Democratic Republic of Congo
Mar 12, 2012
We believe there is nowhere on Earth today where the issues that we must face, heal, and transform are as graphic and urgent as they are in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
We, as a global community, are largely unaware of, or have turned our gaze away from what is happening there — the exploitation of natural resources, rapid loss of rainforest, endless war, and extreme violence, including the cannibalization of the Pygmy peoples and the epidemic rape of women.
We have come to see Congo as the embodiment of our collective shadow at the heart of the abused body of the Earth, herself. If there is one place to focus our attention, our intention, and the power of our prayers at this time, it is here.
The 27th Earth Treasure Vase pilgrimage is to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where 400,000 women are raped each year — over a 1,000 a day — in a “gendercide” the world has largely ignored. A succession of armed conflicts that began in 1996 continues to this day, and more than 5.4 million people have been killed by numerous militia groups running lawlessly out of control.
The mining of natural resources like the “conflict minerals” that fuel our cell phones; the deforestation of the Congo Basin (the world’s second largest rainforest, which supports the health of the whole planet); and the killing of the indigenous Pygmy people who inhabit the forest in close proximity to endangered gorillas, okapi and bonobos, combine to make a potent humanitarian and environmental crisis which is at the core of the global imbalance we must face and transform.
In gatherings with local World Pulse correspondents, Women for Women International, V-Day’s City of Joy, the South Kivu Women’s Media Association, Action Kivu, Strong Roots Congo, the Enough! Project’s Raise Hope for Congo Campaign, and Pgymy communities in both Rwanda and DRC, we will share meditation and peacebuilding skills, bear witness, and build lasting relationships.
To shine a light on what is happening, documentary journalist Raji Mandelkorn will teach citizen journalism to women activists and offer trainings in the powerful tool of video-making. She will facilitate the communication of their stories via the internet and cross-continent video sharing on social media platforms so that their stories are seen, heard, and engaged.
Documentary filmmaker Raji Mandelkorn on a recent trip to West Africa
These activities will be filmed for a documentary that will speak to the connection between the rape of women and the Earth with the goal of empowering our sisters and brothers to create a new story that strengthens Congolese efforts for healing. Leveraging our global community through the Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Project’s international network, the World Pulse community of women leaders and V-Day’s One Billion Rising campaign, we will widely disseminate the media produced and offer a meaningful support system for ongoing change in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
With the Earth Treasure Vase as our ambassador, we will meet with women healing from unspeakable violence, make relations with indigenous Pygmy communities and visit the forests and animals, inviting all to offer their prayers and intentions for the healing and protection of their land and communities. Ultimately, the Earth Treasure Vase will be shared at a large gathering of Pygmy and other tribal members of the Itombwe rainforest, where the vase will be buried at the end of our journey.
Key Organizations & Collaborators in DRC
World Pulse, our partner organization, is spearheading a project to create fellowships among various NGOs in Eastern Congo to empower women journalists. Neema Namadamu, a visionary Congolese woman, is an activist for women’s rights and disability rights, and is working on a project to bring broadband internet to Bukavu. Through World Pulse, Neema has become our primary liaison and will be with us every step of the way in the DRC. Read her articles on PulseWire here.
Action Kivu is a nonprofit providing the DRC’s victims of violence with the opportunity to rebuild their lives on a foundation of hope, dignity, and economic self-sustenance focusing on empowering women and children. Amani Matabaro, the Founder & Executive Director of Action Kivu, and his seamstress wife, Amini Bukanda, run the organization’s Kivu Sewing Workshop and Educational Assistance Program.
Strong Roots Congo is dedicated to involving local indigenous Pygmy communities living around the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP) and its adjacent forests (Itombwe Reserve and Bushema Forest) in the long-term preservation of their natural resources through sustainable development projects. Their programs include Artisan Cooperatives, Environmental Education, Health and Conservation Programs, a National Institute of Primatology, the Pygmy Land Project, the Retraining Miners Program, Reforestation and Carbon Programs, and a Pilot Project for Baboon Home Range Restoration. Dominique Bikaba, who was raised by the Pygmies, is their Executive Director.
We welcome your partnership in bringing healing and protection to the Congo. Please consider making your most generous contribution today.
Why the DRC
Situated in the heart of the continent of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has seen a succession of armed conflicts on its eastern border, including the first regional war in Africa involving at least six other countries. More than 5.4 million Congolese have died since 1998 and eastern Congo continues to suffer the highest incidence of rape of women in the world. Systematic sexual violence and human rights abuses have created a humanitarian crisis the world has completely ignored.
Foreign armies officially withdrew from the DRC in 2003 but numerous militia groups continue raping and plundering local communities throughout eastern Congo and mining the rich natural resources such as gold, diamonds, and the highly sought after minerals used in the manufacture of cell phones, laptops, and other electronics.
The Congo Basin is home to the world’s second largest expanse of rainforest after the Amazon. Supporting the health of the whole planet, it accounts for 26% of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest but unchecked consumption results in an annual deforestation rate estimated at around 2.3 million acres per year.
The indigenous inhabitants of the rainforests are the Mbuti and Batwa Pygmies, one of the oldest human cultures on Earth, who have endured a long history of suffering. Due to the fighting in the DRC, many have been killed, forced into slavery, and even cannibalized by armed factions who believe that eating Pygmy people will give them supernatural powers.
It is also in eastern Congo that the endangered and endemic Eastern Lowland Gorilla and many other species of animals make their natural home and the only country in the world where the highly endangered bonobos still remain in the wild. In the 15 years of military, mining and deforestation operations in the area, the gorilla population has plummeted to around 1000 today, as compared to an estimated 17,000 at the end of the 20th century.
Lead Image Courtesy of Women Make Movies
Thank you very much for your efforts. Michele has told me about you. I am pygmy Batwa from Rwanda. Michelle will tell you more about mea nd what I am doing. In Rwanda Cultural conservation Act(CCA) has helped preserve the forest known as “Bikara Natural Forets”. But after starting the project funded by UNDP/GEF/SGP, the govewrnment got interest and now it is taken over for the sacred site for its heritage and natural history.
I will be sending you photos where possible if the network / signal here allows.
The story in Congo is absurd and please let us be in contact including Michelle. May be something can be done even for the Batwa women and men who are looked with for more abuse.