Feb 11

Kristof’s Obscene Number

Congo wars, News No Comments »

I won’t admit in public what I said when I saw the number. Enough to say it threw me back in my chair, staring, willing it to be wrong and knowing it was right.

This afternoon I spent a little quality time with Nicholas Kristof, the author and New York Times columnist. Not face time, though I think I would like that.  I was catching up on his last four columns. He’s been traveling in eastern DR Congo and writing from there. I had caught the first one — even wrote a response to it that showed up as comment #95 on his blog. But I’ve been busy at the office and hadn’t gotten back yet to read the other three pieces.

Nicholas Kristof is an advocate for Congo. He advocates for the people of Congo with his head and his heart and his pen (or keyboard), and I strongly recommend these columns. (I’ll give you the links at the end of this post.) He wants to put Congo on the radar screens of the international powers that he believes could help bring an end to the war and violence that have come to seem endemic to Congolese life. International powers that have pretty much ignored Congo since we no longer find the country useful to us.

In his fourth and last column, Kristof suggests four steps towards ending the violence. In my way too simple summary, they include (1) pressure on Rwanda regarding its influence, (2) international monitoring of mining exports, (3) demobilization and repatriation of Rwandan militia forces, and (4) professionalizing the Congolese army. Obviously, the DRC can’t do all that alone.  It needs partners with clout. Like the U.S., for instance.

And the number? 6.9 million.

That’s his estimate of the number of Congolese people who have died as a result of war since 1998 (see the third column in the series). He’s done his homework, and I’m afraid he’s right. He started with 5.4 million, the number that has been generally accepted since the International Rescue Committee published it in January 2008, one finding of an extensive study done in ‘07. A second finding was that 45,000 people continued to die every month from aftereffects and continued violence. And Kristof did what I hadn’t yet bothered to do (and haven’t seen anywhere else) — he did the math.

6.9 million people dead as a result of war. This is no longer just the deadliest war since World War II — it was that three years ago, at 5.4 million. This is a second holocaust.

And we can’t be bothered to get involved. Yes, props to Hilary Clinton for her visit late last summer.  But it’s going to take a lot more than that.

If you can be bothered to get involved, there are good opportunities in addition to our own medical and economic development work in the northwestern part of the country. A friend of ours, HEAL Africa, does wonderful work in Goma, in eastern Congo, treating victims of violence while helping individuals and villages to find the strength to shape their own futures. The Enough Project, “The project to end genocide and crimes against humanity,” does advocacy for international attention to Congo. (And what was on their blog just now when I pulled up the page to check the URL? Kristof’s number and his Congo columns.)

6.9 million fathers and mothers and running boys and laughing girls and … sleeping babies. Makes you want to swear and cry, all at once. But then, get up and do something.

Here are the links I promised to Kristof’s four columns:

“Orphaned, Raped and Ignored”

“From ‘Oprah’ to Building a Sisterhood in Congo”

“The World Capital of Killing”

“The Grotesque Vocabulary in Congo”

SAJ

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Jan 28

Response to Newsweek Congo Article

Congo health, News 1 Comment »

The Feb. 1 issue of Newsweek included a short article titled “Battling for Good Health in Congo,” which I thought needed a response. Here is the message I just emailed to Letters to the Editor. See what you think:

Mr. Sheridan, citing a study by Andrew Mack, names the Democratic Republic of Congo as an example of a country where NGO’s have worked “public health miracles” in the wake of war. While those of us who are currently doing medical and development work in Congo are thankful for every resource and every improvement in the health of the people, the article’s upbeat tone calls for a look at some hard realities:

The average life expectancy in Congo is 47 years (WHO 2008). Only 46% of the people have access to safe water (UNDP 2007), and 74% are not getting their daily food needs (World Bank 2007). Of children age 5 and under, 21% are acutely malnourished and 44% are chronically malnourished (stunted growth) (WHO website accessed 1/28/10).

IRIN news reported (12/22/09) that “the Democratic Republic of Congo is still among the worst countries in the world to be pregnant, despite a nationwide push to improve maternal, infant and childhood mortality rates.” The maternal mortality rate is 1,100 out of 100,000 (WHO 2009). UNICEF (1/7/10) estimates that “Congolese children under the age of five suffer at least six bouts of malaria each year. More than 90,000 children die of malaria each year.”

As for treated bed nets to prevent malaria (cited positively by Mr. Sheridan), it is true that UNICEF has been distributing these nets in the past year–5.5 million (UNICEF 10/1/09). But as of 2007 only 1% of Congo’s children slept under treated nets (WHO pub. 2009), so many more nets are still needed. Then there are the many women and girls violently raped in acts of war, the children forced to join militias, and the country’s medical infrastructure badly damaged as militias rampaged through much of the country.

