The cost of inaction

Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, "Man's inhumanity to man is not only perpetrated by the vitriolic actions of those who are bad, it also perpetrated by the vitiating inaction of those who are good."

It has been about six months since I first learned of the atrocities occuring in Congo. After reading some non-fiction books about the genocide in Rwanda, I stumbled across Lisa Shannon's A Thousand Sisters: My Journey to the World's Worst Place to be a Woman.   I learned that many of the perpetrators of the genocide in Rwanda moved to the Congo and have been committing atrocities there. According to a New York Times article published yesterday, "New Study Suggests Higher Incidence of Rape in Congo", over 400,000 Congo women were raped in a year. For the last 15 years, multiple militias and even the government troops are accused of using rape as a weapon of war and conflict. Women who live there are in constant danger of being attacked and can do little to make their lives safer. Victims of the violence also include children.

Continue >>>

Virtual March on Washington

Last week I wrote about the human cost of inaction. Millions of women have been raped brutalized in Congo. They continue to be brutalized without international intervention. Many require surgery to repair the injuries incurred because of the rapes. Please consider joining in by adding your voice to the cause. It is easy to join in. You don't even have to get off your chair! Currently on Facebook, there is a virtual march on Washington requesting that a Special Envoy envoy be sent to Congo to begin diplomatic measures to stop the violence.  The women in Congo need our support. 

Continue >>>

On this Mother's Day, please help the mothers in Congo

Did you know that the world's most deadly war since World War II is occurring as we speak? This conflict is fueled by the minerals used to create the electronics that are a major part of our daily lives. These minerals, also called conflict minerals, come from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Troops and militias in Congo fight for control over the mines that produce conflict minerals. They rape women and children, force children to be soldiers, and force people to labor in the mines.

Congo has been described as the most dangerous person to be woman and the rape capital of the world. 400,000 women were raped in 2006-2007 alone. The war began in Congo in 1996. Since that time 5.4 million people have died and 1 million have been displaced. Half of those killed are children under 5 years old. On this Mothers' Day, please take 2 min to help the women of Congo. Please sign this petition to ask Obama and Clinton to fulfill there promises to send an Envoy to the Congo to begin peace talks.

Sending an envoy is not a call for military action. Instead, as has been successful in resolving conflict in other African nations, it is a request for peace negotiations to begin. Such action will help create a comprehensive plan to provide a lasting solution for the atrocities that are being committed.

For more information please visit Raise Hope for Congo and A Thousand Sisters.

Continue >>>