Home for the Holidays

Hello all! After 40 hours of travel, including an unexpected extra four hours in Washington Dulles airport, I arrived home on Saturday night, to windchills around -20 degrees Centigrade. Not quite the "Warm" welcome home I was expecting! However, the opportunity to reunite with my extended family on Sunday afternoon over an early Christmas dinner was a welcome treat, and Laura had a chance to meet some of my relatives for the first time.

This week we are wrapping up the proofing and editing of a funding request to USAID, which, when couple with the request to the Canadian CIDA, will enable Food for the Hungry and World Relief to help 36,000 war victims in Congo return to their homes and restart their lives. Please pray that this funding is approved, and we can get the projects, which include supporting farmers, small business, and women and children, started as soon as possible. The big concern is that planting season is early in the new year, and without needed tools and seeds to plant, many Congolese families will face famine through the next year. The immediate response to these needs can have long term effects for the whole region.

I am also shifting gears and preparing for the return to classes (in the nar future, perhaps?) if the strike is resolved. This trip has given me a lot of "food for thought", so I hope to channel these ideas into research papers. The cold winter weather, with 15 cm. of fresh snow last night, is sufficient encouragement to stay inside and do school work! I have posted new photos to my Picasa site, so please feel free to peruse!

Round Two in the DRC

Well, politically, things are moving in the wrong direction here. In the latest news, the UN Special Envoy (former Nigerian President Obasanjo)has given Nkunda more notoriety and confidence, the North Kivu governor has conceeded to talk to Nkunda, who says he demands only to talk to the President, and fighting has resumed in Masisi territory, as Nkunda expands his little empire. Another "Rumble in the Jungle", and Nhunda is Ali. Confident, arrogant, smaller and more hungry that his rival.

Meanwhile, with a ringside seats, I'd rather just wait until the KO or the tenth round, so we can start mopping up the floor. Right now, I'm on my second 24 hour turnaround for a grant proposal, hopefully concluding in a plane ticket home.

Rwanda, land of a thousand hills and millions of broken hearts

I went to the Kigali City Genocide Memorial today. Definitely sobering. Most sobering to me was that I just came from North Kivu, where the same feelings of mistrust, selfishness and hatred for those who are different is continuing on, as more women are raped, children become killers, and families are driven apart.

And it's never over. Two weeks ago in Goma, Rwandans told me that, if French troops were stationed in Congo (as part of a UN peacekeeping force), then they would cross into Congo and declare war, in retaliation for French assistance to the "genocidiares".

Did the American government support the return of Paul Kagame and the Tutsi minority to power in Rwanda? Do they support (through Rwanda) the rebel leader Nkunda, as many Congolese suggest? Is the media promoting Nkunda and his Tutsi rebel group out of shame for their poor coverage of the genocide?

The answers to these questions are not, and may never be clear. What is clear, is that any group, be it military, political, ethnic or religious, that forces citizens to "take sides" is not seeking peace. Identifying people as "them" or "us" is never unifying.

In the memorial, many of the memories from survivors are not of the "liberating forces" that stopped the genocide, and eventually formed a 'new Rwanda', but of heroes...people who could have joined the majority, should have participated, but instead gave up their homes, their food, and often their lives, to protect the innocent. Their neighbours, their "enemies", but their strongest allies.

Peace is not made by drawing lines in the sand, but by crossing overn those lines, and saying no to violence and ignorant intolerance.

Rest Day, TIA

Well, there was a gap in time zones, between my draft of the project proposal going to the US, and them waking up to send me a revision, so I decided to squeeze in a day off. The rest of my time is leaving, so I rode back with them to Kigali, for a Rwandan R&R.

We left Goma at 11:00 or so, and had little problem leaving DRC, except the immiration officer informed us he had to keep our visa receipts, a "new policy" since last week, when we last went through the border. Minor delay. Oh, and a drunk man was groping women at the border, so the police chased him, beat him, and handcuffed him to a tree by the river to sober up.

Then, upon arriving at Rwanda immigration, we discovered that our Ethiopian colleague, who joined us a few days earlier to lend an expert pair of hands on IDP assessment, was not allowed to enter without a visa. So, he has a flight to catch that night, four hours away, he has to apply online for a visa, wait three days, (and it's Sunday, so make that four), and then come back. Meanwhile, he can't go back to Congo, because he doesn't have a visa receipt for there anymore, they just took it!

