An artwork of her Nyota Ndogo's Cover Album - Mpenzi

Born in 1981 in the Kenyan Coastal province of Mombasa, Nyota Ndogo has come from a very humble background. She dropped out of school at a young age and for quite some time, worked as a house help until she was discovered by Andrew Burchell as a talented singer.

Now she has 3 cd's released under her name, CHEREKO, NATOKA MBALI NA WEWE and MPENZI. She has also featured on 3 international compilations WORLD 2003, THE ROUGH GUIDE TO KENYA and OFF THE BEATEN TRACK. She is also holder of two Kenya Kisima Music Awards: Best Taraab Singer 2003 and Best Female Singer 2005.

Her songs which are mostly in Kiswahili with a few in English are sang in the Taarab genre heard mostly in the East African Coast as well as in Kapuka and Genge, music genres heard mainly within the Kenyan mainland.

So how does one with such a background learn to harness the internet to her advantage as a growing Kenyan based Artist? This is the question that comes to mind when you visit her blog.

In it, she shares everything about herself as an artist from a personal perspective as opposed to the edited media stories and information that one will find in the entertainment section of a newspaper or magazine.

From music videos of her songs to lyrics to photos of her performing with fellow artists and fans, one can feel a more intimate connection with Nyota Ndogo through her blog.

Blogging has not been an easy experience for her as she confessed in her blog post on 27th July, 2006 at 1.43pm

wow I’d nearly given up with the blog as it was proving difficult to get a new post up .it turned out to be me using an incompatible browser. So am back with good old internet explorer. If this works expect some pix up soon so much has happend.x

Looking at her current blog posts, one can indeed see that Nyota has known quite well how to use the blogging tool. This unfortunately cannot be said of many other East African Artists as I could not find any other artist blog.

It seems, one need not be learned to know how to blog, it is after all, a tool.

Refugees International, a Washington based advocacy organization specialized on refugee issues, released a report in March on the situation in the Kivus. Their conclusions about the joint RDF-FARDC military operation against the FDLR were:

The attempted military solution to the FDLR appears far from having succeeded in crippling the rebel group, despite the recent disarmament of over 400 combatants by MONUC. Instead, the operations led to serious consequences for the Congolese in North and South Kivu, including significant new displacements.

The blog Stop the War in North Kivu commented on the report:

Not many organizations say publicly that the joint military operation has not been a success. I agree 100% with their analysis.

Refugees International also makes the point on the importance of dialogue as the only path for a durable solution to the FDLR presence in the DRC. Eurac expressed the same opinion a few weeks ago. Military solutions to political problems are, in most of the cases, a recipe for disaster.

The FDLR is a militia formed by the defeated Hutu refugees in the DR Congo, that allegedly counts among its ranks some members of the Interahamwe that carried out the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. According to the Wikipedia, during the 1998-2003 war it received extensive backing from the Congolese government who used the FDLR as a proxy force against the foreign armies operating in the country, in particular the Rwandan Patriotic Army and Rwanda-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy. Following several days of talks with Congolese government representatives held in Rome, in March 2005 the FDLR announced that they were abandoning their armed struggle and returning to Rwanda as a political party. However, the Rwandan government stated that any returning genocidaires would face justice, most probably through the gacaca court system.

Mattew Hugo of the blog Why won't they just go home questions Rwanda's position regarding the FDLR:

Historically, the Rwandan government has sought to implicate the entirety of the FDLR in the genocide. In 2004, the International Crisis Group estimated that the number of genocidaires amongst the rebels was roughly ten percent, with the vast majority having been small children in 1994. However in 2008, the Rwandan government provided the Congolese government with a list of suspected FDLR genocidaires containing 6,974 names, coincidentally the common estimate for the total number of rebels.

Stop the War in North Kivu quotes an article written by Nicolás Dorronsoro for the IECAH (Instituto de Estudios sobre Conflictos y Accion Humanitaria) [Es], that explains how political negotiation with the FDLR is taboo in Rwanda (translation from Spanish by Stop the War in North Kivu):

Desde que la ofensiva diplomática de los Estados Unidos y el Reino Unido propiciara el acercamiento entre la RDC y Ruanda, el único discurso con respecto al FDLR ha sido el del abandono inmediato de las armas y la completa derrota militar. Nadie osa hablar de la posibilidad de una negociación, por limitada que sea, con este grupo. Esto resulta sorprendente si tenemos en cuenta que el país al que los integrantes del FDLR aspiran a volver adolece de un extraordinario déficit democrático.

El pasado 19 de marzo, la experta norteamericana Ruth Wedgwood afirmaba ante el Comité de Derechos Humanos de Naciones Unidas que, a día de hoy, formar un partido político en Ruanda parece virtualmente imposible. Wedgwood hizo una reflexión interesante: recordó que las facciones hutu responsables del genocidio habían sido capaces de fomentar la masacre precisamente porque habían alimentado el miedo de que la población hutu sería oprimida y marginada. Lamentablemente, y con independencia de su indudable desarrollo económico, ese temido escenario se asemeja a la realidad actual de Ruanda, según muchos expertos. Filip Reyntjens, catedrático de la universidad de Amberes y uno de los mayores expertos en la región de los Grandes Lagos, afirmaba recientemente que no sólo las últimas elecciones locales ruandesas fueron manipuladas, sino incluso el informe mismo de los observadores electorales de la UE, que las consideró como válidas. Dado este déficit democrático, organizaciones como el European Network for Central Africa (EURAC), han abogado por una negociación política con el FDLR. Sin embargo, la cuestión continúa siendo tabú.

