Around two weeks ago, I was invited to accompany a Congolese coworker, L, to Lubumbashi, a small town in Eastern Congo, just on the border of Zambia. Our aim was to conduct workshops on combatting sexual violence for representatives of local NGOs, financed by my organization. In conducting training, we utilized a series of pictures called an "Image Box" to define sexual violence, and address the rights of victims, available medical and psychological facilities, and access to justice. As part of this training, L inquired if I would be interested in conducting a workshop for about 25 women, most who were victims of sexual violence. Following my visit to the the HEAL Africa hospital in Goma and my voluntary work facilitating Creators of Peace circles for women, I agreed, although I knew it would be a challenge.
I consulted with a good friend, A, who had experience working with victims of violence and together, we crafted an agenda for the workshop utilizing the Creators of Peace facilitators' manual (http://www.cop.iofc.org) and Augusto Boal's "forum theater" (http://www.theatreoftheoppressed.com). That morning, I walked into our conference center and was greeted by beautiful Congolese "mamas" dressed in traditional attire of all different colors and styles. In preparation, I had prayed a great deal as it was necessary to listen with my heart, even more than normal, since I would conduct the workshop in French, with interpretation in Swahili.
At the beginning I could see the folded arms, the distant looks and the reserved body language of the women. Since most were victims, this was something I was prepared for. After every activity, however, the women loosened up, becoming a bit more comfortable and during "forum theater," they just blossomed. Each group of four planned and performed a skit portraying destruction of peace and how it could be recreated. Through these skits, I got an insight into daily life in rural Lubumbashi, which included domestic violence, alcoholism, child marriage, and sexual violence. After each group was finished we froze the skit, challenging participants to empower the oppressed woman. Could she change her situation, and if so how? Techniques discussed included sewing clothes and cooking food to provide women with income, providing increased education for girls, educating men about the consequences of violence, educating women about their rights, and seeking intervention by a third party, normally an elder or tribal chief. These skits worked well because the woman was no longer the victim. Instead, she was empowered as a catalyst for change and given control of her own life.
The spirit I felt in that room was like no other I had ever experienced in my life. I hesitated for a long time in even writing this memoir, because I wasn't sure how to describe what I had felt. But perhaps the best way to describe it is humanity once lost, now regained. I could barely imagine the horrors these women had been through; but the smiles, the joie de vivre of these women... is something I would take with me for the rest of my life. Our session lasted for 5 hours, instead of 3... and I left shortly afterward emotionally drained but with a smile on my face and one of the most powerful experiences I've ever had. After more than two decades, somewhere between songs in Swahili... and beautiful Congolese mamas, I had finally found my life's calling.
Sadly, around a week after I had conducted this workshop and returned to Kinshasa, over 200 mass rapes were carried out by FDLR rebels and Mai Mai in the small village of Batele, not far from Goma. The very thought of this brings tears to my eyes. The women I had worked with had months and years to analyze the trauma of their rape, and despite the empowerment techniques and training imparted to them, I knew that each day would be a new challenge for them. I could only imagine what the future held for the victims, both women and children, in Batele. For years, I could barely even say the words sexual violence out loud. But as civil war is played out on the female body... I realize that ignoring this crime against humanity is no longer an option.
These women will forever be shunned by their village and by their husbands because of the stigma attached to rape in the DRC. Some may even go on to bear the children of the rebels who raped them. Others will contract HIV and suffer a variety of diseases. Sadly, most will never have justice. What upsets me the most is that this took place in relative proximity to a UN Peacekeeping camp; one that is part of the biggest peacekeeping operation in the world, MONUSCO. I fail to understand why the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, even issues a report condemning the mass rapes that happened, after not taking action to prevent it.
These beautiful women and children don't have the opportunities most of us take for granted. Poverty, lack of education and lack of basic resources are rampant all over the DRC, and Eastern Congo is no exception. This means that the rest of us have a responsibility to do something, to protect these beautiful women and children... their smiles and their spirit. After the Rwandan genocide, the international community promised never again. But civil wars and sexual violence continue to happen, again... and again...and again.
If we continue to turn our back on these issues, what can we expect to change?
