Too Many Sad Stories: Realities of Life in the DRC

I'm currently on a much needed vacation in Uganda. Since I've arrived here old friends and new ones have eagerly asked about what life is like in the DRC, and I wish that I had better news. However, what's becoming abundantly clear is that there is an overwhelming number of sad stories in the Eastern DRC and that peace and development have been slow to reach those most affected by extreme poverty and violence. 

The sad stories must have started on the third day of my trip when I traveled with the staff of one of the organizations and their funder to Bideka. The overall tone of this visit was fairly light in comparison to what I've seen since. We arrived, viewed the local school and health centre and met with a group of women who shared about their experiences seeking medical and psycho-social support after having been the victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence. I was surprised at how openly these women talked about their experiences. Closer to the end of the meeting another woman arrived and was asked to share her story. This woman didn't stand as confidently as the rest and she struggled to introduce herself, eventually terminating her contribution. After the meeting was over she asked to speak to me and the funder privately, at which point she explained that she had been attacked and raped in her home twice, losing her husband, children and sister. The young woman then started to sob and asked what she was supposed to do with her life now. 

Unfortunately, this story isn't uncommon. Attending an intake for survivors of rape with the same organization, which I mentioned in my last post I met three women, I met three women all of whom had been violently and repeatedly raped. By far the most shocking story came from a 53 year old. Twelve years ago she and her family were at home when they were attacked. The rebels who attacked her killed her husband and half of her children, and the other half fled into the forest while she was gang raped. Her children never returned, and the woman lost everything in one night. 

Of course it's not only the women who are suffering in the Congo. During my field visits to the Pleine de la Ruzizi I have also met with men who have lost children, whose families have been attacked and who have been targeted by other types of violent crime. Further, because of the lack of sustainable development both boys and men are at risk of being recruited into armed groups where they are forced to perpetrate unthinkable attacks. I realize that this last sentence might be surprising, but I think that this type of recruitment victimizes men further in a context where an absence of livelihood options means that men must sometimes choose between joining an armed group or sitting idly by as they and their families go hungry, sustaining a cycle of victimization. Few services are available to support victims of violence other than those who have been raped. 

What perhaps is most troubling is the rate of traumatization among the local peacebuilders who are serving the broader population of conflict affected people. The former executive director of one of the organizations that I'm working with was assassinated 10 years ago, and many of his friends and colleagues still work for the organization, and of course this event remains at the front of their minds, causing them to fear for their own safety. Justice has never been served in this case. At another organization I'm working with a man who felt compelled to photo-document a massacre that happened in the Pleine de la Ruzizi in which hundreds of people were burned alive in a church, which was actually outside of his professional duties. Upon his return he presented the pictures to the local civil society coordinators who displayed the photos and called for three days of mourning. Shortly thereafter he started being followed by the ANR (the Congolese spy group) and targeted for arrest, he even had to change residences to ensure his safety. A final individual who I'm working with escaped kidnapping in his youth and said to me frankly "If I hadn't gotten away, can you imagine where I would be now? This is on top of arrests, petty crime and other traumas these peacebuilders and human rights defenders have experienced, while helping to address the kinds of stories I've included above everyday.

Only one of the three organizations that I work with has the resources to offer their employees counselling services to help support them in their work. 

The situation in the Congo is, once again, at a critical turning point. National elections are scheduled to be held this year which has the potential to create significant civil unrest. In addition, a number of international humanitarian organizations are currently withdrawing or reducing their presence in the Eastern DRC as they move towards addressing emerging crises in South Sudan, Syria, Iraq and other parts of the World. However, much of the economy in the Eastern DRC is propped up by the presence of such organizations who employ local staff and whose foreign staff bring money into the economy. This withdrawal has already contributed to a notable deterioration in the security situation and the local economy. Together these two phenomenon could be a deadly combination living in the DRC. 

Unfortunately, I don't know what the solution is to these challenges. My local contacts tell me that the government's capacity and territorial control needs to be strengthened, however corruption and personal interests threaten to counteract any efforts to do so. 

On a very personal level I have found these stories of violence very troubling. I decided to go on vacation because I was starting to experience symptoms of compassion fatigue. However, there is also some irony in this. While I can always leave the DRC and traipse around East Africa for a couple of days to get my bearings back, staying in discount or otherwise hotels as I go, this is not an option for my Congolese colleagues and their beneficiaries who often struggle to put food on the table, no less take a much needed break.