Congolese diaspora blogger Colored Opinions, quoted a former Force Commander of MONUC (UN peacekeeping in the DRC) that was also advocating for a political solution to the FDLR problem:

Former MONUC Force Commander, General Patrick Cammaert, was interviewed recently on dutch tv concerning the war in Congo. He said: “The problems have to be solved politicallly. That is true also concerning the genocidal hutus. President Kagame is strongly (involved) in that. The president of Rwanda sees the genocide-hutus as a threat to his country, I don't agree with that, I don't think that those genocide-hutus represent a threat to his country at all […]”

A young FDLR combatant wishing to demobilize speaking with Amani from South Kivu (picture by Steve Hege)

Matthew Hugo, who has worked in the Great Lakes region for a few years, illustrates the taboo that the FDLR issue is in Rwanda and the difficulties of the return and reintegration programs of FDLR combattants, with the story of former FDLR General Seraphin Bizimungu, known as Amani Amahoro, that he followed first-hand:

I first met Gen. Amani while I was conducting research on Rwandan refugees in 2005. He was the widely celebrated leader of an internal mutiny within the FDLR. Just five months prior, the FDLR’s political leadership surprisingly declared that they would unilaterally disarm and return en masse to Rwanda.

[…]
Amani emerged with the support of the Congolese government, and promised to lead the return movement despite the lack of security guarantees. In a press conference, he accused the group’s leadership of sabotaging the historic opportunity to remove themselves from the military equation of the region. The pretext of the rebel threat is what permitted the Rwandan government to continue to wage a proxy war against the Congo according to him.

By all accounts, including the Rwandan government itself, Amani was not suspected of any participation in the genocide and was widely considered a political moderate. During an interview I had with him, he claimed that fighting non-violently for political opening from within Rwanda was the only path to truly sustainable peace for the region.

[…] in December [2005] Amani fulfilled his promise and returned to Rwanda with over 150 loyal soldiers, one of the largest groups of ex-combatants since the inception of the UN’s demobilization and repatriation program (DDRRR). […]

Following his departure, Gen. Amani was rapidly transformed into the poster child of the UN’s sensitization efforts to promote future desertion amongst the FDLR. He was featured prominently in numerous pamphlets distributed to rebels throughout remote mountains and jungles as the quintessential example of how warmly Rwanda welcomed its brethren who chose to return home.

[…]
So compelling was Amani’s message that when I began working with DDRRR, I frequently put FDLR combatants in touch with him directly by Satellite phone from isolated areas of the Congolese jungle. His personal testimony was often enough to put to rest their fears of reprisals and incarcerations in Rwanda which were widely shared amongst the young rebels. Amani always sounded quite eager to respond to these calls and he often reiterated to the FDLR that real political change could only be achieved from within Rwanda.

And so compelling was Amani's message that, according to Matthew Hugo, Amani was featured in numerous DDRRR pamphlets distributed to rebels throughout remote mountains and jungles “as the quintessential example of how warmly Rwanda welcomed its brethren who chose to return home” and became “the poster child of the UN’s sensitization efforts to promote future desertion amongst the FDLR”. However, and in spite of the good example Amani set, genocide charges were brought against him in late 2008 and he was then summoned before the traditional Gacaca courts conducted by village elders. On January 22nd, two days after the Rwandan army began its joint military operations against the FDLR in the eastern Congo, the Gacaca elders condemned Amani to life in prison.

Matthew Hugo concludes his story expressing frustration at the seemingly permanent stalemate on the FDLR issue:

Thanks to this strategy of associating all political opposition with the genocide, the RPF’s Ugandan clique has managed to systematically tighten their stranglehold over power in Kigali. Not only did informal EU electoral observer reports suggest that they might have won as much as 98% of the vote in recent local elections, but even the U.S.’s legal expert on the UN Human Rights Committee stated that it is “virtually impossible to set up a political party in Rwanda“.

Nevertheless, despite resounding support for peace processes with the ruthless rebel groups in the region like the LRA and the FNL, the mere notion of political dialogue between Rwanda and the FDLR remains utterly inconceivable.

The blog Mo’dernity, Mo’problems recently commented on an article written by the director of Human Rights Watch on the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide:

In memory of the Rwanda genocide, Ken Roth keeps up the quality of Human Rights Watch Rwanda analysis after Allison Des Forge’s passing and writes:

[…] “The best way to prevent another genocide is to insist that Kagame stop manipulating the last one”.

As memories of the genocide turn 15, it seems like Rwanda is facing a tumultuous media anniversary. Recent coverage of the anniversary have attacked the ways in which the current Rwandan administration abuses the genocide as a form of political repression and a justification of warmongering.

le blog aboumashimango [Fr], a Rwandese diaspora blogger, calls for an end to civil and political rights violations in Rwanda :

Le génocide des Tutsi et massacres des Hutus démocrates (opposants politiques, défenseurs des droits de l'homme, journalistes… et populations civiles innocentes) de 1994 trouvent leur racines dans l'histoire politico-ethnique du pays, la fracture sociale, l'angoisse et la terreur, ainsi que la mauvaise gestion politique de la question ethnique. A cela s'ajoute l'absence de l'espace démocratique et de la culture des droits de l'homme.

