For Abuse in DRC, South Africa Charges 93 Troops, UN Says Nothing, ZeroTruthfulness By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 12 -- With the UN in the midst of deploying a controversial "intervention brigade" in the Eastern Congo, South African Defense Minister Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has announced that 94 of its troops in the Congo have been charged with improprieties and that four have been "discharged" for sexual exploitation or abuse.

While any discipline is better than none, Inner City Press on June 12 asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Eduardo Del Buey, "If someone is found guilty of sexual exploitation or abuse while on a UN peacekeeping mission, is it enough to discharge them from the army, or is some type of punishment expected, and how does this impact their service in the Intervention Brigade?"

Del Buey replied, "Well, Matthew, I will suggest you ask the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. We’ve received the reports and DPKO is looking into this right now. So, I suggest you ask DPKO a bit later on this afternoon."

DPKO chief Herve Ladsous has already repeatedly refused to answer Press questions about sexual abuse in the Congo, including 135 rapes in Minova by his partners in the Congolese Army. See compilation video here, and most recent (May 29) here. Forget the claimed "zero tolerance" -- it appears to be, "zero truthfulness."

  Since May 29, DPKO has not provided the requested update on actions taken on the 135 Minova rapes. DPKO's spokesman was bopping around the UN cafeteria mid-afternoon on June 12; still, no answer has been provided, on Minova or the new South African MONUSCO announcement, which Del Buey said DPKO is "looking into right now." Looking into what? Watch this site.

Finally another update

Dear friends,

first of all we want to apologize to all of you for not being faithful in writing updates on how we are doing and how work is proceeding. Thanks to all of you who have been writing us, supporting us, encouraging us and who have faithfully kept contact with us throughout the last month! We won't keep silent again and will do our part to keep up the good communication.

So what did we do the past month? What kept us busy? What did we learn? Let's start the review from the beginning...

24th of April until 6th of May: visiting organizations

Blessed to have our good friends Melanie and Irina from Germany with us for about two weeks, we did not only enjoy each others company to its fullest, but also visited a lot of different organizations together. We gained a deep insight into the precious work of people who contribute to the development of this country through their principled commitment to to human rights and social justice, their grounded idealism and indefatigable spirit.

It was truly eye-opening to hear and see different perspectives of people who have been affected by the conflict and involved in what is happening in many different ways. Yes, there is still a lot to be done and Congo and its population are far from reaching their full potential and establishing peace, but there are glimpses of hope where ever people start investing in the wellbeing another person. Efforts that contribute to a person's spiritual, emotional and physical wellbeing will never go in vain but will bear fruits in due season.

Many encounters we had with different people were just the beginning and we will follow up with their stories and gather more information the remaining time that we are here in the Congo.

7th of May until 11th of May: Travelling Bukavu → Goma → Kigali

Early in the morning on the 7th of May, together with our friends, we took a boat to Goma, where we wanted to take some days off to debrief as a team, reflect upon our experiences, what we learned and what actions we can take in order to proceed with the project. 

The trip happened to be far more of an adventure as we expected. Before we could reach Goma we saw three fisherman almost drowning in the open sea. The evening before their boat capsized and for more than 15 hours the three young men were in the water trying to survive. As two passengers jumped off the boat to rescue the three, one of them refused to be rescued and there was nothing we could have done - we had to continue with our journey and let him go knowing he would die.

This event was stuck in our minds for the next week... What do we do in life, if we offer people help but out of unclear reasons people refuse to be helped? Everybody has the right to live, do we have to grant people the right to die as well? 

It became clear to us that in this world life and death, success and failure, right and wrong sometimes surpasses our understanding and we, as Christians, have to give it all back to our God and creator in whose endless wisdom and grace we commit our lives and everything we do once again.

On the 10th of May we travelled from Goma to Kigali, Rwanda, where we said good bye to Melanie and Irina and welcomed Benjamin, our good friend from Holland, who stayed with us until the 25th of May.

11th of May until 24th of May: back to Bukavu, second trip to Goma, following up...

