A Voice For the Voiceless
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Iledephonse Masumbuko Sangolo, Field Supervisor
“The state is nearly non-existent” - Iledephonse Masumbuko Sangolo, Field Supervisor for Arche d’Alliance
Meet Ildephonse Masumbuko Sangolo, field supervisor for Arche d’Alliance. It is Sangolo’s job to supervise the inqueteurs, or field monitors, in monitoring the human rights situation in remote parts of Uvira and Fizi. Sangolo is also is in charge of the Committees for Mediation and Conciliation (CMCs) and Noyaux de la Paix (NDLP) projects.
“We promote the respect of human rights to the local authorities,” says Sangolo, “but we also educate the general population on aspects of Congolese law so that they will be able to defend themselves.”
I asked Sangolo why human rights are being violated so massively in the Congo. “First,” he said, “We have this war that will not end. Secondly, the state is nearly nonexistent.”
Sangolo explained that since the justice system and those tasked with enforcing it are not paid enough by the Congolese government, people with guns, money, and influence are able to get away with breaking the law and violating basic human rights. As long as they can pay off the magistrates and police, they can literally get away with murder.
“There are certain judges who do not accept corruption,” says Sangolo, “but there are others to whom money is more important than all else. They must be brought to justice.”
Sangolo cited several examples where Arche intervened on behalf of people who would otherwise be ignored: a man whose land was given away by government officials who were either corrupt or inept, a 13 year old girl who was raped, and a woman who was raped by soldiers.
Sangolo told me that women’s rights are being massively violated, as a result of a combination of repressive local traditions and Congolese laws that are unfavorable towards women. Girls are not sent to school, or even if they are, they are expected to pay their own school fees. Husbands will tell their wives how to vote, and if a woman expresses herself in a public forum, she may face divorce or even severe physical violence. Women are often denied the right to inheritance.
“However, this is changing due to new laws which will strengthen the rights of women, starting with young girls. Right now it is a problem of application of these new laws.”
Sangolo explained that since the justice system is still weak, Arche’s work in educating the population on women’s rights is very important, and that the feedback has been positive.
“There are now women who can express themselves freely, without fear of retaliation,” he says, “And they are forming associations themselves to defend the rights of other women. These are the reactions we want: women expressing themselves, women voting their conscience, and women gaining the right to inheritance.”
What does Sangolo want to see in the future for the Congo? “I want to see a Congo where people can express themselves freely, and without violence,” he says, “For a long time it has been that the only way someone can express themselves is by taking up a gun. When a man can simply say something to the authorities and they will listen to him; that is what I want in a new Congo.” (Profile by Walter James, 2009)
“We are all Human Beings, We are all Congolese” - Rodrigue Rukumbuzi, Inqueteur for Arche d’Alliance
Rodrigue works around the town of Bijombo, deep in the Haut Plateau. A trip from Uvira to Bijombo takes two days, and half of the journey must be taken on foot, since after a certain point there are no roads suitable for vehicles. I was able to interview Rodrigue at Arche’s offices, the day before he was to leave for an extended field visit to Bijombo.
I asked Rodrigue how Arche works on mediation between members of different ethnic and tribal groups. Rodrigue is a member of the Banyamulenge ethnic group. In Bijombo, the majority of people are Banyamulenge, but there are also large groups of Bafulero [sin. Mufulero], Babembe, Bahungu, and Pygmies. Each ethnic group has its own language and a history of problems with other ethnic groups. Ethnic differences have often been the catalyst of violence and instability in this region, especially since cultural and ethnic territories flow across the national boundaries set by colonial powers so many years ago.
Rodrigue’s work primarily consists of educating people on the importance of living at peace with your neighbors, regardless of ethnicity, language, or tribal affiliation.
“There are Banyamulenge who do not understand the Bafulero,” he says, “so there are often problems. Thus, we educate the people on peaceful cohabitation and peaceful conflict resolution.”
Arche d’Alliance’s sends out “integrated” teams to places like Bujimbo, so a Banyamulenge like Rodrigue will work on peaceful conflict resolution with members of his ethnic group, while his Bafulero colleagues will work with the Bafulero, etc.
“During the Rwandan invasion, a lot of Bafulero fled Bijombo into the forest, towards Kamitunga,” says Rodrigue, “So some of the Banyamulenge stole the cows, goats, and land that they left behind. Consequently, repatriating Bafulero have had difficulties getting their property back.”