[…] En ces moments où nous commémorons le 15ème anniversaire de Génocide des Tutsi et massacres des Hutus démocrates, j'appelle à la conscience de la Communauté internationale de faire preuve de courage pour mettre fin à des situations des violations flagrantes des droits civils et politiques que connaît le Rwanda, notamment le droit d'avoir une justice équitable…

Rwandan blogger Negrita's Chronicles asked her readers to join the nation-wide candlelight vigil for the victims through her blog:

It has been 15 years since the Genocide forever changed my home and my people.

The world stood silent as cries for help went unheeded.

Please join us in lighting a candle in memory of those whose lives were taken and in hope for a future of peace, justice, and true reconciliation.

In succesive posts, Negrita posted a video for the campaign Candles for Rwanda, and the song ‘Never Again' written and recorded in commemoration of the Genocide. The song was composed by Rwanda's gospel singer Jean Paul Samputu in Kinyanrwanda, but its choruses are sung in different languages (English, French, Swahili, Kirundi and Kiganda) by various popular regional musicians.

Pictures of children victims of genocide at the Kigali Memorial Center (Photo by Elia Varela Serra)

Martin Leach, the head of the DFID (British Department for International Development) in Rwanda attended the ceremonies in Nyanza, which he describes in his blog:

Hundreds of people trudged up the long hill to Nyanza, many of them wearing something purple, a neckscarf, a wrap, even a purple wristband. The colour purple is the colour of mourning in Rwanda and yesterday, 7th April, was the 15th Anniversary of the Genocide. At the top of the hill I joined the large crowd at the Commemoration Ceremony. Wedged between two ambassadors, I heard heart breaking accounts from survivors of the massacre which took place on the site where we were seated, with no one to protect them against the brutal attacks of the militia.

But it was the young people who moved me most: girls dressed in purple and white reciting poems in Kinyarwandan about the need to take courage for the future in spite of the sorrow and grief, and a youth choir with ‘Never Again' emblazoned on their T-shirts and headbands, singing with emotion about the importance of never forgetting the genocide. And it was emotional. Even the Government Ministers were shedding tears, remembering their experiences and lost loved ones. I can't imagine it - one million people killed in 100 days: as the Lady Mayor of Kigali said ‘an unspeakable evil' had gripped the country.

Michael Abramowitz of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum was in Kigali for the ceremonies. In the blog World is Witness, Abramovitz recounts the testimony of a genocide survivor called Venuste that moved the audience with his story during the ceremony:

Venuste, who looked to be in his 50s or 60s, with a dignified bearing, proceeded to tell the hushed crowd how his family and neighbors decided to take refuge at the nearby L’Ecole Technique Officielle, thinking that might be a safe refuge because of the small contingent of Belgian United Nations soldiers stationed there. But four days later, to their great shock, the small U.N. force departed, telling those gathered on the school grounds that “gendarmes” would rescue them. The U.N. soldiers ignored their desperate pleas not to leave them at the mercy of a menacing crowd of government soldiers and armed militia that surrounded them outside the gates of the school.
After the departure of the last U.N. soldier, Venuste and some 5,000 others who were gathered on the school grounds were forced to walk a jeering gauntlet of Hutu militiamen, soldiers and civilians wielding machetes, guns and other weapons. Some of those who survived described it as a “death walk.” Venuste lost his right arm, hacked off by one of the tormentors. The walkers came to this unremarkable hill, where they were encircled by a gang of killers and set upon with grenades, machetes and clubs. Within a few hours, Venuste said, “We were lying in pools of blood.”

Of the 5,000 or so who sought refuge from the U.N. near here, roughly 100 survived, according to Venuste. He lived only because he laid still under dead bodies, overlooked by the killers searching the carnage for signs of life.

Impressed by the economic development of Rwanda, Abramowitz sees no traces of the atrocities experienced 15 years ago:

As I first-time visitor to Rwanda, it’s hard not to be mystified by the mismatch between the ferocious events of just 15 years ago and apparent calm and prosperity in Rwanda, which aspires to be the hub of an economically vibrant East Africa. As we drove out of town to one of the churches where you can still see the skulls and belongings of murdered Tutsi, we passed by workers digging up ditches on the side of the road to lay down new fiber optic lines. A newcomer thinks: How can this beautiful country, routinely described by Africa hands as one of the better functioning countries on the continent, have experienced such savagery?

Ugandan fishermen pulling bodies out of Lake Victoria that had traveled hundreds of miles by river from Rwanda (Photo by Dave Blumenkrantz, used under a Creative Commons license)

Colette Braeckman [Fr], a Belgian journalist and author of several books about Central Africa, was also present at the anniversary ceremony in Kigali of which she writes:

Depuis la foule amassée devant le « jardin de la mémoire » et le monument consacré au génocide, des cris jaillissent, perturbent les discours officiels. A tout moment, des corps convulsés ou immobilisés par les syncopes sont emportés par des ambulances. Lorsque Venuste Kasirika s’empare du micro et raconte son calvaire, son récit est ponctué par les sanglots qui secouent l’auditoire.

