Congo - "The Rape Capital of the World"

by Michael Kleinman

Published November 20, 2008 @ 08:42AM PST

In many ways, my most difficult memory is talking to women survivors of rape in eastern Congo a few years ago.  All of us huddled together in a small, dilapidated building outside of Kasongo, the women dressed in their Sunday best.  Each woman sat quietly, spoke quietly, which made their stories even more horrific.

And then suddenly one woman started to cry, describing how after she was raped her husband accused her of being unclean, and kicked her out of her house.  She cried as she said that she hadn't seen her children since.

I still remember staring down at my hands, wishing, desperately wishing I could make everything alright, and knowing I never could.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has called eastern Congo the "rape capital of the world".  This legacy extends back to the mid-1990s, yet recent fighting threatens to make the problem even worse.

According to statistics gathered by CARE, women reported over 3,500 cases of sexual violence in North Kivu Province alone between January and September of this year.

These numbers, however, barely convey the brutal reality. According to Elisabeth Roesch, the Gender and Advocacy Advisor for CARE in the Congo:

"We know rape is typically under-reported, and feel that this number doesn’t even come close to reflecting the actual number of cases – the actual number is unimaginable. With this recent fighting, we won’t know the full extent right away, because there is such stigma around sexual violence. Women don’t come forward for fear of rejection, reprisal, and because of continued insecurity. They need safety, medical care, support and encouragement, and this is a crucial gap in DR Congo today.”

As Roesch describes: "It has been said that it’s more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in the DRC right now – that couldn’t be more true."

Continued after the jump:

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Group of Twenty Reaffirms Importance of Development Funding

by Michael Kleinman

Published November 19, 2008 @ 09:02AM PST

The Group of Twenty meeting this past weekend brought together leaders from twenty of the world's largest economies to discuss the financial crisis - including the impact of the crisis on developing nations.

Amidst concerns that development funding might be cut - perhaps dramatically - the statement released by the Group of Twenty on Saturday offers at least some comfort:

"We are mindful of the impact of the current crisis on developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable. We reaffirm the importance of the Millennium Development Goals, the development assistance commitments we have made, and urge both developed and emerging economies to undertake commitments consistent with their capacities and roles in the global economy. In this regard, we reaffirm the development principles agreed at the 2002 United Nations Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, which emphasized country ownership and mobilizing all sources of financing for development.

We remain committed to addressing other critical challenges such as energy security and climate change, food security, the rule of law, and the fight against terrorism, poverty and disease."

For previous posts on the impact of the financial crisis on humanitarian and development funding, see here.

[Photo of Group of Twenty meeting from AFP / BBC]

The Emperor Has No Clothes - But He Does Write Reports

by Michael Kleinman

Published November 19, 2008 @ 01:45AM PST

It's hard to overstate how much I hate report-writing.  Or, for that matter, how much everyone I know hates report-writing.  (There might be an exception or two, but masochists are always an exception.)

As Alanna Shaikh described on her blog Blood and Milk:

"An awful lot of every expat’s job involves paperwork. Most people picture international work as feeding hungry people, providing health care to refugees, or building schools. In reality, it makes no sense to pay an expatriate to do that. Instead, we do what cannot be hired locally: English-language paperwork. We write reports to HQ and donors, proposals, and program guidelines. We write even more reports."

I recently came across an excellent post by Paul Currion on the humanitarian.info blog about the incessant, never-ending demand for reports. A post whose title - Kill Your Reports - pretty much says it all.

According to Currion:

"The ECB research showed clearly that while nearly every expat staff member - and many of the senior national staff - in an international organisation is required to contribute to situation reporting, donor reporting, co-ordination reporting and so forth, precisely none of them believed that the reporting process added value to their work."

Verily, the truth shall set you free.  Please see Currion's post for more analysis, and ways to make reporting more effective.  Then, to the barricades.

[N.B. To give credit where due, I stole the idea of using Alanna's quote from Currion's post.  Imitation, the sincerest form of flattery.]

[Photo from ticklylittleimp.wordpress.com]

Tracking - Hunger in Congo, Gaza Blockade Continues

by Michael Kleinman

Published November 18, 2008 @ 10:54PM PST

[A day on the ground in Congo - Footage from UNICEF of humanitarian relief activities]

Rising Malnutrition in Eastern Congo:

A leading humanitarian agency has reported that the number of children in eastern Congo suffering severe malnutrition is "rising dramatically". According to the statement released by World Vision:

"In the worst-hit area, World Vision estimates the number of children under the age of five suffering from malnutrition has increased ten-fold."

Even treatment centers are running out supplies. As one local nurse described: "We have had no milk at the centre for one week. This morning we had 53 children in need of treatment, but we had nothing to give them."