Rwanda doesn't take bribes (not in public), so we just had to wait and beg long enough for the officer to feel he had shown us how good he was at his job, then we were able to go. Actually, it reminded me a lot of US Immigration officers...

So we finally got to Kigali, Mesele caught his flight, and I got back to work to get the CIDA proposal done. Just finished now, so tomorrow morning I can take the second half of my day off, visit Martin Rusenga, whom many know, of Nu-Vision ministries, and see the sights of Kigali. Then, back to work in the afternoon to start on the second funding request from the US government. I may be going back to Congo on Tuesday, that is yet to be decided.

Good night all.

La vie congolaise...

I just returned from a two day assessment trip, two of us from FHI and two from World Relief. You can see the pictures at my Picasa site. What a sad state, amid such beauty and grandeur... a village of 450 families finds themselves trapped between two armies. Grenades destroy homes, and the whole community flees. After suffering bullet wounds, fractures from falling buildings and cuts and bruises from their flight, they arrive at a displacement camp with insufficient resources to sustain them. Thousands of families huddled in tents on a lava field. No wonder, after less than a month, they return to their community, to find their livestock stolen, with not even a chicken remaining. Meanwhile, their own cattle are promenaded past them by the "new owners", eating their soon-to-fail corn and bean crops.

When I spoke to UN and other agency officials, they confirmed what I had seen, "It's a gap. We're focusing on the displaced, in the camps and in host families, and no one is assisting those brave enough to return home." Hopefully we can offer some aid. I'm busy working on aid proposals, but may be home soon.

Canadian in the Congo

Well, it's a week late, but here's a brief post on me in the Congo. I'm working for Food for the Hungry International (FHI) again, on an assessment mission to determine how we can appropriately respond to the crisis here. FHI has worked for several years in Sud-Kivu province, so there is an experienced Congolese staff available, as wll as a lot of support from the regional office in nearby Rwanda.

As you may have seen on the news, there is currently a rebel movement (CNDP), which is warring with the Congolese army (FARDC) in the province of Nord-Kivu (NK). This description is, however, far too simple. In reality, there are at least 7 different armed groups, most of which have formed to defend their region from other armed groups, and creating a constant, rolling game of Risk, with areas changing hands all the time. Unfortunately, this area is not empty, and the civilians become the pawns of ever changing warlords. In an effort to defend themselves, the Congolese have been constantly running away from conflict, and camping in a "safe" area until the conflict finds them, and they are on the run again. The army has managed to hold the town of Goma, and many displaced people are gathered around this town. However, there are many behind CNDP lines, where few or no humanitarian agencies dare to go.

All armed forces have signed agreements to not harm humanitarians, and so far these have been kept. Traveling under the banner of a recognized agency creates relative safety, and we have been able to visit regions behind the CNDP lines and been welcomed.

There are at least half a million people displaced right now, and many have received no help in months. Imagine camping for 6 months in the rain with only a few dollars, in the rain, with no tent, and a family of six. The situation for many is desperate, and the close, unhygenic quarters have led to increased cases of serious diseases like cholera.

I'm going back behind rebel lines on Wednesday for a two day trip, as we identify the most critical needs and prepare a proposal for funding. Here's a picture of me with a CNDP Captain I met, who ahs a brother in Ottawa.

Freed but not without the marks

A recent update sent to me from Burma: "$$$$ told me that there are some officers keeping eyes on him all the time. He told me that the time while he was arrested was really bad for him. He didn't have any second to sleep for three days and nights. He also thought to take his own life. Praise the Lord that God took care of him. I told him not to worry about any thing. We will be keeping on praying for him. Please continue praying for **** too. Because he is changing his staying place every day. This is because he has been informed by his relatives that Burmese officers are searching for him."

Please pray!

Burma on my minds

I do apologize for the delay in following up on my last post...I am continuing to support the team fro home, back in Guelph. I have edited some previous posts to remove connections between my work and the agency, please don't compromise this with comments, as you will see the seriousness below!

I was relieved by an excellent team leader, two decades my senior, who will be in Rangoon for a month. We also mobilized a disaster response training for local volunteers, the details of which I can't discuss openly. I received word this morning that one of these local volunteers has been detained for suspicious travel activity. It continuous to be difficult to aid the needy. Please pray for the local team and also my replacement, working alone in Rangoon, as well as all the support team in Bangkok and other areas.

Please email me privately with follow up questions, etc., as no more details can be posted on an open blog.

