July
13, 2007 (Thursday) Congo
|
Sitting is a cafe internet in the Congo. I thought Rwanda was a mind
blower. Only 24 hours here and my senses have been tested almost to their
limits. You can sit in the most modest of places , I chose the Palais de
l'eveque, the Bishop's Palace, and see in ten minutes the efforts to
survive on an unfriendly terrain. People are joyful to be here and not 50
miles away where life is very uncertain at best. My host Samuel, a quaker,
community organizer taught an Alternatives to Violence Project workshop
such as I helped with two days ago in Gisenyi. He did it last week in his
homeof Masisi, but it necessitated several exits from the trucks he was
on to avoid, militias on the rampage and various rebel factions who make
their own rules. "To him it was the way of life, the way of getting
around. He had to pull up stakes many times to survive with his family of
five children and eventually the stress was too much for his wife who
died in 2000 of a heart condition. He is fifty-three and getting the
children through school. He has been in several of the neighboring
countries and speaks , french, english swahili, kinyarwanda, and a number
of other african tongues. With his help I taught my first mediation
training in Goma today. We will do one more day. Some of the time was by
request a review of the work that Judy Friesem taught last november. This
was the first gathering of the group since then. I asked them to give me
a list of mediations they have done since that time and we will review
the successes and failures and see what else might be done. I've
suggested the formation of an association of mediators so that they may
have more frequent meetings to discuss problems and demonstrate to the
judiciary what they have been able to accomplish. then they can promote
themselves and mediation in their community. I told them that it took
years for mediation to gain acceptance in the US and still many people do
not know it and many still resist it. Patience is important in the early
days. We reviewed the process and I let them know that mediators all have
their particular styles and ways of doing things. There's also nothing
like trying to follow a class act such as Judy.
But back to the town of Goma, just a stone throw from Gisenyi. Booming
colorful, noisy, poverty beyond imagination, and fruitfullness as well.
If I took out my camera I might start a riot.
Staying at the bishop's palace, a misnomer, maybe like a bishopry in
Pittsburgh at the height of the steel mills' pollution. Everything
covered in volcanic dust. The lava passed a few yards from here going
through the center of town at sixty miles an hour. It didn't come down
the mountain so much as just opening up in the earth at random and shooting
down toward lake Kivu. Loss of life was low, but builiding destruction
high about 40% of the town. What do you do with cooled lava? Make bricks
and blocks and build over it. Some buildings on the main street had lower
sections destroyed but upper sections preserved. Bottom sections were dug
out but not repaired , and squatters moved in under it and street
children too. there are several outside waiting for the mzungu to come
out and give them something. It's hard to refuse.
My quarters have lights when the generator is turned on for a few hours
at night and a bucket of water to wash, and maybe some running too when
the generator is on. It's the way of life of the rich. I don't know what
the poor do.
I finish tomorrow afternoon. Only a two day course by request. Judy was
here for five days. I feel that they will learn from each other once they
get meetings scheduled and underway. It will be difficult to get
"experts" over here on a regular basis, and I'm not sure how
much can be taught that will be applicable to the local culture and
tradition. They have the base, thanks to Judy, and need to be reaffirmed
that the future of mediation is in their hands. We learn be doing in this
profession and get somethings from books and the occasional contact with
others who are doing the sa
|
|
|


Itinerary
George's
Route
Archive
Aug 21, 2007
Aug 16, 2007
Aug 14, 2007
Aug 12-13, 2007
Aug 10, 2007
Aug 6-8, 2007
Aug 5, 2007
Aug 1, 2007
July 30, 2007
July 29, 2007
July 23-25, 2007
July 24, 2007
July 22, 2007
July 20, 2007
July 15-17, 2007
July 12-13, 2007
July 13, 2007
July 12, 2007
July 8, 2007
June 30, 2007
June 12, 2007
June 11, 2007
Mediation Classes
and Case Studies
Nairobi
Kakamega/Lubao
Bujumbura, Rwanda
Kigali, Rwanda
Goma, Congo
Photos
1960's Africa
Germany
|
|