AFRICA/CONGO DR - Women used as targets in DRC's 20 year-long war

Bukavu (Agenzia Fides) - “Congolese women are tired of conferences on the violence they suffer and they want to get to the root causes of these acts,” says Sister Teresina Caffi, of the Missionaries of Mary, Xaverians, operating in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo), where on October 17 an international march of women was held. Thousands of women marched against the rapes committed by armed groups in the region.
"Women are a target of the war that has dragged on for 20 years in eastern DRC," said Sister Teresina. "The rapes are a way to destroy a people. In these years of war and insurgency in the province of South Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, since 1996 women have moved from innocent belief that the war only implied armies, or at least only men, to the surprise of being the target of armies and gangs in a most humiliating manner, with an often useless attempt to flee, endless humiliation, and sometimes to the point of death, and also, often to disillusionment in the face of humanitarian assistance that takes advantage of their tragedy."
"We're not just talking about an individual soldier that falls prey to the most brutal instincts and rapes a young woman, but rather a case of systematic use of sexual violence to destroy the people psychologically," continues the missionary. "When women are raped in front of children or members of the same family suffer incest, we are dealing with deliberate acts to destroy the humanity of people. We need to help spread the recent UN report denouncing these events."
The Agency DIA reported the testimony of youth who were raped by mineral prospectors, for magic-fetishist beliefs. We asked Sister Teresina if she thought there was a link to the violence committed by armed groups. "Certainly 20 years of war rapes have led to a trivialization of sexual violence. Children who have seen their mother raped 20 years ago are now adults and we do not know what effect this violence has had on their emotional balance. Ignorance then does the rest, as is evident in the legend that in order to protect themselves from AIDS they need to engage in sexual relations with a virgin."
"However, I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of Congolese women who have been able to cope with these horrors with courage and dignity. Several women have preferred to die rather than submit to the will of their captors. Others, after being subjected to such violence, are doing everything possible to recover a normal life and to take care of their children. We try to accompany them with psychological and material assistance," says Sister Teresina.
"In Kivu, there are several NGOs that help the Congolese women who have suffered violence. Unfortunately, some of these NGOs have made the plight of women a source of commerce. This is why the Congolese do not want so many appeals to solidarity on their behalf (because it risks fueling fund-raising that is not always trustworthy). They do, however, want to get to the root of the violence: they want to know who has promoted this strategy of war rapes," says Sister Teresina. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 21/10/2010)