“In addition,” he continues, “The Mai Mai attacked some Banyamulenge villages and stole their cows. Now, when a Mufulero meets a Banyamulenge, they will both accuse the other of stealing their cows.”
Rodrigue believes that in order to stop ethnic conflict, everyone needs to set aside their differences and recognize the benefits of peaceful cohabitation. “We should all live together peacefully,” he says, “Since after all, we are all human beings, we are all Congolese, we live in the Congo, we are under the same constitution, we must all respect each other.”
Rodrigue and his colleagues in the Haut Plateau are working to form a CMC in Bijombo. Since the CMC will have balanced representation from each ethnic group, it will hopefully provide a means of alternative conflict resolution in an area where violence is often the rule rather than the exception to resolving conflicts.
“In the Haut Plateau, everyone has a gun in his home,” says Rodrigue, “So if they hear of trouble, the Banyamulenge and the Bafulero immediately get their guns out and start shooting each other.”
Obviously, working in the Haut Plateau is dangerous. One wishes safe passage for Rodrigue and his colleagues as they attempt to bring peace to a region rife with violence. (Profile by Walter James, 2009)
Tunza Mazingira protects the environment
As Ned writes in his blogs, the environment in the Congo has been under pressure since the time of King Leopold III. Today, the crisis has grown to alarming proportions, and is closely connected to security and dsisplacement. Deforestation is forcing families to move - and 80% of all Congolese families rely on agriculture for their food and income.
No one has sounded the alarm more insistently, or effectively, than Clément Kitambala (left), one of Uvira’s most prominent green activists. Clement’s group Tunza Mazingira (“Conserve The Environment” in Swahili), sounds the alarm on a range of environmental threats.
Green Pioneer: environmentalist Clement Kitambala
These have included soil erosion, which is literally eating away at homes in Uvira (below). The problem is caused by the uncontrolled clearing of land, as villagers move further out into the forests in search of food. Tree-planting programs on mountainsides and river banks have decreased soil erosion, maintained nutrients in the soil, and provide villagers with a sustainable income from the trees themselves.
Clement has warned of the accumulation of litter close to the shores of Lake Tanganyika had driven down fish yields, and called for the revival of a Congolese tradition known as Salongo, at which communities join together each Saturday morning for two hours to clean the streets and remove refuse.
Ned Meerdink helped Clement to distribute his message more widely in 2008. Clement began to publish a regular newsletter, which was printed at the office of Mutuelle Jeunesse Active (MJA). Clement then distributed 300 copies on his motorbike. As Ned noted in his blogs, this was an important contribution, because it brought isolated villagers into the information loop.
In the summer of 2009, Clement and Ned turned to the problem of fuel, which is one of the root causes of the green crisis. Clement set his sights on producing a new form of cooking fuel, which would cost less and also slow the rate of deforestation. Ned described the imaginative project in a blog post of May 13, 2009.
Because of the lack of electricity, many Congolese villagers use a charcoal (makala) derived from the eucalyptus tree. There are four stages to charcoal-making: first, strip up to half a hectare of eucalyptus trees; second, dig a series of large holes; third, cover the eucalyptus with smaller branches from surrounding trees (as kindling) and mud; and fourth, set light to the holes and leave them to simmer for three or four days. “The smell from these fires is pretty much the signature smell of eastern Congo,” wrote Ned. “The odor is actually pouring into my house as I write this. Not offensive at all actually, but ever-present.”
The average family will use 100 kilos of charcoal every four days. But the practice puts enormous pressure on the forest and people. Eucalyptus wood has become so scarce that the price of charcoal (100 kilos) has risen from $5 a sack in 2005 to $22 in 2009. “Those selling makala say the increase is due in small part to natural inflation,” writes Ned. “But the real reason was the absence of eucalyptus in traditional areas. This has forced harvesters to go further afield, in diesel trucks, to find makala.”
The search for charcoal is even increasing the risk of rape. Congolese women regularly go into the forests to collect firewood. The further they travel, the more vulnerable they become to violence and rape at the hands of armed groups.
The new fuel
In 2009, Clement and Ned went online and found a new method for producing cooking fuel from agricultural waste on the website of the Legacy Foundation (www.legacyfound.org). This looked promising, because agricultural waste is abundant in Eastern Congo, in the form of peel from bananas, sugar cane or manioc and compost material. Clement and Ned were lucky to find a UN fieldworker in Beni (Ituri Province) who gave Tunza Mazingira $150 to build a wood press capable of making 500 125g briquettes from waste every day.