Together with Benjamin we started the 7hour journey from Kigali back to Bukavu - and for us it felt like going home. Congo indeed has become a place for us to call our home! And we continued exploring the territory, visiting villages and remote places, following up with connecting to organizations.

Benjaming and Pappy made a trip to Mwenga, a city about 150km west of Bukavu, where they visited a memorial where women were buried alive in massacre two years ago. On that trip Benjamin became the reason of a whole school being stopped and all students running out of the building because of the Mzungu (Swahili word for 'white person'). Yes, in the midst of all craziness here in Congo we experience funny moments nevertheless.

Due to Benjamins work, Pappy and him, made another trip to Goma where they had a meeting at the Norwegian Refugee Council. The morning they had left, we received the news that the M23 Rebels had started fighting in the outskirts of Goma and made it til 5km outside the city. Once on the boat there was no turning back. Praise God that Pappy and Benji could finish the work in Goma just as planned and could take the overnight boat back to Bukavu the next day. 

Now we know the reason for what happened. The week Pappy and Benjamin went to Goma, was the week where UN general secretary Ban Ki Moon visited Goma. Most likely the M23 wanted to demonstrate their power before negotiations would take place in Goma. We also heard rumours of the M23 before receiving support through the sending of soldiers by neighboring countries the days before. 

Again back in Bukavu we processed the events together with Papa Bulambo, who is working mainly on the reconciliation between Rwanda and Congo. He gave us again a profound and deep understanding of the root causes and origin of the conflict. On the one hand we hear and learn about the background, on the other hand we experience the outcome and stress in our daily lives while we are here. 

Since Benjamin left on the 24th of May, we got back to work as usual.

Today, Pappy and Dejoie are in Minova visiting a UN refugee camp. Minova is a town between Bukavu and Goma and the place where the most recent mass massacre took place. Pappy has received the invitation to join a workshop given by the UN to the refugees living in that camp. The aim is to sensebilize the people about sexual abouse: What is seen as rape or sexual abuse? Why is it against human rights? What can be done against it?

We thank God for all the opportunities he has given us until now. The network we could built up since we are here is a blessing to us and for the documentary. We believe we can make an impact here in the Congo! It is just the beginning...

More updates are for sure soon to follow!

Peacekeeping Becomes War

Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire)

May 22, 2013: In early May UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region (central Africa) Mary Robinson acknowledged that the UN’s Intervention Brigade could cause problems for future UN humanitarian aid operations in Africa. The brigade has a mandate to conduct “targeted offensive operations” which is diplo-speak for offensive combat operations. The brigade is the first UN peacekeeping operation to be given an explicit offensive mandate. Critics of the Intervention Brigade concept have warned that it is a mistake for the UN to field an offensive force. The critics argue that it sets a terrible precedent. In a future humanitarian crisis, armed groups may forcibly oppose basic it humanitarian aid operations like refugee relief in a combat zone because they believe the humanitarian operation will inevitably lead to the deployment of a combat brigade which will attack them. Some Intervention Brigade supporters are concerned that the nations supplying the troops for the brigade could suffer attacks on their citizens who are living or working in the Congo or nearby countries.

Terror attacks on nations manning the brigade may seem far-fetched but they cannot be completely discounted. The model here is Uganda, which has troops serving in the UN and African Union’s AMISOM Somali peacekeeping operation. Uganda has suffered several terror attacks which have been tied to Somali Islamist extremists who oppose AMISOM.  Intervention Brigade advocates portray the brigade as the military field force component of the UN’s new Framework security and development agreement. The Framework is UN shorthand for the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for Eastern Democratic Republic Of the Congo and the Region (i.e., central African and Great Lakes region). Brigade advocates point out that there are at least 25 active, armed rebel militias in the eastern Congo. The militias seed violent chaos, making it all but impossible to conduct humanitarian relief operations much less establish and run the long-term economic, training and political stability operations the region needs. Brigade advocates contend the offensive mandate is an attempt to set conditions for sustainable economic and political development.  (Austin Bay)

May 20, 2013: M23 rebels attacked a Congolese Army (FARDC) position ten kilometers north of Goma (capital of North Kivu province). This was the first armed battle between M23 fighters and the Congolese Army since late 2012. M23 acknowledged that a firefight occurred in the area but said that its fighters were attacked by Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militiamen. After the M23 fighters drove off the FDLR attack, Congolese Army artillery began shelling their position and M23 accused the government of over-reacting.

