Blogs & Ecology

The crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has flared up once again: 10 years of tension, on-and-off warfare and violence have taken their toll on the population, who are being displaced yet one more time. More than 5 million people have died during this warfare, thousands of women have been raped, and thousands of children have been recruited as children soldiers. On the following videos we bring you calls for action from the DRC citizens pleading with us to take a stand to stop the humanitarian crisis in the DRC.

The Kaibiles are soldiers in the Guatemalan Army that undergo a specialized, yet controversial training at a school in the northern part of the country, nicknamed “Hell”. Many Guatemalans reject the abusive training that the Kabiles receive, which some say, closely resembles self-inflicted torture.

Latest report from the Democratic Republic of Congo: “Staff of the International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP) have been evacuated from DR Congo, as things remain tense between the Congolese army and rebel militia.”

It seems all rangers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are safe: “There is still a lot of confusion and misinformation regarding our Rangers who were at Rumangabo HQ 8 days ago who we have not yet managed to locate. Some remained at Rumangabo, some fled to Goma, and some traveled north towards Rutshuru and Kiwanja.”

Description of life in a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo: “Yesterday afternoon I was at the camp with Diddy, checking on our Rangers and their families. The water situation is now under control, and we have not had another outbreak of cholera since Friday.”

A moving account of a rescue operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo: “The rescue operation yesterday was a success in that we were able to rescue the 12 Rangers with whom we had made contact. Eddy and I rode the motorbike about 15km north of Goma and then walked about 5km into the forest… and there they were, on top of a hill.”

Samantha writes about the latest fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo: “It’s total chaos in Goma. I am being told, through various phone calls and text messages, that the army have now laid down their weapons at Kibumba, 12 miles north of Goma, and are fleeing the rebels. In other words they have totally given up.”

Le Pangolin [Fr] posts an excerpt from Le Journal du Dimanche on a new provision that would reduce taxes for French companies that invest in developing countries, “especially in Africa.”

According to the excerpt, one logic behind the provision would be to encourage more private investment in the hopes that it could accomplish the results that foreign aid thus far failed to realize.

Le Pangolin discusses a new provision offering tax incentives to French companies who invest in developing countries [Fr] in particular Africa.  

Wildlife rangers in Virunga National Park in the Democratice Republic of Congo have launched a new website: “It is now exactly 2 weeks and 1 day since we launched and we would love to know what you all think of the site. What do you like the most? What needs work? What would you like to see? I, and all of us here in Virunga, really want YOUR INPUT. This site is all about this global community that supports Virunga and the mountain gorillas.”

Are you a Congolese musician?: “University of Bergen in Norway is searching for Congolese musicians who perform Congolese music”

A musical treat from the Democratic Republic of Congo at Highway Africa 2008 in South Africa: “Participants at the 12th Highway Africa conference in South Africa were mesmerized as Afro Fiesta musical group from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) took the stage at the Associated Bank of South Africa (ABSA) dinner night on Monday.”

Image by Robert Miller used under cc license.

In Congo, the Office of the Prime Minister has accused ten government agencies, including those responsible for collecting taxes and customs revenue, and the national water, electricity, and insurance authorities of embezzling US$ 1.3 billion, reports Forum Realisance [Fr] via Le Potential.

After news broke on Monday night that former Bosnian Serb leader and one of the world’s most wanted war criminals Radovan Karadžić had been arrested, astonished bloggers in the Balkans and all around the world started reacting to the story. And because of the recent request by the International Criminal Court's (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, some bloggers have been making comparisons between the two cases.