The new fuel has many advantages over traditional charcoal: it is easier to light, burns longer, costs less, burns at a higher temperature, and requires only small amounts of wood to use. The average family will only need between 5 and 10 briquettes per meal. The overall effect? Reduce family budgets and the rate of deforestation.
Ned describes the process in his blogs: To make the briquettes, you basically need a team of three. One begins in the morning collecting 500 kilos of organic waste. This is easily done, because there is no organize waste disposal. (“People aren’t too concerned with giving you their garbage free,” writes Ned.) The trash is then processed to a pulp by the three team members and mixed with water to make a product a bit stiffer than bread dough.
The first sample briquettes included wood shavings, provided by local furniture builders. This makes a nice briquette that lights quickly, but the wood can easily be replaced if shavings are not available. Sugar cane stalks – the tough material that is left after the cane has been thoroughly chewed and all the water is sucked out - works equally well.
The mixture is then put in the press and pressed into briquettes, which are left in the sun to dry for a day or two. By mid-afternoon, the press has produced at least 500 briquettes. It was enough to provide cooking fuel for a family for up to two weeks, in a manner that was cheaper and much more sustainable.
Would it catch on? Part of this would depend on whether families were ready to change their habits. Part, too, depended on the supply – and enough briquettes being produced.
Clement’s goal was to secure funding for five more presses, which could be distributed to 5 different quartiers in Uvira. He also identified groups of demobilized female militia soldiers in each quartier, and thought that the project might – if it developed – provide work for them.
The new stove
The new fuel also requires a new type of stove. The Congolese families use metal cookers known as a bombula. In order to properly burn the new briquettes a family would need to have a modified bombula like the ones used in Burundi. The cost of modification typically runs about $3.
By the fall of 2009, Clement had tested out his prototype and found that it worked. He had many ideas for how to take it further. First, he needed to raise money to build five presses. He was also looking for a few hundred dollars to encourage families in the quartiers to modify their bombulas. If he could modify a small number of bombulas, instead of waiting for families to find to get $3, the idea might catch on. once again, Ned was able to help. Turn to the last page to see how.
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Iledephonse Masumbuko Sangolo, Field Supervisor
“The state is nearly non-existent” - Iledephonse Masumbuko Sangolo, Field Supervisor for Arche d’Alliance
Meet Ildephonse Masumbuko Sangolo, field supervisor for Arche d’Alliance. It is Sangolo’s job to supervise the inqueteurs, or field monitors, in monitoring the human rights situation in remote parts of Uvira and Fizi. Sangolo is also is in charge of the Committees for Mediation and Conciliation (CMCs) and Noyaux de la Paix (NDLP) projects.
“We promote the respect of human rights to the local authorities,” says Sangolo, “but we also educate the general population on aspects of Congolese law so that they will be able to defend themselves.”
I asked Sangolo why human rights are being violated so massively in the Congo. “First,” he said, “We have this war that will not end. Secondly, the state is nearly nonexistent.”
Sangolo explained that since the justice system and those tasked with enforcing it are not paid enough by the Congolese government, people with guns, money, and influence are able to get away with breaking the law and violating basic human rights. As long as they can pay off the magistrates and police, they can literally get away with murder.
“There are certain judges who do not accept corruption,” says Sangolo, “but there are others to whom money is more important than all else. They must be brought to justice.”
Sangolo cited several examples where Arche intervened on behalf of people who would otherwise be ignored: a man whose land was given away by government officials who were either corrupt or inept, a 13 year old girl who was raped, and a woman who was raped by soldiers.
Sangolo told me that women’s rights are being massively violated, as a result of a combination of repressive local traditions and Congolese laws that are unfavorable towards women. Girls are not sent to school, or even if they are, they are expected to pay their own school fees. Husbands will tell their wives how to vote, and if a woman expresses herself in a public forum, she may face divorce or even severe physical violence. Women are often denied the right to inheritance.
“However, this is changing due to new laws which will strengthen the rights of women, starting with young girls. Right now it is a problem of application of these new laws.”
Sangolo explained that since the justice system is still weak, Arche’s work in educating the population on women’s rights is very important, and that the feedback has been positive.
“There are now women who can express themselves freely, without fear of retaliation,” he says, “And they are forming associations themselves to defend the rights of other women. These are the reactions we want: women expressing themselves, women voting their conscience, and women gaining the right to inheritance.”
