we headed to the home of Janny's friends who were Lebanese businessmen. The view from their incredible home by the lake was spectacular and I was able to take some amazing pictures of the city lights reflecting on the lake. We had a great time with them and later we were invited to join all the expats at a bar/club called Chez Victoria. We danced until the wee hours of the morning and were dropped off at home by a UN driver.
Both:
All in all we were amazed at what we saw at every turn. This is NOT the Bukavu the media and our research had told us about. The people here go out at night because they have the freedom here to enjoy life, and music, and dancing. And we're not talking about just the expat community. The city was alive with people crowding markets and homes. Bukavu is a thriving city with plenty of room for investment and for the savvy, business here is booming. Not just the bad kind. Yes, there is A LOT of darkness and exploitation and coltan smuggling and corruption. The violence concentrated in villages is a seemingly inhuman brutality. We don't seek to minimize it with this post. Our days to come will certainly be filled with things that are hard to see and hard to speak about. But, one of the goals of our project is and always has been to show that there is also LIFE here. There is a country that is ready for growth and peace and ripe for legitimate investment.
We ended our night sitting on a dock on Lake Kivu with a few South African pilots talking about the beauty that is the continent of Africa and the travesty that is its image throughout the world. People stay away from Africa because it's seen as this scary place filled with only violence and poverty. But, if you could step one foot on this magnificent continent and see it for what it is, just as it is... its raw beauty, its vibrant culture-- you could see beyond the corruption and the conflicts and the swollen bellies to see the real Africa. A place that even in the midst of hardship continues to breath life into this world. Millions of people call Africa home, call Bukavu home. This is the real Bukavu: laughter, love, friends, family, fun, LIFE... Who knew?
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Day 3: Bukavu
It's day three and only our first full day in Bukavu but we are already so amazed by how things have progressed. Two chance meetings have already begun to help our project take shape.
Last night we met Christine, the hotel manager's wife (we should pause here to say that we're staying at a Gorilla Safari camp that in the absence of tourists is now filled with humanitarian aid workers and mining industry folk). She also happens to be the President of Eve Ensler's City of Joy outside of Bukavu. We've been trying to connect with this organization since April and last night she came over to our table to say hello. Welcome to Congo!
We also spent this morning and part of the afternoon chatting with Janny (a mental health advisor working with John's Hopkins in conjunction with the IRC - International Rescue Committee). We need to pause here, yet again, to note that we've been trying to contact the IRC for months. We were literally picked up this morning and told that there was a woman who was willing to chat with us about her work here. The meeting could not have been more successful in helping us achieve our goals.
As we sat in Janny's apartment overlooking beautiful Lake Kivu (which is strangely reminiscent of Lake Cuomo in Italy!) we talked for hours about the realities of the conflict, the violence, the stakeholders, the failures of intervention and possible ways forward. Janny spoke honestly and openly speaking outside of her official capacity as a representative of the IRC with us, pushing the conversation far beyond the official rhetoric. It turned into a real dialogue about her observations of the sexual violence and its effect on cultural and state structures.
We plunged into the depths of the violence and the the broader conflict fueling it. We also began to dissect the failure of both the UN missions and massive NGO presence to bring an end to the violence (we'll follow up with a longer post giving our thoughts on the peacekeeping mission etc. and also try to convince Janny herself to write a guest post). While Janny said many things we had not heard or thought of before, her one word response reenforced our own thoughts on what continues to fuel the violence, "greed". She told us to "look around, the opulence is everywhere". And she's right there are multimillion dollar homes intermixed with hovels at every corner.
When we came back to the hotel to debrief and film, we sat down with a sheet of paper and started to map out the complex web that is the conflict in the DRC. We came in thinking we were armed with all of this knowledge and had all this research under our belts. But now we feel like investigative journalists in search of the truth, the full story. Because of the nature of our project we have a freedom not enjoyed by many people working in the NGO/UN community. The freedom to peel away and uncover the real forces at work here.
As the day winds down we wanted to share a final thought sent to us today by a dear friend. He said, "You are on a great journey of not only adventure, but of the heart and human spirit." We couldn't have said it better ourselves!
Last night we met Christine, the hotel manager's wife (we should pause here to say that we're staying at a Gorilla Safari camp that in the absence of tourists is now filled with humanitarian aid workers and mining industry folk). She also happens to be the President of Eve Ensler's City of Joy outside of Bukavu. We've been trying to connect with this organization since April and last night she came over to our table to say hello. Welcome to Congo!
We also spent this morning and part of the afternoon chatting with Janny (a mental health advisor working with John's Hopkins in conjunction with the IRC - International Rescue Committee). We need to pause here, yet again, to note that we've been trying to contact the IRC for months. We were literally picked up this morning and told that there was a woman who was willing to chat with us about her work here. The meeting could not have been more successful in helping us achieve our goals.
As we sat in Janny's apartment overlooking beautiful Lake Kivu (which is strangely reminiscent of Lake Cuomo in Italy!) we talked for hours about the realities of the conflict, the violence, the stakeholders, the failures of intervention and possible ways forward. Janny spoke honestly and openly speaking outside of her official capacity as a representative of the IRC with us, pushing the conversation far beyond the official rhetoric. It turned into a real dialogue about her observations of the sexual violence and its effect on cultural and state structures.
We plunged into the depths of the violence and the the broader conflict fueling it. We also began to dissect the failure of both the UN missions and massive NGO presence to bring an end to the violence (we'll follow up with a longer post giving our thoughts on the peacekeeping mission etc. and also try to convince Janny herself to write a guest post). While Janny said many things we had not heard or thought of before, her one word response reenforced our own thoughts on what continues to fuel the violence, "greed". She told us to "look around, the opulence is everywhere". And she's right there are multimillion dollar homes intermixed with hovels at every corner.
When we came back to the hotel to debrief and film, we sat down with a sheet of paper and started to map out the complex web that is the conflict in the DRC. We came in thinking we were armed with all of this knowledge and had all this research under our belts. But now we feel like investigative journalists in search of the truth, the full story. Because of the nature of our project we have a freedom not enjoyed by many people working in the NGO/UN community. The freedom to peel away and uncover the real forces at work here.
As the day winds down we wanted to share a final thought sent to us today by a dear friend. He said, "You are on a great journey of not only adventure, but of the heart and human spirit." We couldn't have said it better ourselves!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)