Stories about D.R. of Congo from May, 2007
D.R. of Congo: Park rangers attacked by rebels
“At 4h00 this morning Mai Mai rebels attacked the Burusi Patrol Post here in Virunga, leaving one park ranger dead, four critically wounded, as well as kidnapping Officer Monya. There were 10 Park Rangers stationed at Burusi, including the Conservateur and the Conservateur Communicateur,” writes Atamato from Virunga National Park...
New Book Examines Causes of the D.R. of Congo's Political Instability
Congopage offers a brief review of a new book by Gilbert Dzassabi, a lieutenant-colonel of the Congolese Air Force (Congo-Brazzaville) who studied in Russia and later in France, where he earned a Ph.D in political science. Dzassabi tries to explain why his country's troubled neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the...
DRC: Congolese Curious About Money Ocean's 13 Stars Raised for Darfur
Bien au Bout… writes about his neighbor, Karim, who asked to be shown photographs of Brad Pitt and George Clooney (Fr). Apparently, Karim was listening to the BBC and heard about an event in Cannes organized by Ocean's 13 stars Pitt, Clooney, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle that raised $9.2...
D.R. of Congo: Should Christian Revivalist Churches Be Encouraging Political Activism?
Continuing an age-old debate--is religion the "opium of the people" or can it be a catalyst for social change?--Congolese blogger Blaise Mantoto at UDPS Liege says the Congo’s Christian revivalist churches, which he cynically refers to as "for-profit spiritual shops," encourage political disengagement. He argues these churches should inspire their followers to improve their social conditions through political activism, but not everyone agrees that religion and politics ought to be mixed.
D. R. Congo: Park Rangers Attacked, Flying over Katanga, Music meets Social Activism, and Ants 2 – Brian 0
Access to the Internet in the Democratic Republic of Congo is gradually improving (World Bank figures suggest there are already over 6 million users), but will remain prohibitively expensive as long as service providers are dependent on satellite connections. In such a context, it should come as no surprise that there are only a handful of Congolese bloggers. Chatrooms and instant messaging are very popular, however, and with the influence of the Diaspora, it’s easy to imagine that many more young Congolese people will soon be following the footsteps of pioneers like Cedric, perhaps blogging in Lingala, Luba, Kikongo and Swahili as well as French.
Congolese Youth Organization Takes President Joseph Kabila to Task
Kakaluigi posts an open letter (Fr) from COJESKI, an umbrella of Congolese youth organizations, demanding President Joseph Kabila: end the incursions and occupations of Congolese villages by foreign troops from Angola, Burundi, Congo-Brazaville, and even as far afield as Chad, the Sudan and Central African Republic; end the pillaging of...
Bukavu on the Congolese-Rwandan border: A city at the crossroads of conflict
Kakaluigi, a foreign missionary who has lived in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for 35 years describes a feeling of apprehension about the future that overshadows Bukavu. Bukavu is a city of survivors. During the First Congo War （1996-1997），Bukavu was caught in the middle...
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Bukavu, a city caught in the middle of many wars
Kakaluigi describes an apprehensive mood (Fr) in Bukavu, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bukavu was caught in the middle of fighting between Tutsi government forces and the Hutu that fled there after the Rwandan genocide, and later between Congolese government and rebel forces. Kakaluigi wonders whose...
In Search of a Liberation Theology in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Blaise Mantoto at UDPS Liege argues the Congo's Christian revivalist churches encourage political disengagement [Fr] by interpreting “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's” to mean “leave politics to politicians, don't get involved.” Correction: Samy Musampa Batenababo was erroneously cited as the author of this post
Conservation 2.0: Congo Park Rangers Bring Global Attention To Endangered African Wildlife
Conservation, like many other areas of our professional, political and social life, is currently adapting to new trends in information and communication technologies. Despite the colossal digital divide that exists in the Democratic Republic of Congo, blogs are becoming an important information and communication weapon in the hands of Congo park rangers. Since last year, Congo park rangers have been using blogs to tell their stories and voices from the deepest part of Africa for a global audience. Armed with blogs and cameras, the elite park rangers highlight stories, which have hitherto been mostly ignored by the mainstream media.
D.R. of Congo: Congo's forgotten women
A post about Congo's forgotten women in the Sub-Saharan Africa Roundtable: “In 2001, after a disastrous misadventure in the Congo, Ugandan troops trekked back home with a cargo of hundreds of Congolese women they had “married” while fighting in that country. Most of them ended up in northern Uganda where...
D.R. of Congo: Army to train at World Heritage Site
Congo Rangers report that the Congolese Army is planning on setting up a military training camp at a World Heritage Site: The Congolese military are going to set up a military training camp at Nyaleke, inside Virunga National Park. I was told today that after huge efforts by UNESCO, the...
DRC: UDPS’ Early Report Card for Kabila
UDPS Liège posts an interview with Rachel Kabua Atwele, a Belgium-based UDPS sympathizer. She says [Fr]: “Let's not kid ourselves, dictatorship is alive and well. Those who believed in the good faith of Kabila the imposter are already having a hard time: Thérèse Nlandu, Pasteur Kuthino, the coup d'état on...
Africa: global promotion of African businesses
Wenze Business Report: “As you can see this is not just a one-African-country promotion, it's a global promotion of African businesses in the African continent, around its Diasporas, as well as any business community wishing to do business with this market.”