In other words, the D.R. Congo still needs much assistance from the developed world. Four times as poor as Haiti, the people have no means to fix these problems themselves. “Battling for Good Health in Congo” is still a steep uphill fight; and money, volunteers, and other resources are still needed.

Sally

sally.johnson@paulcarlson.org

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Jan 07

Congo: Battered Family Syndrome?

Congo history and society No Comments »

I’ve come to think of the Congo as a vast battered family.

There seems to be a kind of systemic dysfunction throughout the country. Is that a fair statement? If you’ve been part of any ongoing work in Congo, you’ve probably found the same thing we have: much of what we Westerners think of as essential accountability is just not assumed there as it is here. The country has been ranked second to last on earth for running a business.

And then there’s the violence. The senseless, relentless violence.

We have the good fortune to know and work with some really capable people in Congo. We continue learning a lot from our many Congolese friends, in many ways. I don’t mean, in what I say here, to underestimate or disrespect all that is good in them and so many other Congolese people. Nor do I mean to treat the Congolese as children. Adults are victims of domestic violence too.

But look at it: For at least the past 125 years, everyone who has had power over the people of Congo has abused them to one degree or another. From brutal King Leopold’s personal domination through the long Belgian colonial period (marked by the abuse of apartheid and conscripted labor, and a neglect to give the Congolese any experience in governing or other economic, professional, and societal skills they would need). From an independence in 1960 that they were completely unprepared to stabilize, through continuing unrest capped off with the civil wars beginning in 1996 and the violence that persists in places today.

Whether a colonial or national government or local warlords, there has always been somebody beating on the Congolese people. Even today, the Congolese army that is supposed to be protecting the people from the militias has itself been widely accused of wanton rape  and killing. Meanwhile, the wealth that accrues from the lucrative mines in the southeast never eases the lives of ordinary citizens, going rather to line silk pockets and fuel militia massacres.

Now: A battered family is menaced by physical violence. Check. The abuser dominates their life, leaving them powerless in essential ways. Check. And beneath the visible damage, they suffer neglect and deprivation. Check

And the effects of all this? I ran this whole image past Byron (Miller, our executive director), and he responded by asking, “So what does this mean for how we work with the people?”

If this framework holds any water — if it does– then what does it mean for us who seek to work with the people of Congo to help them build better lives? I’ve got just one possible answer right now, but I’m going to save that for another post. Meanwhile, we would welcome any insights you may have — on that or on the appropriateness of the image itself.

By Sally Johnson

sally.johnson@paulcarlson.org

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Sep 28

VISITING A SCHOOL

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Another post from Byron’s Congo trip:

Friday, Set. 4, 2009

Today, after our seminar concluded (it was a success), I visited a nearby school. The building serves three uses. In the morning it is a secondary school serving some of the outstanding young people selected from across the CEUM. In the afternoon it is used by three classes of young women who are learning to read, write, and perform basic arithmetic. These are young women who had to skip normal schooling and now realize how much they need it. About half already have children, and some of them are single mothers. The program takes three years. At the conclusion, a few manage to go on to secondary school. This year, one of the graduates received a secondary-school diploma and three others are in secondary school. At present, there are 30 women in the basic level, 36 at the second level and 26 at the third level. They focus on learning to read and write both French and Lingala, on arithmetic, and on learning to sew.

I asked what they hoped to attain. One young woman said she wanted to learn to sew and read her Bible. Now she can do both—and she said she now realizes how important it is that her children attend school.

Another woman who spoke is 56 years old. She had always wanted to be able to read her Bible for herself and now she can. She was also proud that now she can write her name. I wish you could have seen her face as she talked. Clearly she is very proud of her achievement!

QUESTON OF THE DAY: Beyond being able to read and write, how important to development are the pride and confidence that come with that capability?

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Sep 24

Air Travel to Gemena

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Here is the second post sent by Byron from Congo:

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

We flew from Kinshasa to Gemena today. This time it was a direct flight that took about 1½ hours. The difficulty is that it only happens once a week. We could fly up with MAF (Missionary Air Fellowship) but that costs $2,000 each or more. The only other option for getting to Gemena is by boat, but that can take weeks and may not be safe. There are no flights to other places to which we regularly go. Getting to and departing from Gemena must be carefully planned.

Saturday, we’ll drive from Gemena to Karawa. In the past, that 50 miles has been a five-hour trip in a four-wheel drive vehicle. The road is being reconstructed and I’m told that it now takes about 2½ hours. Thanks to the European Union for financing this work!

