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Protecting the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga
The Morning After
I am now back at home after an uncomfortable night in a car with William and Eddy at the UN compound in Goma where 650 other people were also taking refuge.
The shooting carried on until about 1am and then it was quiet. It was a clear night, the stars were out, and you could clearly see the Nyiragongo volcano that shone like a beacon over the city. I cannot remember the last time it was so orange and so bright - a real ball of fire, which of course it is quite literally.
This is the Nyirangongo volcano this morning. I of course did not think to take a photo last night. But imagine this glowing with lava - it was like the Olympic torch. That was where any similarities with Bejing end however.
You could also see the bullets in the sky, shining red. Apparently they paint the end of the bullet and that is what makes it shine like that. So you can tell when you get to the end of a round, without actually having to count.
If we had not been in the midst of all the fighting and looting, it would almost have looked like a firework display.
This morning we woke also to clear skies, and left the compound at about 9am.
This morning, over the mayhem of the impromptu camp, you could see Mikeno and Karisimbi volcanoes in the background. Mountain gorillas live on the flanks of both of those volcanoes. So close and yet so far. We of course have no way of knowing how the mountain gorillas are doing in all of this.
Water was brought in for everyone - and there were blankets and mats, but not really enough to go around. Fortunately it was not a cold night.
Emmanuel is fine in the office where he and the guard Jean-Pierre crashed for the night. Diddy is elated as he managed to locate his family in Kiwanja. They had fled 10km out of town into the forest, and returned early this morning as the situation has calmed. The CNDP rebels - Nkunda’s rebels - are in total control of Kiwanja and Rutshuru and have put in their own administration for the area. The national army, police and administators have all left - so a vast swathe of the province is now in CNDP control.
This morning at the UN compound people were just hanging around, waiting til it was deemed safe to leave.
Innocent had an uncomfortable night. His neighbor’s house was looted by fleeing military. Fortunately Innocent, his wife and 5 kids are okay and they were not robbed. But it was only last week that Innocent’s parents and sisters were attacked of course in their home in Rutshuru.
We were all getting ready to leave this morning by this gate!
Balemba is also fine, and I can confirm that the Rangers at the camp are also doing okay this morning.
Pierre is on holiday in Lamu - good timing.
So now the city is calm. There are pedestrians on the streets, but not much motorized traffic. There is much reporting in the news (including conflicting reports) about what is going on. Let’s see what today brings.
Finally, I just got emails from the Zoological Society of London that they are going to donate £10,000 to our appeal, and also from The Thin Green Line Foundation that they will contribute $10,000 (and maybe another $10,000 later on). That is fantastic news.
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News from Congo
- UN Says 160 Women Raped Each Week in the Congo's Kivu Provinces - BusinessWeek
- One by one, rebels desert from army in Congo - Washington Post
- St. Michael's to host symposium on Congo Wednesday - BurlingtonFreePress.com
- Congo-Kinshasa: Lubanga Witness Says He Was Paid US $200 To Tell Lies - AllAfrica.com
- From 'Oprah' to building a sisterhood in violent Congo - Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- Congo-Kinshasa: ICGLR to Meet On Illegal Exploitation of DRC Minerals - AllAfrica.com
- World Bank injects Shs200b into Nusaf - Daily Monitor
- Katanga posts profit on improving output - Reuters
- From 'Oprah' to Building a Sisterhood in Congo - New York Times
- Congo Lifts Ban on Exports by 16 Mining Companies - BusinessWeek
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17 Responses to “The Morning After”
What a relief Sam to read your post. I have heard though through radio Okapi this morning that 9 civilians are dead. Please keep us informed on your moves. Are you planning to stay in Goma?
Am off to Rwanda in an hour or so. The situation is calm at present but am not sure what is going to happen later. Back tomorrow.
Please be safe all……..we are all praying for an end to this incessant craziness going on!
Glad to hear from you Sam. Be safe traveling to Rwanda. Here’s a front-page story from BBC News (I can’t find anything in U.S. papers): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7699286.stm
Nice that the Congolese army are stealing from their own people to run like cowards. Disgusting.
s.
reading this every day and passing stuff on to the cnn team in London…there’s some coverage of this in the UK/intl press, but little that is sticking…mx
I too am trying to get attention on this matter. We are with you and hope for this awful time to pass very soon.
Hi Sam:
Happy to hear you and others are safe. I was wondering about you last night when I went to bed. Thanks for keeping us informed.
Hi Sam,
I too, am relieved to hear that you and the others are safe. Have safe travels to Rwanda and I’m looking forward to more updates from you.
Glad you guys managed OK last night! Hang in there!!
Samantha — Thanks for touching base — so relieved that you are all safe, and Innocent and Diddy’s families too. A million thoughts and prayers to all of you!
So glad you are safe my dear, and that you are taking precautions. Thanks for keeping us posted.
[...] The Morning After [...]
Pourquoi pas un poste dans les donations pour une prime sur la tete de Nkunda?
Pascal Je pense vous boisign de reguarder plus information avant parler. Nkunda est nepas la problem. la problem est la les rangers est un part de une government pas bien qui est en alliance avec les genocidaires .smarten up .Stirring hatred does not help
[...] The very good Global Voices features bloggers who are discussing this issue. One on the scene blogger is a woman who runs the official blog of the Virguna National Park in Congo. [...]
This insanity must be stopped! Someone has to come in and help. Tomorrow, after our election — God willing, Obama will be elected — I am going to contact my Representative. He is a very good man, knows Obama, and has been working to get him elected. Hopefully he can get something started to help put an end to this horror in the Congo. I am hoping that since Obama’s father was from Africa, maybe he will show some compassion for the tragedies that are going on in that part of the world.
Maybe, if everyone, strongly encourages their government to help out, positive changes can be made.
[...] Samantha offre un altro aggiornamento [in] della situazione e aggiunge qualche foto scattata dalla sua postazione: I ribelli del CNDP - [...]