Walking around modern-day Kigali, Braeckman makes a similar observation as Abramowitz about the disconnect with the horrible past:

Dans cette cité moderne, ambitieuse, dont les quartiers populaires ont été rasés et les habitants transplantés plus loin, au milieu de ces immeubles abritant des banques, des commerces et des bureaux, au vu de ces parterres taillés au ciseau et de ces espaces verts qui ressemblent à des jardins anglais, comment croire que, voici quinze ans, les bennes de la voirie ramassaient les cadavres à la pelle et les déversaient devant l’hôpital, comme des tas d’immondices ? Au vu de ces gens bien habillés, portant tous des chaussures de ville (les nu pieds sont interdits) comment se souvenir de ces tueurs au regard halluciné, ivres de bière, de chanvre et de haine, ceints d’amulettes, qui brandissaient fusils et longues machettes et traquaient, comme du gibier, leurs voisins tutsis débusqués dans les faux plafonds, les fossés et les fourrés de haies vives ?

Yves Zihindula [Fr], a Congolese blogger based in Goma, remembers the genocide as seen from the other side of the border:

Voici 15 ans jour pour jour, que des centaines de milliers de gens (réfugiés) se sont déversés en République démocratique du Congo. Cette date me rappelle les images abominables des femmes et enfants affaiblis par la faim dans les rues de Goma. Je me souviens avoir vu des cadavres d’homme dans le lac Kivu, jetés depuis la partie rwandaise du lac et emmener par la vague vers les bords du côté congolais. J’ai vu à l’époque des camions à benne transporter des corps humains et déposer dans des fosses communes.

Des souvenirs pas du tout bons. Ça me fait toujours bizarre de réaliser cette tragédie. Des humains s’entretuer. Quand bien même chez les animaux, ces genre des situations arrivent rarement. J’ose espérer que ça ne se répétera plus jamais et que l’Afrique entière (pourquoi pas le monde entier) en a tiré les leçons.

Cell phones are currently being used for health services ranging from HIV/AIDS education to reminding people to get vaccinations. Last week the Rockefeller Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, and the Vodafone Foundation said that they will be encouraging such projects through the formation of the Mobile Health Alliance (or mHealth Alliance for short). The alliance, announced at the Mobile World Congress, will facilitate projects that use mobile technology for health purposes and work with public and private groups to further these initiatives. The plan is to leverage the widespread use of mobile phones in developing countries – 64 percent of cell phone users are in the developing world.

Erik Hersman, blogging on White African, discusses how mobile health services are all the rage now among foundations and non-profits, while the Social Justice Blog applauds the move, saying:

“This is the kind of corporate social responsibility that's great to see — technology answering a pressing social need…mHealth Alliance uses the technology to provide virtual doctors to those living in rural areas, particularly in India, Uganda and South Africa.”

The mHealth Alliance also released a report at the conference called mHealth for Development, which surveys programs in developing countries that are using mobile technology to promote public health. The report examines 51 programs that are underway or will be implemented in the near future in 26 countries, and shows that these programs are more prevalent in India, South Africa, Uganda, Peru, and Rwanda. 3G Doctor Blog lists all 51 projects and elaborates on the report:

“I’m posting this from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona at the launch of a report that attempts to define mHealth; outlines the potential for mobile phones to improve health in the developing world; identifies building blocks for successful, sustainable and scalable mHealth programs; demonstrates the incentives for multiple players in the ‘mHealth value chain’…it also issues a call for action to create an independent global body to encourage multi-sector and pan-regional collaboration to leverage the transformational power of mobile networks and devices to improve healthcare delivery throughout the developing world.”

The report highlights projects such as Project Masiluleke (or Project M) in South Africa, a SMS-based service that promotes an AIDS hotline and provides HIV/AIDS education. The SIMpill project is another program in South Africa; it uses a sensor-equipped pill bottle with a SIM card to advise healthcare workers if their patients aren't taking their tuberculosis medicine. The percentage of people keeping up with their medicine rose from 22 percent to 90 percent thanks to SIMpill, which is also being used in places such as Thailand. Another project called Cell-PREVEN has been launched in Peru. Mahmud Hussein describes the project on his site:

“Investments in mobile health initiatives such as the one undertaken recently in Peru called the Cell-Preven project should be made, in which a mobile health team, consisting of a small group of trained health professional and workers are dispatched to select communities. People there can get check-ups, on the spot screening for diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, treatment of sexually transmitted infections as well as medical care for female sex workers. The teams are connected through satellite communications or internet/mobile phones (where available) to doctors in other areas, where information can be shared between the two teams and further assistance be given in real-time.”

Nick Hunn, blogging on Creative Connectivity, welcomes the mHealth report, saying that it shows the different ways in which mobile technology can be helpful.

“That’s why the ‘Doctor in your Pocket' report is so welcome. It highlights the fact that there’s no one model that has to be followed. Each of the countries put forward as examples have very different dynamics and customer sets. In one the major user base is young men. In another it’s mothers. In all cases the users like the service and find it beneficial.”

Despite all this promise, some people remain cautious about mobile technology's potential to improve healthcare services. A comment on a post about the mHealth Alliance points out that this technology still can't replace the experience of being treated by a real live health practitioner. Arun Pal Singh says:

“Medical care is often incomplete without physical contact between doctor and patient. While it may seem to be slightly beneficial to use technology, developing countries would be most benefited by producing their own doctors and paramedics.

Nothing beats education.”

Photo of Mobile Phone Up Close by samantha celera on Flickr.

In this era where a man of African descent has secured the throne of the most powerful nation of the world, a tragedy of enormous proportions continues to be played out in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is indeed easier to sell a “message of hope” in political change to cure what ails us… than to “commit to action” so as to change a situation of recurring despair and destruction.