May 16, 2013: South Africa reaffirmed its commitment to support the UN’s intervention brigade in Congo. However, South African defense officials said that many senior South African military officers believe the South African military is currently over-committed. South Africa is involved in several peacekeeping efforts in Africa. The new intervention brigade mission will require shifting scarce resources from other missions. South Africa’s participation in the intervention brigade is regarded as critical by the UN.

May 15, 2013: Armed Mai-Mai militiamen attacked a Congolese Army camp and recruitment center outside the town of Beni (North Kivu province).  The attack kicked off a two-hour long firefight between the gunmen and Congolese Army soldiers. 23 gunmen were killed, three soldiers and five army recruits.

May 14, 2013: The government acknowledged that former M23 rebel fighters have been allowed to join the Congolese Army through the army’s reintegration program. North Kivu provincial officials claim that over 500 former rebels (from various militias) have joined Congolese Army units since late 2012. The officials have complained to the national government that the reintegration program creates security risks for Congolese civilians. The North Kivu officials are particularly worried about M23 rebel fighters who have rejoined the Congolese Army. The most prominent former M23 fighter to be reintegrated is Colonel Nzala Ngomo who at the time was commanding a Congolese Army battalion and defected to M23 in November 2012. As of May 1, he is now fully reinstated as an officer in the Congolese Army. The North Kivu officials see the unrestricted reintegration of M23 fighters as rebel infiltration

May 11, 2013: A hundred Tanzanian troops committed to the UN’s new intervention brigade have deployed in the eastern Congo.  The troops are the lead element in a 1,280 soldier Tanzanian contingent that will serve with the brigade. The core of the Tanzanian contingent will be an 850 man infantry battalion. The brigade will eventually deploy 3,069 international troops. Malawi and South Africa are also providing contingents.

May 8, 2013: The UN condemned the rogue militia attack on a UN Organization and Stabilization Mission (MONU.S.CO) convoy in South Kivu province which killed a Pakistani peacekeeper.  The UN called the attack a war crime. A preliminary report claimed that the militia was trying to take hostages.

May 7, 2013: A rogue militia ambushed a UN convoy on the road between the towns of Walungu and Bukavu (South Kivu province). One Pakistani soldier serving with the MONU.S.CO peacekeeping force was killed in the attack.

May 2, 2013: M23 rebel fighters declared that they will not begin a new round of peace negotiations unless the government agrees to a ceasefire. M23 recently claimed that the Congolese Army is working with Rwandan Hutu rebels in the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia. Now M23 reports that an FDLR unit is advancing toward an important M23 position and it appears that the FDLR move is coordinated with Congolese Army movements.

May 1, 2013: A senior UN diplomat acknowledged that deploying the new Intervention Brigade to conduct UN-ordered offensive operations against rebel militias could hinder future UN humanitarian operations in Congo and central Africa.  The official said that she hoped the brigade’s deployment would serve as a deterrent and that military operations would be limited.

April 30. 2013: M23 rebels declared that they are ready to fight the new UN Intervention Brigade when it deploys in the eastern Congo.  M23 officers had previously threatened Tanzanian and South African leaders that they and their men will fight the brigade. Tanzania and South Africa are both providing troops

April 24, 2013: Civilians living north of Goma have refused to comply with demands by M23 rebels that they participate in a protest demonstration against the UN decision to deploy an intervention brigade for offensive operations in the eastern Congo. A demonstration had been planned for April 15 in the town of Kibumba (north of Goma). According to local residents, M23 leaders had to call off the protest since they refused to participate.

