Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – “The war that has already claimed 5 million lives has recommenced. The Congolese Bishops are describing it as a ‘cover-up’ war, used to distract attention from the exploitation of the natural resources of a country where 70% of the 60 million inhabitants live on less than one dollar a day,” says a statement sent to Agenzia Fides by Fr. Silvio Turazzi, Xaverian Missionary, on behalf of the network “Peace for Congo,” in referring to the war in North Kivu (in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo). The document recalls the position taken by the Congolese Bishops, in denouncing the crimes committed against the country’s population: “There are great consequences: thousands of dead, entire populations forced to flee and live in inhumane conditions, children and youth forced to enlist as soldiers in various armed groups…It is a humanitarian crisis in which we are eyewitnesses, and we cannot remain indifferent to the situation. We must denounce the war being used to satisfy occult ambitions that enslave the population and use them as a human shield. This has occurred following the free elections of 2006 and after the signing of the Goma Accords with the armed groups (January 2008), right in front of the Blue Helmets and the European and American sympathizers. Diplomacy seems to be ineffective. In fact, 90% of the mineral exports are illegal and there continues to be illegal arms trafficking. There is also the reported presence of Rwandan troops in the region who support dissident General Laurent Nkunda. In the area surrounding the city of Goma, over 1 million refugees are living in a miserable state, having been forced to abandon their land. The city itself has become a starvation camp where the price of food is completely inaccessible. A sack of beans that last year cost $20, now costs $95. The people of Kivu, forced from their land, are once again in danger of death.” The Pope’s appeal has been emphatic: “In this regard, I invite you to pray for reconciliation and peace in certain situations that are causing alarm and deep suffering: I am thinking of the peoples of North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo…” (Angelus, October 12, 2008).
The memory of Bishop Christophe Munzihirwa unites the communities of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, and other countries, with the sign of the Cross in his effort for peace. He used to say, “There are certain things that only the eyes that have cried can see.”
In his last message, Bishop Munzihirwa affirmed: “We have the hope that God will not abandon us and that in some part of the world a faint glimmer of hope will appear. God will not abandon us if we make the effort to respect the life of our neighbors, no matter what their ethnic background may be.” Today, October 29, marks the 12th anniversary of Bishop Munzihirwa, Archbishop of Bukavu (capital of South Kivu), who fought for respect for the human rights of all people, regardless of their ethnic origin. Twelve years later, the Kivu drama returns, but this time instigated by the rebel General Nkunda, the last in a series of leaders on a quest to appropriate the wealth that belongs to the Congolese people. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 29/10/2008)
