congo | Be a Seed for Change

Dear All… A Letter From Eve in Congo

Eve Ensler has been in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the last month. Here she shares with you all her experiences with the women at City of Joy, life on the V-World farm, and how she ROSE with women and girls of Congo on 14 February.

Dear All,

First let me begin with the deepest thank you to all of you who believed in City of Joy and have stood by us with your confidence and support. I have spent the month here and all I can say, is you would be proud. Let me start by describing the current state of Bukavu. It is nothing short of catastrophic. In one of the richest resourced countries in the world, the poverty is inconceivable. In a place where it rains almost every day, there is no water.

It is a country with the most fertile green fields, people are starving. There is no electricity. Most of the month the children have been sent home from school as the teachers are on strike. (they have not been paid). Even the policemen are begging for food. The road is better but most of the time we have not driven on it as there are so many reasons for detours. This is the environment our director Christine and her astounding staff face and transcend every day. Then of course there is the issue of security. The month I have been here there have been no incidents, but it feels arbitrary as there is no real political basis for security and one feels anything can happen at any time.

I will not even begin to tackle here the many proposals that seem to be circulating for peace in Congo. They either feel rhetorical or implausible. I think it is safe to say that if Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi were to get out of Congo, if there were real leadership and a functioning government in Kinshasa, there would be change. But that is not the nature of what I am writing about. We made a decision four years ago to put our energy into the grassroots women of Congo, to support their visions, their plans, their desires, their futures. To believe in their strength. To find the support for them to heal from gender violence of all forms, to be trained and educated in skills and their rights, to become leaders in their communities so that they could build a grassroots movement that eventually would be strong enough to transform this country and turn pain to power.

Special thank you to Paula Allen for the photographs featured here.

Continue reading >

JUSTICE — FINANCIAL REGULATION BILL CONTAINS MEASURE TO ADDRESS ‘CONFLICT MINERALS’: Congressional negotiators reached a deal on Friday to reconcile the House and Senate versions of financial regulatory reform. The bill contains an obscure provision “that requires any publicly traded company that uses certain minerals to file reports annually with the Securities and Exchange Commission certifying whether the minerals originated in Congo or neighboring countries.” Many of the minerals used in electronic devices like cell phones and computers are mined in the Congo, a country “plagued by regional conflict and a deadly scramble for its vast natural resources.” The mineral sales finance “multiple armed groups, many of whom use mass rape as a deliberate strategy to intimidate and control local populations.” The provision in the financial regulation bill is designed to, according to its sponsor, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), “brings accountability and transparency to the supply chain of minerals used in the manufacturing of many electronic devices.” The Center for American Progress’ Enough Project — an organization “helping to build a permanent constituency to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity” — advocated for the inclusion of this provision. Though industry lobbyists complained about the cost, Enough’s Jenny Russell pointed out that “tech companies have admitted it would cost one penny per product to ensure a conflict-free supply chain.” Reacting to the provision’s passage, Enough’s John Prendergast said, “A year ago most members of Congress hadn’t even heard of conflict minerals.” Now, “in the middle of a turbulent legislative calendar, activists all over the country were heard loudly and clearly.” Private institutions are also joining the effort. Stanford University’s trustees recently considered a resolution “to create a new proxy voting guideline” that would “support shareholders’ efforts to make companies trace the supply chain of the minerals used in their products.” If the guideline is adopted, “it would be the first university in the country to take such action on the issue.”