My time in Myanmar

Finally, after four days of meetings at the UN, with other Christian relief agencies, and with donors like the Canadian and American governments, I flew to Yangon (Rangoon) on Monday morning, May 26. So, a brief intro to Myanmar (Burma).

First, the two names. Since a military coup deposed democratic rule, and installed a totalitarian regime with a terrible human rights record, the Canadian and American governments (among others) have imposed economic sanctions and refuse to recognize the authority of the regime. This includes recognizing the names of cities (Yangon) and the state (Myanmar) and referring to the pre-regime names. Part of the politics of working there is remembering the appropriate name for the appropriate party, to avoid offending anyone. However, I also use them interchangeably here.

Yangon is a small city, not modern at all, despite a beautiful, empty modern airport terminal. Odd quirks include driving on the right side of the road, with most vehicles right hand drive, which makes being a front seat passenger an adventure. Economic sanctions has restricted new imports, so almost all vehicles on the road are from the 70s or earlier. Nevertheless, I only saw one accident in my time there.

There is a surprising high level of English spoken in Yangon, at least equal to that of Thailand. The landscape is dominated by the large, golden pagodas for which the country is named ("The Golden Land") Buddhism is very visible, with a majority of pedestrian traffic being monks and nuns of all ages. Even so, animism and other spiritual leanings are strong - the government has a Ministry of Astrology.

While in Yangon, I met with church leaders, social group leaders, and businessmen who were already reaching out to their fellow Burmese. I also met with the Yangon version of the same meetings I was at in Bangkok. The government, in it's need for control, has restricted internet access, through a proxy server, which blocks much of the public domain, including email access, which is filtered. I am certain my hotel phone line was tapped, and the government controls distribution of mobile phones, with "world phones" not working there. During my time there, the government first promised, then rescinded access for international aid workers to the remote regions. They arrested and detained local volunteers and citizens handing out aid, and in general, confounded all attempts at aid (which they see as attempts at control), through red tape and double stories. This was the most frustrating relief response I, and many other much more seasoned professionals, have been involved in.

One exciting moment took place when a church leader called my hotel late at night and asked to meet me on urgent business. He arrived to take me away in his car (which was unexpected), under cover of dark, to an unknown area of the city, where a Bible school (the term is over), was "hiding" a whole village. Mostly Christian, these families had fled the flood plain with their pastor, and sought refuge in Yangon. The seminary had taken in in 480 people, including many orphans and widows, and was feeding and clothing them. They were hidden, because the Burmese can't relocate in their own country without permission, and all the cyclone victims would have been put into a camp or sent home. I could take no pictures or names there. The church leaders informed me this was happening all over the city, leading to another logistics problem: How do you aid victims that don't exist? Really, the only feasible solution is to aid the local civil society members in reaching out, on the edge of illegal activity, to aid their fellow Burmese.

One Night in Bangkok

After a relatively painless flight compliments of Cathay Pacific, and an excellent bowl of congee in Hong Kong, I arrived in Bangkok (BKK) on Sunday night local time. I had enough time to buy a new cell phone, eat a fabulous, spicy, $3 stirfry and crash. The next morning started at 6:30 with a quick review of emails and exisiting data, before a breakfast meeting at 7:30. The rest of the day was sepnt in meetings, and power meals, until the final debrief at 11:00 pm. This was the most networking I've done in my life, but it provided several contacts both in Myanmar (MM) and in BKK, and an invitation letter to enter MM on a business visa. Currently, Tuesday morning, I am sitting in the visa queue at the MM embassy (about 3 hours long) to apply. The rest of this week will be made up of continued meetings.

BKK is a remarkable city, with public transit ranging from motorcycles and tuktuks ( a kind of motorcycle/carriage cross) to buses, good taxis and even a rapid transit line that runs above the city, and a subway. The best part about the city is that snacks are available everwhere - along every street are little stalls with satay, donuts, fresh clams, coffee, rice, fresh fruit. You just stop, grab a stool on the sidewalk, and take a abreak witha newspaper for a few coins. Or, for the truly wealthy, Pizza Hut, Subway and others provide fast food options for a few dollars...

In Transit to the Field Again

Well, I have been recalled to respond to the increasingly critical disaster in Mynamar. Currently in Hong Kong, I will arrive in Bangkok Sunday morning (EST) to sit in on a series of meetings with various agencies and funding partners. These meetings, and project proposals hammered out over the next few days will provide FH with the opportunity to support the needs of some of the likely 2 million Burmese people in need of assistance at this time. More posts to follow!