What does Sangolo want to see in the future for the Congo? “I want to see a Congo where people can express themselves freely, and without violence,” he says, “For a long time it has been that the only way someone can express themselves is by taking up a gun. When a man can simply say something to the authorities and they will listen to him; that is what I want in a new Congo.” (Profile by Walter James, 2009)
“We are all Human Beings, We are all Congolese” - Rodrigue Rukumbuzi, Inqueteur for Arche d’AllianceRodrigue works around the town of Bijombo, deep in the Haut Plateau. A trip from Uvira to Bijombo takes two days, and half of the journey must be taken on foot, since after a certain point there are no roads suitable for vehicles. I was able to interview Rodrigue at Arche’s offices, the day before he was to leave for an extended field visit to Bijombo.
I asked Rodrigue how Arche works on mediation between members of different ethnic and tribal groups. Rodrigue is a member of the Banyamulenge ethnic group. In Bijombo, the majority of people are Banyamulenge, but there are also large groups of Bafulero [sin. Mufulero], Babembe, Bahungu, and Pygmies. Each ethnic group has its own language and a history of problems with other ethnic groups. Ethnic differences have often been the catalyst of violence and instability in this region, especially since cultural and ethnic territories flow across the national boundaries set by colonial powers so many years ago.
Rodrigue’s work primarily consists of educating people on the importance of living at peace with your neighbors, regardless of ethnicity, language, or tribal affiliation.
“There are Banyamulenge who do not understand the Bafulero,” he says, “so there are often problems. Thus, we educate the people on peaceful cohabitation and peaceful conflict resolution.”
Arche d’Alliance’s sends out “integrated” teams to places like Bujimbo, so a Banyamulenge like Rodrigue will work on peaceful conflict resolution with members of his ethnic group, while his Bafulero colleagues will work with the Bafulero, etc.
“During the Rwandan invasion, a lot of Bafulero fled Bijombo into the forest, towards Kamitunga,” says Rodrigue, “So some of the Banyamulenge stole the cows, goats, and land that they left behind. Consequently, repatriating Bafulero have had difficulties getting their property back.”
“In addition,” he continues, “The Mai Mai attacked some Banyamulenge villages and stole their cows. Now, when a Mufulero meets a Banyamulenge, they will both accuse the other of stealing their cows.”
Rodrigue believes that in order to stop ethnic conflict, everyone needs to set aside their differences and recognize the benefits of peaceful cohabitation. “We should all live together peacefully,” he says, “Since after all, we are all human beings, we are all Congolese, we live in the Congo, we are under the same constitution, we must all respect each other.”
Rodrigue and his colleagues in the Haut Plateau are working to form a CMC in Bijombo. Since the CMC will have balanced representation from each ethnic group, it will hopefully provide a means of alternative conflict resolution in an area where violence is often the rule rather than the exception to resolving conflicts.
“In the Haut Plateau, everyone has a gun in his home,” says Rodrigue, “So if they hear of trouble, the Banyamulenge and the Bafulero immediately get their guns out and start shooting each other.”
Obviously, working in the Haut Plateau is dangerous. One wishes safe passage for Rodrigue and his colleagues as they attempt to bring peace to a region rife with violence. (Profile by Walter James, 2009)
Tunza Mazingira protects the environment
As Ned writes in his blogs, the environment in the Congo has been under pressure since the time of King Leopold III. Today, the crisis has grown to alarming proportions, and is closely connected to security and dsisplacement. Deforestation is forcing families to move - and 80% of all Congolese families rely on agriculture for their food and income.
No one has sounded the alarm more insistently, or effectively, than Clément Kitambala (left), one of Uvira’s most prominent green activists. Clement’s group Tunza Mazingira (“Conserve The Environment” in Swahili), sounds the alarm on a range of environmental threats. Green Pioneer: environmentalist Clement Kitambala
These have included soil erosion, which is literally eating away at homes in Uvira (below). The problem is caused by the uncontrolled clearing of land, as villagers move further out into the forests in search of food. Tree-planting programs on mountainsides and river banks have decreased soil erosion, maintained nutrients in the soil, and provide villagers with a sustainable income from the trees themselves.
 |
| This house in Uvira is threatened by a sink hole, caused by the uncontrolled clearing of land. |
Clement has warned of the accumulation of litter close to the shores of Lake Tanganyika had driven down fish yields, and called for the revival of a Congolese tradition known as Salongo, at which communities join together each Saturday morning for two hours to clean the streets and remove refuse.
