Things are really changing on this side. Some seems for better, others for worse; we’ll just have to see. We see more “muzungus” (white man) than we have in the past. That doesn’t mean things are really better though. We don’t know what they are really here for: business, recreation, NGO (non-government organization) work. Maybe they’re just cowboy journalists who are trying to go to the most dangerous places to fetch a story no one really wants to read. . .
As much as we have tried to keep up with what is going on in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the media has failed in reporting what is going on. Perhaps it’s not considered news anymore... The Congolese government which is infested with impunity and the soldiers who terrorize the people: evidently Paris Hilton is much more interesting. . . The news stories reported in America about the Congo are always old. News agencies will report on something that happened six months ago as if it happened this week. But, allow me to share some breaking news with you. . .
The city of Luebero (tentative launch pad of where a sister organization we planned on working with) was ambushed by the rebels. They killed several South African peacekeeping soldiers and severely damaged an American Red Cross compound. This happened the day we arrived in Goma.
Only a couple of weeks before, thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) were sent back to their villages. It was political ploy on behalf of the Congolese government to prove to UN (United Nations) that the war has ended.
“Go home,” they told the IDPs “the war is over.”
The truth is the war is still going on. These IDPs are returning to territory which has been overtaken by militia. They are walking right into the war… They have nowhere to go . . .
Over 95% of the IDP camps in the North Kivu have been shut-down by the Congolese government. This has affected hundreds of thousands of families.
Furthermore, there are rumors brewing that the Mai Mai (another militia group) is planning on attacking the city of Goma on DRC’s Independence Day, June 30. This is a group which is specifically known for their witchcraft. People say that they fight with nothing but paint on them and bullets do not kill them. We don’t know if this rumor is true, but in Africa (and in other places) it is best not neglecting rumors. I know that the power of Jesus is above all evil, and we are not worried.
There’s some news you probably won’t hear about for the next six months, even if you do follow African news…
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