Tanzanian troops arrive in Congo

CONGO

Tanzanian troops arrive in tense east

A contingent of about 100 Tanzanian troops arrived in eastern Congo on Saturday, a first step in assembling the new U.N. intervention brigade, said a U.N. spokesman.

The Tanzanian troops are the first batch to form the special brigade to be deployed in eastern Congo following a U.N. Security Council resolution in March, said peacekeeping mission spokesman Lt. Col. Felix Basse. The unit’s mandate allows it to fight armed groups, rather than merely defend civilians.

Malawi and South Africa have pledged to contribute troops to the U.N. force, the need for which became clear in November, when the U.N. peacekeepers stood by as Congo’s M23 rebels took the provincial capital of Goma.

— Associated Press

Welcome Melanie and Irina!

Overjoyed and more than privileged we were able to receive our first visitors from Germany here in Bukavu! Melanie and Irina have arrived safe and sound at the boarder in Bukavu on tuesday afternoon where we picked them up. Thanks and honor be to a friend of ours who has picked them up at Kigali Airport, hosted them for the night and accompanied them on their 6 hours journey by bus to the boarder of Congo. Thank you, Fahamu!

Even more we are thankful to God who has protected them and overcame all obstacles on their way. Indeed, God has blessed them from the very beginning of their journey to be a blessing to the people here of Congo. Melanie and Irina started their journey with 8 luggages and with a total overweight of 37kg yet payed nothing nor experienced any trouble at the customs and boarders they crossed on their way here - not even at the boarder to Congo! The custom in Bukavu didn't even open a single luggage as a remote family member of Pappy's, who is working there, forbid anyone else to even touch the bags of our visitors. The luggages are full with donations of clothes and medical supplies that we will donate to different organizations and hospitals we are partnering with. One bag went missing on the way, yet we are hopeful it will arrive at Kigali Airport the next few days. 

Thank you everyone back home who has contributed generously financially and otherwise! May God multiply His blessings in your life!

Together we had a great first evening with all of Pappy's brothers and three other friends who had offered us their car and helped us crossing the boarder from Rwanda to Congo together with our visitors. On top of that we enjoyed a good dinner with a medley of Congolese and German food and fruits!

The following days we will be quite busy visiting different organizations, hospitals and some more remote areas near Bukavu. The program has been set up and arranged by Pastor Bulambo working for "Heritier de Justice". For you to be able to still join us in prayer and thoughts you can follow our program below. Thank you for being a part of us!

Wednesday 24/04

  9:30 - 10:45 Reception and Welcome at RL CELPA 

11:00 - 12:00 Visit "Hope in Action"

14:00 - 15:00 PREV (Programme de Réinsertion des Enfants Vulnérables)

15:00 - 17:00 CAMPS (Centre d'Assistance Médicopsychosociale)

Thursday 25/04

  8:00 - 10:00 LAV (Laisser Afrique Vivre)

10:30 - 15:00 Panzi Hospital

15:30 - 18:00 Reception and Dinner at Dr Isokelo

Friday 26/04

  9:30 - 12:00 SOS Chldren's Village

13:30 - 15:30 Centre Olame

17:00 - 19:00 Reception and Dinner at Nicolas (he is the pastor of the church Pappy and Svenja are attending)

Saturday 27/04

Trip to Kalehe. A village where the organization "Laisser Afrique Vivre" is running a center for women and girls affected by sexualized violence and several other projects.

Monday 29/04

  9:00 - 13:00 Héritier de Justice

15:00 - 17:00 Aprodeped

Tuesday 30/04

  9:30 - 13:00 Programme Paix et Réconcilitation/ECC

13:00 - 14:30 War Child

15:00 - 17:00 UNFPA

Wednesday 01/05 - public holiday!