Ned Meerdink helped Clement to distribute his message more widely in 2008. Clement began to publish a regular newsletter, which was printed at the office of Mutuelle Jeunesse Active (MJA). Clement then distributed 300 copies on his motorbike. As Ned noted in his blogs, this was an important contribution, because it brought isolated villagers into the information loop.
In the summer of 2009, Clement and Ned turned to the problem of fuel, which is one of the root causes of the green crisis. Clement set his sights on producing a new form of cooking fuel, which would cost less and also slow the rate of deforestation. Ned described the imaginative project in a blog post of May 13, 2009.
Because of the lack of electricity, many Congolese villagers use a charcoal (makala) derived from the eucalyptus tree. There are four stages to charcoal-making: first, strip up to half a hectare of eucalyptus trees; second, dig a series of large holes; third, cover the eucalyptus with smaller branches from surrounding trees (as kindling) and mud; and fourth, set light to the holes and leave them to simmer for three or four days. “The smell from these fires is pretty much the signature smell of eastern Congo,” wrote Ned. “The odor is actually pouring into my house as I write this. Not offensive at all actually, but ever-present.”
The average family will use 100 kilos of charcoal every four days. But the practice puts enormous pressure on the forest and people. Eucalyptus wood has become so scarce that the price of charcoal (100 kilos) has risen from $5 a sack in 2005 to $22 in 2009. “Those selling makala say the increase is due in small part to natural inflation,” writes Ned. “But the real reason was the absence of eucalyptus in traditional areas. This has forced harvesters to go further afield, in diesel trucks, to find makala.”
The search for charcoal is even increasing the risk of rape. Congolese women regularly go into the forests to collect firewood. The further they travel, the more vulnerable they become to violence and rape at the hands of armed groups.
The new fuel
In 2009, Clement and Ned went online and found a new method for producing cooking fuel from agricultural waste on the website of the Legacy Foundation (www.legacyfound.org). This looked promising, because agricultural waste is abundant in Eastern Congo, in the form of peel from bananas, sugar cane or manioc and compost material. Clement and Ned were lucky to find a UN fieldworker in Beni (Ituri Province) who gave Tunza Mazingira $150 to build a wood press capable of making 500 125g briquettes from waste every day.
 |
| The press in action: The material is mixed in the buckets and then pressed into briquettes. |
The new fuel has many advantages over traditional charcoal: it is easier to light, burns longer, costs less, burns at a higher temperature, and requires only small amounts of wood to use. The average family will only need between 5 and 10 briquettes per meal. The overall effect? Reduce family budgets and the rate of deforestation.
Ned describes the process in his blogs: To make the briquettes, you basically need a team of three. One begins in the morning collecting 500 kilos of organic waste. This is easily done, because there is no organize waste disposal. (“People aren’t too concerned with giving you their garbage free,” writes Ned.) The trash is then processed to a pulp by the three team members and mixed with water to make a product a bit stiffer than bread dough.
The first sample briquettes included wood shavings, provided by local furniture builders. This makes a nice briquette that lights quickly, but the wood can easily be replaced if shavings are not available. Sugar cane stalks – the tough material that is left after the cane has been thoroughly chewed and all the water is sucked out - works equally well.
The mixture is then put in the press and pressed into briquettes, which are left in the sun to dry for a day or two. By mid-afternoon, the press has produced at least 500 briquettes. It was enough to provide cooking fuel for a family for up to two weeks, in a manner that was cheaper and much more sustainable.
Would it catch on? Part of this would depend on whether families were ready to change their habits. Part, too, depended on the supply – and enough briquettes being produced.
Clement’s goal was to secure funding for five more presses, which could be distributed to 5 different quartiers in Uvira. He also identified groups of demobilized female militia soldiers in each quartier, and thought that the project might – if it developed – provide work for them.
The new stove
The new fuel also requires a new type of stove. The Congolese families use metal cookers known as a bombula. In order to properly burn the new briquettes a family would need to have a modified bombula like the ones used in Burundi. The cost of modification typically runs about $3.By the fall of 2009, Clement had tested out his prototype and found that it worked. He had many ideas for how to take it further. First, he needed to raise money to build five presses. He was also looking for a few hundred dollars to encourage families in the quartiers to modify their bombulas. If he could modify a small number of bombulas, instead of waiting for families to find to get $3, the idea might catch on. once again, Ned was able to help. Turn to the last page to see how.
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