Memoirs de Kinshasa

Many thanks to each of you for your warm and encouraging messages and special thanks to those who introduced me to friends in DRC via email! 

Since my last message, I've met up with folks and and explored down town Kinshasa. I feel comfortable here and am so grateful Alhamdudillah for my wonderful coworkers who've made me feel at home. For those who have not yet been to Africa, downtown Kinshasa is a buzz of activity with women in traditional clothing of vibrant colors. Many carry trays of vegetables and fruits on their heads and the people are warm and hospitable. You can find all sorts of food here from Arab shwarma to Indian, African and Chinese cuisine:) What I found unusual though was the amount of jewelry made of malachite, ivory, gold, and other precious stones that are being sold on random street corners. The DRC, as you know, is extremely wealthy in terms of diamonds, petroleum, cobalt etc, but these natural resources have been a major source of continued violence and oppression across the country. 

Can a strengthened judicial system (addressing private, public and commercial issues) have a positive impact on curbing violence and creating peace in this beautiful country? I don't yet have the answer, but perhaps later on I can offer a more informed analysis. So far, I've spent my days carrying out comparative legal research of Congolese, French and Belgian texts. My goal is to lay the groundwork for a national mediation program that will be a part of DRC's judicial system. Ideally, this program will bridge the gap between legislative mechanisms and traditional tribal justice. For this to become a reality, however it would require legislative change, either through a vote by parliament or a consensus from the Conseil Superieur de Magistratures (CSM), the highest judicial body within the country. This is quite a daunting task for me, so I spent today getting acquainted with members of the CSM, observing and listening while a colleague presented on "Ethics and Good Governance." I am nervous to think that in less than 2 months the mediation proposal I will work on will have to be presented to the CSM (in French!) In sha Allah though the long hours of research and interviews will finally pay off and the proposal will be adopted:)

Well that's the brief version of Kinshasa so far. I'm happy to tell you all that I've finally gotten the go-ahead for Goma and Kindu and will leave on Sunday morning for a one week trip into Eastern Congo! I've heard that Goma is very beautiful, but it is also the heart of military operations by guerrilla factions and the base for MONUSCO (the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the DRC). So it should be quite the experience that's for sure! 

Please make du'a (say a little prayer) for me as I journey to the Congolese interior!