14:00 Reception and Lunch at Pasteur Bulambo

Thursday 02/05 - Friday 03/05

Trip to Mwenga - another city in the west of Bukavu

Saturday 04/05

10:00 - 12:00 Civil Society of South Kivu

13:00 - 14:00 Caucus des femmes

Monday 06/05 

Trip to Ngweshe, a rural area outside of Bukavu, where we will be visiting CELPA Ibanda and Mushinga, the village where Pappy was born and his family used to live before the war started

Tuesday 07/05 

Departure to Goma via boat

Yes, we are blessed to get connected to all of these organizations, explore the territory, learn from the local people and experience more of God's guidance, protections and blessings!

Our experiences throughout the next few day will surely follow very soon!

With much love from all of us, 

Irina, Melanie, Svenja, Pappy and Dejoie

This is our team with Dr. Isokelo close to Panzi Hospital

Nana

It was already very dark when we met Nana on tuesday night at around 7 o'clock on the street in front of Nyawera. Nana is 6 years old. She was alone.

My brother Dejoie and I realised she was following us, while we were trying to cross the main street at Nyawera, a market in the center of Bukavu. As most African markets, Nyawera is crowded with all different kinds of people, there are cars, motortaxis, buses everywhere and everyone is on the move trying to push its way through. It is indeed not a safe place for a 6 year old girl to be alone - especially not at this time of the night. 

Both Dejoie and I felt reminded of our younger sister Diane, who was raped at the age of seven. Concerned about the danger this precious young girl could face alone at night, we felt compelled to talk to her and find out what she was doing all alone. We wanted to know where she was going so that we could accompany on her way home.

As we started talking to her, she couldn't look into our eyes nor could she explain where her parents were or where she was staying. With nowhere to go, my brother and I knew we couldn't just leave the girl all by herself. We offered her to stay with my family for the night where she will be given food and a safe shelter to sleep. Without even asking she agreed to come with us and we continued our walk together towards my parent's home.

On the way to our house she started to guide us in another direction and we figured she might have recognised a familiar place and recaptured where she was staying. To our surprise she took us to a military camp, where we found her mother sitting in a corner, hopeless and weak. 

What is a young girl and her mother doing at a military camp? We were quite shocked.

The joy of mother and daughter being reunited didn't last very long as the mother started telling us the story of how they got here.

Nana and her mother are not from Bukavu but from a village in another region. They have just gotten to town few days ago, when Nana's father and the husband of Nana's mother was sent to prison - she didn't tell us the reason why. As prisoners don't get food to eat while being in custody, they followed her husband and father to provide him with food while in prison. 

With nowhere to go Nana and her mother found "refuge" in a military camp where they were offered a place to spend the nights at. She didn't want to give us any more details as to who invited them to stay there and under what conditions they could rest there.

Without no money to buy food for the father nor themselves, yesterday afternoon Nana decided to go and look for food in the city herself. As it got darker and the city is a completely unfamiliar place to her, she got completely lost and her mother didn't know where her daughter had gone.

Other then giving them some money to buy food for the next day, there was nothing else my brother and I could have possibly done for Nana and her mother. We were told to leave the military camp and as it had already gotten late, it was also time for us to get our feet on safer ground and back towards the city center. We said good bye and told them we would like to visit them again in few days. 

Yes, Nana and her mother were finally reunited. Yet the place we had to drop her was not a safe place for a young mother and her child to be alone. It didn't feel good. All in all it felt wrong and our hearts were more than broken for this young girl and her mother.

It was one of these moments where God was telling me: You are here for a purpose that I have given you. This is part of a bigger picture that I am going to reveal to you. And again, as I was laying in bed pondering about what had happened, God was speaking to me though the daily bible verse of the Herrnhut Brüdergemeinde:  ' "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit", says the Lord of hosts.' Zechariah 3:4. 

It is not by my might, it is not all in my responsibility, the burden is too much to carry myself. God is never asking more of me than what I am capable of. It is where my strength ends and boundaries are, that I can give everything into the hands of my Father and He can come with His Spirit and His sovereignty to reign in order to save and restore. What a great God we serve!

Unfortunately my phone was not able to get a clear picture of Nana and her mother during the night, but at least you can now imagine their faces to the story. We commit Nana and her mother into the hands of our Father who as a Shepherd will take care of His sheep.