At the Untold Stories blog from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Michael Kavanagh writes from Goma:

There are now more than one million people who have fled their homes in North Kivu, and very few are receiving any humanitarian aid. Before last week's fighting, most were getting by through the generosity of neighbors who hosted the displaced in their homes and yards and farms. Now those host families are displaced, too. People are fleeing into forests, to churches, to schools […]

Villagers of Kibati fleeing towards Goma after fighting in the area. Photo by Julien Harneis

Last Friday, November 7th, regional African leaders meeting at a United Nations-backed summit in Nairobi called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern DRC, and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor so that the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the recent crisis can get the assistance they need. The summit, hosted by the African Union (AU), brought together DRC President Joseph Kabila and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, which borders North Kivu, as well as the leaders of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and South Africa.

Already on October 29th a ceasefire was announced unilaterally by the CNDP, the rebel force led by Laurent Nkunda. However, even as the summit was taking place, there were reports of heavy clashes between FARDC (the Congolese army) and CNDP in a number of rural areas including Kibati, about 9km north of Goma, leading to further displacements. Dawn Hurley, an American Expat in Goma, comments on the situation:

Nkunda claims that he has not broken his self-proclaimed cease-fire and that he has merely fought off attacks from the government. But this distinction is hard to understand at best. Nkunda's rebels have taken two towns in the North, forcing the population to flee further. They have also retaken the town of Kiwanja. The town of Kiwanja was under Nkunda's control until Tuesday when another rebel group allied with the government retook the town in a surprising show of power. This lead to bitter fighting between the two groups, and eventually Nkunda's rebels reclaimed the town. However there are wide spread reports that many civilians were killed by Nkunda's forces as they reclaimed the town, apparently in a retaliatory fashion.

Meanwhile, a preliminary fact-finding mission from MONUC visited Kiwanja, north of the town of Rutshuru, after receiving reports that several civilians were killed there during the fighting including a Congolese journalist, Alfred Nzonzo Bitwahiki who worked for the community radio Ushikira (Racou). Colette Braeckman, a Belgian journalist and author of several books on Central Africa, wonders:

Des civils massacrés pratiquement sous les yeux de Casques bleus impuissants ou indifférents: Kiwanja sera-t-il un Srebrenica congolais ?

In order to document what is happening right now on the ground, on Friday the Ushahidi has deployed its software to the DRC after successfully using it during January's post-electoral violence in Kenya and in May during the xenophobic attacks on immigrants in South Africa. Ushahidi, that means “witness” in Swahili, is a tool that allowes anyone to submit crisis information through text messaging using a mobile phone, email or web form, and to visualize it on a map or timeline. The phone number to send the SMS reports to is +243992592111 and the site to view the reports is http://DRC.ushahidi.com.

One of the incident reports that can already be found on the DRC Ushahidi page refers to the killing of a local journalist in the Kiwanja area:

One of our facilitators for community radio (Ushirika) was killed in Rutshuru.

The Kiwanja Nehemiah Committee president has fled, the parish is more insecure.

We have had some contact with Kibirizi, but phone contact there is difficult. I'm in permanent contact with the Nehemiah Committee in Kiwanja and Rutshuru. Our superviser has been visited three times in a row by uniformed men in his house in Kiwanja.

For more reports from the ground, see this blog post by aid workers from the International Rescue Committee in North Kivu, or this diary of another aid worker in the area at the Alertnet blog.

A few days ago, the BBC's Africa Have your say asked its audience “Why can't DRC keep the peace?”. Here's a small selection of the answers given by Congolese readers:

Joseph, from Goma:

The whole problem stems from the DRC government in the 1990's not fulfilling their promise to hunt down the killers during the Rwandan Genocide. They promised Rwanda they would hunt down and kill those Hutu's who fled into Congo that took part in the genocide and they never did. Rwanda and the rebels were forced to take matters into their own hands because of the poor leadership in Congo which backtracked on their promise. I love my country but our leadership is hopeless.

Davis Tara, from Kinshasa:

DRC can have peace only when her leaders develops political will to end war. It seems kabila is enjoying to have insecurity in that part of his country so as to scare off polical opponents.

Dr Paul Kabasele, a Congolese in London:

The international community has been risponsible for the Hutus crossing the borders after the genocide, why shouldn't the same community sort out this mess?

Michelle F. of the Stop Genocide blog also has her say on how to keep the peace in the DRC:

If some degree of security can be established in the Eastern DRC, it will not be sustained without serious reforms to the Congolese military. The FARDC, beyond being under-resourced and generally incompetent, is responsible for some of the worst abuses committed against Congolese civilians, including enthusiastic participation in the brutal epidemic of rape that has become a hallmark of the conflict.

Speaking of the much-publicised problem of rape in Congo, Michael Kavanagh of the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting things that journalists and activists write about it “a lot more than they write about the war”. And he adds:

The problem with much of the reporting on sexual violence in Congo - my own included, sometimes - is that it lacks context, often because the context is so complicated that journalists and editors decide to gloss over it.

But it needs to be said over and over: rape in Congo is a direct result of the conflict. Rape cases skyrocket after fighting and near frontlines; when fighting dies down so do the number of rapes. Rape is an epidemic born from violence, not an endemic part of Congolese society. The only way to “Stop Rape” is to end the war. It can only happen in that order.

Dawn Hurley shares this anecdote:

As I was walking around Goma I talked with young one man, who perhaps best summarized the mood of Goma. I asked if he was scared.

