Dear colleagues,
As you know, the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to fester. Much is still underreported. In addition to the crisis in the Goma region, there are two areas of rebel activity in Congo which have not hit the news: the Dungu area, in the north, where the Lord’s Resistance Army has attacked villages and abducted adults and children in recent weeks, and also the Gety/Aveba/Nyankunde region, close to Bunia, where a new militia group emerged in late September and displaced many people from their homes.
Our Anglican sisters and brothers in those areas have been deeply affected, and are in the forefront of relief efforts and peacemaking.
I am echoing Archbishop Fidèle Dirokpa’s call for a day of prayer for peace in the Congo on Sunday 23 November.
I can only repeat what I have said in an earlier posting about the Congo tragedy: I do not see any leverage that we can bring to bear from the outside. Yes, we should pray and I will pray and have prayed for Congo already. The Lord can and does work miracles. But if we look at this situation in a worldly way, it is clear that the solution needs to come from within Africa itself. The lack of compassionate and wise leadership in Congo’s neighbours is horrifying. The corruption in Congo is endemic. The Army is probably just as feared the insurgents, because of its rapacious indiscipline. From the outside we can only do so much to help. Relief is exactly that: relief. Only Africa’s people can solve Africa’s problems. They need to take responsibility. The most obvious case of this is Zimbabwe, where the situation could be solved overnight by South Africa which steadfastly refuses to do so, despite the suffering of millions of black people literally on its doorstep. Finally, before anybody reminds me of the terrible history of Congo (King Leopold etc) or of the role of Western and now increasingly Chinese arms sales in Africa, I do know about that. The only answer, though, is for African people to take responsibility for their own lives. If they do not then the poorest and most vulnerable will continue to be crushed.
Amen, Terry Tee. Amen.
Terry,
South Africa is set to join Zimbabwe on the roster of failed states. Its government is increasingly unable or unwilling to protect its own citizens, so the prospects for it restoring order in its neighbor are pretty remote.
Sub-Saharan Africa is a long, dark night. I have seen video footage from the Ivory Coast that would curl your hair.