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Protecting the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga
A Moment of Anger
I woke up early this morning. One of our officers called me to inform me that two Rangers had been arrested at the refugee camp in Goma. Why were they arrested? For not having their id cards. They lost them when they lost almost everything they own after the attack on Rumangabo.
The officer clarified the issue.
“They are being held on suspicion of being with the enemy. Oh… and their cell phones and money were taken by the men who arrested them”.
My blood was boiling. Our two Rangers had stayed at Rumangabo, after the attack on 8th October. They remained, knowing the risk they were taking to protect the station from looters and to try to protect the park. On Sunday, they suffered the full brunt of the CNDP’s incredibly violent attack on Rumangabo and began their four-day ordeal. They were shot at, held up by armed men, and had no food and virtually no water for days. They covered almost 50km through thick forest. After all of that, they find themselves under arrest, which is a dangerous situation to be in under the current circumstances in Goma.
A phrase from one of our campaigners sprung to mind. Keep calm and carry on. And so I called Maitre Mathieu.
We are incredibly lucky to have Maitre Mathieu on our side. He is our legal counsel and knows the system like nobody else. Our Rangers were released within the hour. We are now working on producing employee id cards, that should help them against this kind of offence. We are also making a formal complaint to the authority concerned. All of this to stop it happening again.
By remaining very vigilant, we can protect some of our staff and their families, at least those who are with us in Goma. But our thoughts remain with those that are still in the forest. They have no protection against the excesses of armed men of little integrity. They share the suffering of hundreds of thousands of defenseless people caught up in the nightmare that has taken over our lives in recent days.
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15 Responses to “A Moment of Anger”
You are a hero mate. They are luckyt to have you on their side. Good luck and stay strong!
The emotion comes throught your post. Keep calm. as I know you do. I just wish we could be of practical help.
My thoughts & prayers are, as you say, with our friends who are lost in the forests.
I agree with Linda, it would be great to be able to offer more practical help. My thoughts are with you all and those who are still missing!
I agree - you’re all heroes!
I hope you saw this posting on Treehugger: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/mountain-gorillas-caught-in-middle-dr-congo-fighting-virunga-national-park.php
Spread the word.
My thoughts are with you.
You guys are doing an unbelievable job and have displayed incredible poise. Know that the news has gained significant traction in US media. At first it was just blips here and there, but tonight the coverage was much more substantial and National Public Radio even ran it as a feature story. Be safe.
This is wrong, it is so too wrong. Will it ever stop? How many deep breaths can one take? The impotence of of seeing the same injustices over and over again… is there any hope left that things could get better?
I don’t know what to say but I want you to know that you the support from all of us here at The Mara Conservancy.
Like you had said, that is for you a really nightmare all its events. I am happy of knowing that you found 2 guards and succeeded to go out of prison. I think of those which they are still in the drill without food, without water. I also hope that Diddy and Innocent will arrive to carrying the assistance to those which are still elsewhere. Thank you of your information. We can only pray for you. Take care of you… not imprudence. Now in France, each day, by TV or newspapers we have informations of R.D.Congo and National Park of Virunga.I have receive informations of Rwanda and RDCongo by Fondation Dian Fossey…
Emmanuel, as Robert said coverage of the events are starting to intensify worldwide and are being bumped up to leading stories on broadcast news where I live.
It’s a relief to read all of yours and everyone else’s reports here and to hear from Samantha recently. I hope that everyone else is located and brought to safety, soon.
Emmanuel, as Robert said coverage of the events are starting to intensify worldwide and are being bumped up to leading stories on broadcast news where I live.
It’s a relief to read all of yours and everyone else’s reports here and to hear from Samantha recently. I hope that everyone else is located and brought to safety, soon.
Congratulations on your progress in military strategy Emmanuel - and on keeping your calm and wits. This blog is an invaluable account of the situation, particularly for anyone who’s not familiar with African red tape. As ever, my support is with the entire team
SF
Both the french and the belgian government are intending to sent an intervention force within an european context. My (belgian) government wants to deploy a 500 paratroopers in the region where the goal would be to drive the CNDP back to the border. In Belgium your situation is a hot topic and several newspapers have spent several pages on the crisis,which is a good thing. Of course the most important now is the safety of your remaining missing rangers..Hopefully in one or another way they’ll able to get themselves relatively safe. In the meantime go on doing like before and try to stay calm! Wish we could do more, all the best!
Rwanda’s President Kagame needs to create land for the Hutu . He also has a lot of power over Laurent Nkunda (who is also Tutsi).
Until the Rwandan border is made calmer and the Hutu’s can be given the own special area, that zone will remain a hotspot.
Secondly, DCR President Kabila needs to rein in FARDC. We may find out that the retreating FARDC did more damage to the East Congo in the past few weeks than Nkunda’s CNDP.
In any case the situation will only be resolved if Kabila AND Kagame work something out together. The UN has no teeth and all the factions in the area know that.
I hope peace comes quickly so the masses may return to their homes, the rangers to their jobs, and the gorillas to quiet nests in the evening.
The news media in the UK concerning the conflict in and around Goma has put the story at the top of their agenda too. But it is stories such as these; the individual’s story that really bring home the human truth of conflict. Keep us updated. It these stories that need to be told.
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