He replied “Fear is a luxury for the rich.” If you are poor, what does it matter if you are afraid? There is nothing you can do about it. You can't run away, you can't change anything. You just keep on living. What is the point of being afraid?”

For a comprehensive list of background briefings and policy recommendations on the DRC, as well as ideas for action, see the Individual Responsibility to Protect blog.

The situation in Goma:

The situation is degrading fast. There has been a lot of shooting in town until about 40 minutes ago. Since then, there is silence. You could hear a pin drop. Rumours are rife, but there are some confirmed reports of CNDP rebels on the outskirts of town. MONUC is evacuating their staff to Rwanda.

The Congolese army has totally given up:

It’s total chaos in Goma. I am being told, through various phone calls and text messages, that the army have now laid down their weapons at Kibumba, 12 miles north of Goma, and are fleeing the rebels. In other words they have totally given up.
Some of the soldiers are running/driving/zooming on motorbikes through town towards the west, Sake, and they are going past my house.
The governor of North Kivu has apparently also left town.
Now there is only the UN peacekeeping forces stopping Nkunda’s rebels from taking Goma.
There is lots and lots of speculation right now - and panic. I will keep you posted.
I just got back from the Ranger camp and was about to work with Innocent to report that we have found 3 more Rangers - which of course is fantastic news. One was severely beaten by the military and getting medical treatment, and the other 2 are exhausted - but at least we found them.

Jean Claude and his colleagues in Mount Thsiaberimu:

Hello this is Jean Claude. At the moment we are safe at Mount Thsiaberimu but we are very concerned about the security situation at Goma.
I am at Kyondo at the moment and rebels have started to walk around. I have asked all staff to be very careful.
This morning I spoke to my colleague Henry who is in Goma. He had an ok night but there is fighting between the rebels and the Congolese army at Kibumba, just 30km from Goma. Gorilla Organization staff are staying in their homes for now but are keeping a very close eye on situation and an evacuation plan is in place should they need it.
Some Gorilla Organization partners are based in Rutshuru (between Goma and Mt Tshiaberimu) which is now under control of the Nkunda’s rebels. We had contact with staff there yesterday but today we have lost contact. We think they may have fled towards Uganda for safety.

Readers reactions to Jean's post:

Christine C., on 29 Oct 2008
Jean Claude — my thoughts and prayers are with all of you…I know it is not much, but I suppose it is the best any of us can do from so far away. I hope to God that those who have the power, come to Congo’s aid very soon…It is horrifying to think about what the rebels have managed so far.
Virginia, on 29 Oct 2008
Jean Claude, I am very sorry to hear about this horrendous news. Please stay safe. I will be in Bukavu in 2 weeks time. Are you coming south?
Peter, on 29 Oct 2008
I have worked in Goma and East Kivu from 1994-1999 and know the region and its people well.
I am sorry you all had to go through this pain of civil war and unrest once again…!
Stay safe!
Annie, on 29 Oct 2008
Yes…..please stay safe……this is just terrible for all of you! I don’t want anything happening to any of you! You have all worked so hard!

The fighting in Rumangabo, a military base north of Goma:

“Fighting at Rumangabo started at 0400 today between the rebels of Laurent Nkunda and the army. It has now totally engulfed the park station and our Rangers have been forced to flee into the forests for their lives. The rebels now are the only occupants of the park station at Rumangabo. This has never happened before. This is a serious time. We need to get our 50+ Rangers back to safety in Goma, 45km south of Rumangabo. The main road is blocked because of the fighting so they are walking through the forests of the park south, to Kibumba, about 20km away, where we aim to pick them up in trucks. We are trying to maintain phone contact but they don’t have much battery life in their phones”.
Emmanuel has made an appeal on Gorilla.cd and any donations made here will go directly to support these rangers during these difficult times. I’ve spoken to some friends on the ground who say that the situation is extremely bad.

Here is a video account of the situation in Rumangabo:

I am back in Goma and to be honest too tired to explain our day in Rumangabo.
So I will let Balemba do the talking, in this video I filmed this morning

Viewers are reacting to the video:



lisah Says: 9
Oct
2008


I am speechless as well. Lisa

jean-claude S (France) Says: 9
Oct
2008


Balemba. I come to greet your courage and that which filmed these images. You make us live the war directly … and we are, even by far, very close with all these poor people frightened… without being able to act. I hope for only one thing for all, finally the peace… but it seems well far still. Thanks for your news. I hope to have good news of your sector quickly. My friendships with to all.

jessiewiseman Says: 9
Oct
2008


please go safely.

Balemba Says: 10
Oct
2008


Thanks Jean Claude. Actually,this is the unique way to break the silence.

Says: 10
Oct
2008


I’m on a computer with a very slow speed connection and was able to see your video, Pierre, but hear no sound - but who needs sound with images like these? They say it all… It is a great shame that your powerful images are not being shown all over the world. I know that I am far from impartial, but right now I can only ask: who cares about vice-presidential candidate Palin’s being the mother of five if all over Kivu women are mothers of five and they are running away from gunfire on dirt roads? Who deserves the headlines? The world’s attention? Who has a good plan on how to save Kivu’s children and will implement it? Bon courage to all and take care. Iris

“Insecurity, uncertainty and violence,” Samantha Newport reports:

I am in a different part of town to Emmanuel and I can hear the same shooting and the same silences. I am holed up at a UN compound with about 200 local and international staff.
Innocent is with his family in an area of town where the military are shooting and looting. Balemba is hiding under a bed in his house in Goma and Diddy is safe although I am not sure where he is.
It is impossible to know how the rangers at the camp are getting on as they are very exposed to pillaging and violence.
We continue to wait and see what is going to happen. But for now there is absolutely no way that anybody is exiting this compound. We need to remain together and stay safe.

