From Reuters:
The U.N. Security Council must send more peacekeepers to eastern Congo and increase pressure on the Rwandan and Congolese governments if another humanitarian catastrophe in Africa is to be avoided.
Recent fighting has sent tens of thousands of civilians running for their lives in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where aid workers say two years of violence has forced nearly 1 million people from their homes despite the end of country's broader 1998-2003 war.
....
...U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the violence is creating a humanitarian crisis of "catastrophic dimensions" and announced he was sending senior envoys to Rwanda and Congo.
With the 15-nation council divided over who is to blame, the only thing it has done is issue two non-binding statements condemning renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda, whose rebels are poised to take the North Kivu capital Goma, and calling for an end to the violence.
....
It is time for council members to set aside their differences and save some lives, analysts say.
"Number one, what we need is continued pressure both on the warring factions and on the governments of Congo and Rwanda to ensure that they do not support each others' enemies -- and there is clear evidence that that is happening," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, an Africa specialist at Human Rights Watch.
"The council has been reluctant to publicly criticize either the Kabila or the Kagame governments for doing so, and it is high time that it became much more vocal about that."
In private, numerous council diplomats do not hesitate to accuse Rwanda of supporting Nkunda's CNDP rebels. But the council's public record does not reflect that view.
Georgianne Nienabur, who wrote the flattering article about me at the Huffington Post, asked that I call for prayers for the tragic situation in Congo.
Morning,
You may or may not be aware of the crisis today in Congo.... I worked in Africa before coming here. I have friends there.
....
Put out a plea to pray for Goma....Just get people to pray for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
GN
I'm ashamed to say that I was aware, but not aware enough. Please join me to pray for peace in Goma and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
[Book of Common Prayer, p. 815]
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Thanks, Mimi.
ReplyDeleteI miss the days when I had the leisure to share headlines from around the world each day. It helped inform my prayers. Now i still glance at the headlines but feel bad about not sharing news and keeping my friends abreast of the horrors (and sometimes joys) of our world.
Prayers for Congo indeed.
And Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe, and Somalia, etc.
Paul, yes, for all the places you mention, too. I miss your headlines, too, although I've had little enough time to read blogs lately.
ReplyDeleteThank you, grandmere. Thank you! (It's "Boga", not "Goma".
ReplyDeleteNevertheless....
:)
huge blessings!....
Scott, the article says that the rebels are poised to take over Goma. I quoted Georgianne's email.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for the prayers.
I know. I just checked it out. Goma is Goma, and Boga is Boga.
ReplyDeleteSorry!
But I still ask your prayers for Boga, the heart of it all.
:)
Definitely, prayers for Boga, Scott.
ReplyDeleteYou have no idea how much this will mean to people there. I have friends who will literally walk for days to reach an internet connection. Radio Okapi is often the only source of information villagers have, and that is only if they have batteries for their radios.There is NO infrastructure in the interior in most places and to go there is like going back in time. Villagers walk the roads at night (if they dare)with oil lanterns. I predict that this post will be printed out and carried from village to village as a beacon of hope.I have seen it happen. Blessings
ReplyDeleteGN
(GOMA is correct)
Here's the link to Fr Scott's post on the Anglican Diocese of Boga, which is a partner to his Diocese of Connecticut. The village of Boga is situated in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the province of Ituri.
ReplyDeleteWe met the gracious and kindly Bishop Sylvestre of Bukavu just before the Lambeth Conference. We pray for him, his wife and all the people of his diocese.
ReplyDeleteblog is too gud... nice article i agree with your post and thanks for giving information.....
ReplyDelete