Experiencing violence

Dear friends, 

yesterday we were able to not only witness social injustice happening everyday here in the DRC, but we also experienced it ourselves.

It all started with a big demonstration of around 80 women in front of the regional Security Council. Apparently those women had their money stolen from them by another lady who had offered them her help and financial backup to start a microfinancing business in order for those poor women to become financially independent and better off in a long run. After those poor ladies had invested almost all of their money, the lady, who was supposed to help them, disappeared together with their money. Yesterday was the hearing in front of the  Security Council and the case was supposed to be brought to justice. 

As Svenja is living in the government quarter, the demonstration was happening just around the corner from where she is living at the moment. When me, Pappy, and my younger brother, Dejoie, picked up Svenja yesterday afternoon, we were able to witness this demonstration of women. It was good to see them gathering together and raising their voice against the injustice that had happened to them. So I took out my camera to capture this scenario on the street.

We had already passed the security council's building, when the security guards discovered my camera and all of a sudden came running towards me and my brother trying to violently take away my camera without having asked any information about what we were doing and why. As we refused, the situation escalated and we were thrown to the ground getting ripped off our shirts. Yet after few minutes we were able to free ourselves and continued our walk. It was obvious that the security guards were just after our money, that is why they let us go that easily after we have resisted.

Shortly after everything had happened, we met our friend Christopher, who is working for US AID and the Civil Society here in Bukavu. We reported the incident and he immediately took all the information and contact details of the ladies that had demonstrated on the streets and witnessed the incident and violence against us. Their case will be brought to Kinshasa and followed up from there.

Furthermore our friend Christopher immediately contacted the Head of Security responsible for the whole region of South-Kivu, where Bukavu is located in. Shortly after were invited to his house and could report everything to him as well. We showed him the video that had captured everything and he was able to identify three of the security guards that had attacked me and my brother. He told us that those guys are uneducated young men that once became victims of social injustice themselves. Out of fear those guys would start a rebellion the state put them in charge of security for the Security Council - this is a very common procedure and process here in Congo - nothing unusual. He immediately called the Head of the Security Council, in front of whose house the incident had happened. She officially apologized to us, telling us she didn't know her security guards reacted with violence and violated our rights for no reason. We will have a meeting with her the following week. The security guards that had attacked us will face justice and will most likely be suspended as a consequence of their behavior. 

At the end of our conversation the Head of Security of South-Kivu gave us his private phone number. In case we are experiencing any troubles with authorities while we are here, one call will be sufficient for him to speak up on our behalf and solve the issue right away. 

Friends, this violence and social injustice has become normal in Congo. A society that has been traumatized by violence and conflict for so many years, has started to use those violent pattern as the only way to respond to conflict. It is a complete paradox.

We had the chance to report our case and the case of those women to the highest people in charge of security here in the South-Kivu region, but what about all the other victims and cases that are not heard or kept secret for years? What about those who don't have the resources and connections like we have?

As we are about to raise an awareness about all of this through our project, we are not surprised to encounter things like that. The head of the Security Council and head of Security of South-Kivu have both asked us to forgive Congo and the people who have offended us. We continue to forgive them and ask God to open the floodgates of heaven to overwhelm Congo and its brokenhearted people with his showers of healing, justice, peace, reconciliation and love. We know we are safe in the hands of our Savior and Father who has protected us once again.

Friends, did you know what was the daily bible verse from the Herrnhut Brüdergemeinde for yesterday? It was from Isaiah 38,14: "O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security". I think all of you, who are reading this right now, are just as overwhelmed as we were, when we reflected upon this revelation. God was never silent, he still is not silent and will never be, instead he is speaking to us this very moment - what does that really mean to us?! 

Thank you for all your prayers, you can all see how very important, powerful and essential they are! 

This picture was taken when me, my brother Dejoie and Christopher, our friend working for US AID here in Bukavu, were speaking to those women asking them about their case.