Question of the day: When will another airline begin flying to Gemena so that timing is not so critical?

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Sep 16

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS!

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Editor’s note: We’ve just received several blog pieces from Byron in Congo. Without adequate Internet service to send them at the time, he wrote anyway and saved them up. Here is the first.

August 24, 2009

Today, was our first day back in Kinshasa, Congo. Our first call was at the USAID office, where we learned that our microenterprise project is on track for approval. They hope the papers will be available within the time we are in Congo. USAID is also developing some new agricultural projects that may be of interest to us. They were eager to connect to others working in development. Most exciting, we heard that the Deputy Prime Minister is pursuing a project with the World Bank to develop $120 million in projects in Équateur Province (which includes the Ubangi area). Half is proposed for infrastructure and half for agricultural development. They also pointed us to Dr. Mahungu at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), who is working with several groups to institute growing much better varieties of cassava. We visited him and learned that they have also developed new methods of processing cassava to preserve taste while minimizing cyanide residues.

At CDI Bwamanga [the Catholic development agency] we learned more about their road development projects. They have progressed well on the Gemena-Karawa road but are not finished. They are building log bridges, so cement bridges would be very welcome in some places. They hope to extend the road to Businga in the near future, but that depends upon funding by the European Union. CDI are interested in a partnership with us regarding future USAID projects and for promoting coffee production.

QUESTION of the day: How can we help CEUM to develop the leadership skill required to manage $1 million-plus projects?

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Jul 21

Power Changes Lives

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Energy is a worldwide concern. Energy is a huge problem in the Congo today. Diesel fuel in the Ubangi region reached $28/gallon last fall and is still above $10/gallon. There is no electricity grid in the region. Cooking is done over a wood or charcoal fire. Few people have flashlights. Even candles are few. Lack of power is a major obstacle for development of sustainable communities.

Twenty-five years ago, Bob Thornbloom conceived and carried out construction of a dam and hydro-electric power station at Zulu to serve the Karawa station. Although there were some limitations during the dry season, reliable, constant electrical power had a major impact on the Karawa mission. It literally became a shining beacon on the hill.

In the past few years, some of the equipment began to wear out and the seven mile cable connecting the power plant to the station shorts our frequently. We learned of a USAID program, American Hospitals and Schools Abroad that annually solicits proposals for facilities and equipment to support hospitals and schools such as the ones at Karawa. On June 30th, we submitted a proposal to renovate the Zulu station and the connecting cable. Competition for these grants is fierce and for this and other reasons we’re not optimistic about this year. But by next year, we hope to be better positioned to win.

For a subsistence, capital poor economy, how would you choose between energy solutions that require high capital and low operating cost or low capital but high operating cost?

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Jun 26

Welcome!

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This blog will focus on issues of sustainable development, especially in the context of places where the Paul Carlson Partnership works. Over time, we’ll touch on the practical and the theoretical, books and articles we read, and our experiences in the field. I hope that you will enjoy the commentary and be stimulated to add comments and questions. We especially hope that readers from the Congo and others in the developing world will add their comments and opinions.

The tagline for the Paul Carlson Partnership is “Investing for Sustainable Communities.” By sustainable, we mean a community that has sufficient trade with those outside the community to generate cash to support its schools, clinics, churches, and public infrastructure. We argue that “sustainable” applies primarily to support for the operating expenses, not to capital expenditures. There is a long history of development, especially in the United States, where the capital for that development came from outside the community. For example, when electricity came to the farm where I grew up, the capital came from the government, but the users then supported the operating and replacement costs. But to become sustainable, a community clearly has to generate sufficient income for current operations.

How would you define “sustainable”?

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Jun 26

The Problem with the Roads

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In the area of the Congo where we work, nearly everyone is engaged in subsistence agriculture. To generate cash income, markets and transport must be available to enable farmers to sell their excess production. Today, that is difficult because the roads are very bad, there are few trucks and few warehouses, and there is little capital to buy trucks, build warehouses, and buy the produce. Few people know much about the markets in Kinshasa, which are more lucrative.

When the U.S. West was being settled, such situations must have been common. Somehow, the settlers built roads that enabled them to reach railroads that were built with European and East Coast money. Many of the roads in places such as Kansas were built by local people before the advent of motorized equipment. In the Congo equipment is available to build roads, but there appears to be no systemic plan to maintain them. Consequently, they soon deteriorate into a series of mud holes during the rainy season. Such roads are nearly impassable for trucks and thus prevent farmers from selling their surplus.

How might we stimulate people to maintain roads to enable goods to reach cities and ports?

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