Finally, read Elia's post, “Confusion Reigns in Goma.”

Fred R. at Extra-Extra gives some background to understand the population's frustration:

… the task [of bringing peace and security by ending the plague of foreign armed groups and local militias] fell to cautious, over-stretched UN forces and a corrupt, inept national army barely that was composed of former warring factions. With the huge country split into myriad, inaccessible local enclaves, it was never going to be easy to resolve all the problems of corruption, mismanagement, inter-ethnic rivalries and power struggles. But the immediate post-election period offered a real window of opportunity for the new government to unite the country behind a clear vision and (with UN support) determined backing for the rule of law. They blew it.

Mark Leon Goldberg at the UN Dispatch comments on the population's frustration towards the UN:

Local's are understandably upset that the peacekeeping force had not done enough to stall the rebel advance. Protests outside the UN compound turned violent earlier this week as residents of Goma hurled rocks at the compound in frustration. Unfortunately, the peacekeeping mission cannot repel this attack without reinforcement.

It needs help. Fast.

Fred's post offers a detailed recent background on the situation in North Kivu. Michelle F. at the Stop Genocide blog offers a breakdown of the “alphabet soup of armed elements” in the DRC for those confused about the actors in this conflict:

-General Laurent Nkunda and his Congres National pour la Defense du Peuple (CNDP) claim to fight for the protection of the Congolese Tutsi population from the DRC's most uninvited and unwelcome guests,

-The Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR), or Interahamwe, the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, who set up shop in the eastern DRC following their reign of terror in their own country. The FDLR's ranks now include a substantial number of Congolese recruits, including chidlren.

-The Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC), the Armed Forces of the DRC, past masters of doing everything a national army is not supposed to do, and

-MONUC, the United Nations Mission to the DRC, which, as Michael described, is currently under attack by civilians angered over the force's inability to offer protection. Refugees International describes MONUC's rock-and-a-hard-place here.

Four days ago the CNDP rebels seized a major military camp at Rumangabo as well as the headquarters of the 3,000 square mile (7,800 square kilometer) Virunga National Park that is home to 200 of the 700 endangered mountain gorillas in the world. The rebels have used the park as a base but had never seized its headquarters before. The director of the park, Emmanuel de Merode, wrote about the events on Sunday at the official Virunga Park blog:

Fighting [..] has now totally engulfed the park station and our Rangers have been forced to flee into the forests for their lives. The rebels now are the only occupants of the park station at Rumangabo. This has never happened before.

This is a serious time. We need to get our 50+ Rangers back to safety in Goma, 45km south of Rumangabo. The main road is blocked because of the fighting so they are walking through the forests of the park south, to Kibumba, about 20km away, where we aim to pick them up in trucks. We are trying to maintain phone contact but they don’t have much battery life in their phones.

Two days later, 12 of the 53 rangers that had to flee into the forest were rescued and brought to Goma. Innocent Mburanumwe described how tired, thirsty and hungry they were when the Goma team found them:

The Rangers started off on Sunday at 9am as a group of 14 - and also with 4 members of the military who were also fleeing the rebels. They walked through the park, often trying to emerge onto the road, but heard many bombs and mortars and so had to go back into the forest. With no water they tried licking rocks to quench their thirst, and also tried sucking up the moisture from the mud, by putting a piece of clothing between their mouth and the moist mud.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson of the CNDP announced a unilateral ceasefire, although the situation on the ground in Goma remains chaotic. As Kate Cronin-Furman from the blog Wronging Rights points out, “everyone seems to be preparing for war anyway, probably on account of Nkunda's previously-demonstrated questionable grasp of the word cease-fire.”

Samantha Newport writes about the confusion on the Virunga Park blog:

It’s total chaos in Goma. I am being told, through various phone calls and text messages, that the army have now laid down their weapons at Kibumba, 12 miles north of Goma, and are fleeing the rebels. In other words they have totally given up.
[..]
The governor of North Kivu has apparently also left town.

Now there is only the UN peacekeeping forces stopping Nkunda’s rebels from taking Goma.

There is lots and lots of speculation right now - and panic.

On another post at the Virunga Park blog, Emmanuel de Merode also writes about the confusion reigning in Goma:

Confusion is probably the only way to describe the situation. There is a lot of shooting in town, with some heavy weapons further away. Everyone is staying at home. There has been some looting, mainly armed men stealing cars and motorbikes. Laurent Nkunda made a statement on television and radio announcing a unilateral cease-fire, which is encouraging, but unfortunately does not translate into a peaceful evening.

We’ve suffered a barrage of rumours including the invasion of the Rwandan army, Angolan mercenaries coming in from the west, just about everything, none of which is terribly helpful.

This morning Samantha is giving another update on the situation, including a few photos from the compound where she's staying:

The CNDP rebels - Nkunda’s rebels - are in total control of Kiwanja and Rutshuru and have put in their own administration for the area. The national army, police and administators have all left - so a vast swathe of the province is now in CNDP control.

Innocent had an uncomfortable night. His neighbor’s house was looted by fleeing military. Fortunately Innocent, his wife and 5 kids are okay and they were not robbed.