This spike in malnutrition is the result of the fighting which has engulfed eastern Congo since late August. The conflict has made it particularly difficult for humanitarian agencies to reach those most in need.

That said, there was a shred of good news earlier today, with the rebels agreeing to pull back from certain areas to allow humanitarian agencies access.

For the most up-to-date information about the overall humanitarian situation, see here.  For more information about food distributions in particular, see here.

Gaza Blockade:

Israel again closed the border crossings into Gaza today, after allowing humanitarian supplies to enter yesterday. According to an Israeli Government spokesman, "the crossings are shut because of ongoing rocket fire" by Hamas.

Israel initially sealed the border on November 4th, in response to Hamas rocket and mortar fire against Israeli towns. Humanitarian supplies were not allowed through - by late last week UN warehouses were empty, causing the UN to suspend food distributions to 750,000 people.

Israel partially lifted the blockade yesterday, allowing 33 trucks to enter Gaza, including 21 carrying humanitarian supplies. In response, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) announced that it would resume food distributions on Tuesday.

That said, UNRWA requires a minimum of 15 trucks per day to sustain "normal humanitarian operations".

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Tracking - Rebels Advance in Eastern Congo, Thousands Flee

by Michael Kleinman

Published November 17, 2008 @ 09:22PM PST

[Condition:Critical - Voices from the war in eastern Congo; produced by Medecins Sans Frontieres]

Fighting in eastern Congo has caused over 250,000 civilians to flee their homes since August, including 100,000 people in the last two weeks.

In late October, rebel forces under Laurent Nkunda overran the Congolese Army and advanced to the edge of Goma, the largest city in North Kivu province, at which point Nkunda declared a ceasefire.

Aid workers are struggling to reach hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting.   For a map of the region, see here.

Developments over the last two days:

Sometimes, even irony fails.  Over the weekend, rebel leader Laurent Nkunda met with UN special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo and promised to participate in UN-led peace talks, respect the current ceasefire, and establish a humanitarian corridor to allow aid to reach civilians trapped behind rebel lines.

According to Nkunda: "We are behind [Obasanjo] and we are going to do our part so we can get on with this peace."

He went on to say: "Today is a great day for us because we were losing many men and now we have a message of peace. We should work with this mission."

Of course, it's possible that Nkunda has his own interpretation of what a "message of peace" entails.  Which would explain why the rebels attacked the Congolese army outside of Rwindi on Sunday, overrunning the town the next day.

For more information on the humanitarian situation, see below:

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Darfur - Ceasefire Holding, Except for Repeated Attacks

by Michael Kleinman

Published November 17, 2008 @ 03:32PM PST

As my co-blogger Michelle reported, the unilateral Darfur ceasefire announced last week by Sudanese President Omar Bashir seems to be somewhat lacking.

In a rare display of unanimity, different rebel factions all reported attacks by the Sudanese military over the past few days. A statement released Saturday by one faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) described attacks around the villages of Kurbia and Umraik in North Darfur:

"Yesterday they [the Sudanese military] started bombing from the morning. The Antonovs were moving from 7:00 am to midday. There were also bombings for two days before."

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) echoed accusations that the Sudanese military had bombed Kurbia, which anonymous UN sources have also confirmed.  Meanwhile, a different faction of the SLA reported Government attacks in the Diso area.

JEM also reported that the Sudanese military had attacked one of its bases on the Chadian border.

For its part, the Sudanese Government denied the bombings, while also claiming that the army had fought off bandits attacking a relief convoy.

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Tracking - Gaza Blockade, Aid Worker Shot in Somalia

by Michael Kleinman

Published November 17, 2008 @ 10:44AM PST

[People in Gaza dependent on aid - Footage from Al Jazeera]

Gaza Blockade:

This morning Israel allowed thirty trucks carrying humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza.  Of these, at least eight held supplies for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

This is the first humantiarian shipment allowed through the border since November 4th.

The blockade had greatly complicated humanitarian efforts in Gaza - UN warehouses ran empty last week, causing the suspension of food distributions to 750,000 people.

According to one UN spokesman, humanitarian goods from this morning's convoy "will last a matter of days. But then what?"

Israeli officials have said that future aid shipments are contingent on Hamas ceasing its rocket and mortar attacks.  For an analysis of the Israeli and Palestinian politics behind the recent fighting, see here.

Aid Worker Shot in Somalia:

Reuters reports that "a Somali aid worker was also critically injured when gunmen shot him in the head in Merka, a port city captured by the rebels Wednesday."

So far this year, thirty three aid workers have been killed in Somalia.

Meanwhile, Somali insurgents continued to gain ground, capturing the port of Barawe over the weekend. As mentioned above, this comes days after the insurgents took Merka, one of the main ports of entry for humanitarian supplies.

As Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf warned over the weekend, the Transitional Federal Government is "on the verge of total collapse."