Dawn Hurley, an American expat living in Goma, writes in her blog From Congo about the uncertainty and fear when night falls:

The night here can be a scary thing. During the day, life seems tenable in Goma. But night falls around 6:30 here and from then until morning everyone is on their own. Most people don't have cars, so they can't go anywhere after dark. And these days, even driving around in a car at night isn't recommended. Most people don't have power, so they are often sitting in small shacks with their families, praying for the best, listening to shots echo through town, and waiting for daylight. There is no 911 to call if you have a problem. At best people call their friends, who have little to offer, other than a voice on the other end of the line.

Colette Braeckman, a Belgian journalist and author of several books on Central Africa, reproduces in her blog [Fr] the account of Dunia Ruyenzi, a human rights activist in Goma:

Nous avons passé la nuit enfermés, des coups de feu retentissaient partout. On parlait de militaires congolais mais il y avait aussi, j’en suis sûr, des infiltrés envoyés par Nkunda afin d’accentuer la panique. Certains étaient aussi là pour chercher l’argent et ils ont tué trois personnes. Ils intimident aussi la MONUC et tirent sur ses avions. Malgré cela l’aéroport n’est pas pris et les appareils peuvent se poser. Les prisons débordent de gens qui ont été arrêtées par la police et l’armée. Nous essayons de faire la liste des prisonniers, de les retrouver dans les cachots. Les soldats gouvernementaux n’ont pas tous fui, certains se battent encore du côté de Rutshuru…

In the latest update from the Virunga Park blog, at 10 in the evening, Emmanuel writes:

There is a bit of sporadic firing in the streets but it is much less intense than yesterday. The tension is beginning to diminish. Tomorrow, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa is supposed to be coming to Goma to help with the negotiations. Louis Michel, the European Commissioner for International Development is in Kinshasa and the Belgian Foreign Minister Carol de Gujt, is supposed to arrive in Kigali. Let’s hope…

Two weeks ago the journalist Jina Moore, formerly based in Rwanda and who covered the DR Congo as well, wrote on her blog News from Central Africa:

I finally understand that thing I’ve read about in books, where hardened correspondents talk about the desperation they feel to return to the completely screwed places they’ve covered when things take a turn for the worse. It means something different when you know how that place looks in real life, and something gnaws at your gut, beckoning you back.

Dr. Nabulo Mabaso, Deputy Medical Director of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Ithembalabantu “People's Hope” Clinic in Durban expresses his satisfaction that support for marginalized communities (sex workers, men who have sex with men, and indigeneous people) was emphasized by conference organizers. However, he explains that this focus should extend to other marginalized communities and even currently isolated nations:

“There is still limited access to treatment. For example, my neighboring country, Zimbabwe, it might be politically unstable, but there are people on the ground who are suffering and because of sanctions that are being imposed funders are not going to Zimbabwe. At the end of the day, it's the lives of individuals and I hope the theme of universal access is really put into practice”.

George Kanuma lives in Bujumbura and is an activist for the France-based association Africa Gay and is a member of ANSS (National Association for HIV-Positive and AIDS patients in Burundi). He is content with the renewed emphasis on MSM (Men having Sex with Men) and sex workers at the conference (fr):

However, in some French-speaking African countries, discrimination is still very strong, he explains (fr):

“Il y a certain pays comme le Cameroun ou le Sénégal qui criminalise encore l’homosexualité [..] Il y a des cas aussi comme au Ruanda, la présidente de l’association gay et lesbienne au Ruanda ne peut toujours pas quitté son pays, parce que la police de l’immigration a pris son passeport.”

A few countries, like Cameroon or Senegal, still criminalize homosexuality. [..] There are also cases like the one in Rwanda, where the president of the LGBT association cannot exit her country because the immigration police is still holding her passport.

The Fimizore project in Madagascar was one of the recipient of the 2008 UNAIDS Red Ribbon Award. Balou, a trans-gendered sexual worker and her colleague Jeannie, are members of the project and they both weighed in on their hope and concerns for the conference. Like Kanuma, they both emphasized the need to end marginalization of sexual workers if we want to effectively fight HIV/AIDS (mg):

“Ny fanilikilhina indrindra no manankana ny MSM sy ny TDS hikarakara ny fahasalamany […] Io moa dia eo ihany ny fomba-drazana antsika malagasy, raha ohatra hoe msm dia tsy tafiditra am-pasan-drazana. Raha amin’ny autorites dia mahafa-po fa raha amin’ny societe civile, mbola mila fivoarana.”

Marginalization is what prevents MSM (men having sex with men) and TDS ( sexual workers) from taking care of their health [..] There are also the walls of traditional Malagasy culture. For instance, if you are a MSM, you will not be allowed to enter the familial cemetery (when you pass away). The official authorities have made great strides but the civil society has still a long way to go (in ending marginalization).

Finally, marginalized communities in the fight against HIV/AIDS are not only products of cultural intolerance or political agendas. They are also the result of economic hardships or plain geographical locations. In this video, on The Hub, Dr. Phillip Njemanze, in Imo State, Nigeria, explains the struggle for HIV positive people in rural areas to monitor their immune system:

“In rural areas in Imo State, CD4 testing is non-existent. This means for 3.5 million people you have only two centers that can measure CD4 count in the whole state [..] The most important thing would be, to be able to move around with the test and go where the patients are.”