Congo’s Resilient Women
Resilience has taken on new meaning in Congo. In the U.S., we use the word resilience to describe someone who has made something of their life after a hard childhood, or managed to recover after a deep personal loss, or has endured a difficult situation. All of these scenarios can be painful and deeply troubling, but in Congo, the word resilience means something else entirely. Today, I heard a story so horrific that it is hard to write the words. Katrina* was raped by members of an armed group after her husband was killed. She was then forced to eat his genitals while her two young daughters were raped. Her family abandoned her, calling her a “sorceress” and blaming her for the attacks. She was left alone to care for her two daughters who became pregnant as a result of the rapes. Katrina’s story is beyond my comprehension. Despite the unimaginable…
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Illness With Ebola-like Symptoms Kills Several In Congo: Locals
Democratic Republic of Congo has sent its health minister and a team of experts to the remote northern Equateur province after several people died there from a disease with Ebola-like symptoms, a local official and a professor said on Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear if there was any connection with Ebola. An epidemic of that disease has killed more than 1,200 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
“An illness is spreading in Boende but we don’t know the origin,” said Michel Wangi, a spokesman for the governor’s office. “The government has sent a team of experts from the INRB(National Institute of Biomedical Research) this morning led by the health minister (Felix) Kabange Numbi and acting governor Sebastian Impeto.”
A professor accompanying the delegation in the presidential plane confirmed that they were en route this morning to find out “the exact nature of the illness that caused…
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Fashion in the DRC and The Rules of Sapology
FASHION IN THE DRC
Bold, Bright and Brilliant; just a few words to describe the stunning prints and fabrics used in creating Congolese fashion.
(Picture by Lisa Clarke)
Unlike Western trends, Congolese styles are created to stand out from the crowd, making use of both vibrant hues and striking prints, reflecting African culture.
Traditionally,Congolese clothing is centred on the wearing of colourful materials referred to as ‘Liputa’. These types of fabrics are worn by both men and women, and can more often than not be found at the local market. They are usually cut into strips from two to six yards in length, and to complete the look are typically worn with a complementing headscarf.
‘Liputa’ are sometimes also designed for different purposes, and aimed at certain audiences, for example paying tribute to a leader, marking a special occasion or at a sporting event.
SAPOLOGY
Moving…
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8 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT EBOLA VIRUS
NOTE THAT THERE ARE SOME PICTURES HERE THAT MIGHT BE OFFENSIVE SO BRACE YOURSELF
1. EBOLA IS A DEADLY INFECTION
Ebola is a deadly infection that shows up between 2 and 21 days after one is infected. it damages the immune system. It damages body organs all these will happen in weeks. It mostly results in death up to 90%. Cases have been recorded in these African countries: Congo (DRC), Sudan, Gabon, cote d’ voire, Uganda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, 1 case in Nigeria.
2. EBOLA DOES NOT KILL EVERYONE THAT GETS INFECTED
Not all persons that had got infected with the disease resulted in death. There had been cases where some patients did not die as a result. Scientists do not really know why that happened, but the explanation is that their body immune system was able to fight it somehow. Know that fatality is up to 90%.
3. EBOLA…
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The Forest Giraffe (Okapi)
Congo’s own giraffe!
Giraffids–extinct and extant (painting by Mauricio?)
The Giraffoidea are a superfamily of artiodactyl mammals. They first evolved in the Miocene and they share a common ancestor with the deer and antelopes (and a slightly more distant common ancestor with hippos, pigs, and cows). Once the giraffes were numerous and mighty—twenty different genuses of these huge long-necked grazers spread throughout Eurasia and Africa. There were giraffids of all sizes and sorts—magnificent creatures bristling with hornlike ossicones and flourishing their long black tongues! But in the modern world the once-great family has shrunk down to two single species. The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is well known and features prominently in all sorts of cartoons and literature. The other last giraffe—the forest giraffe (more commonly known as the okapi) is much more obscure and was not known to science until 1901.
A male okapi (Okapia Johnstoni) at the Dublin zoo
Legends existed of a…
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Bas-Congo: 13 500 Congolais expulsés de Pointe-Noire
Environ 13 500 Congolais sont expulsés, depuis deux semaines, de Pointe-Noire, dans le cadre de l’opération Mbata ya Mikolo (traduisez en français : gifle des aînés), menée par la police du Congo-Brazzaville. Le coordonnateur de la société civile du Bas-Congo, Valentin Vangi, a indiqué samedi 19 juillet, que ces expulsés sont enregistrés à la
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Katanga: 800 pygmées se réfugient à Kabalo-centre, après l’attaque d’une milice
Environ 800 pygmées ont, depuis quelques jours, abandonné leurs localités pour se réfugier à Kabalo-centre, à plus de 1000 km de Lubumbashi (Katanga). Ils fuient les attaques attribuées à une milice des jeunes bantous qui brulent leurs habitations. Des auteurs de ces assauts portent des jupes cousues en raffia, des gris-gris autour des cous et des armes composées de flèches empoisonnées, selon des sources locales.
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RD Congo : Le massacre d’un peuple pour le “bonheur” du monde
Par Boniface Musavuli
« Le monde est dangereux à vivre, non pas tant à cause de ceux qui font le mal, mais à cause de ceux qui regardent et laissent faire » disait Albert Einstein. La phrase résonne comme une prophétie ayant trouvé sa réalisation dans le destin d’un peuple, d’un pays : la République démocratique du Congo. Ici des souffrances indicibles sont infligées à des millions d’innocents depuis deux décennies dans un silence assourdissant des grands médias et des principaux décideurs politiques du monde. Un silence qui en rappelle un autre, il y a un peu plus d’un siècle. Entre 1885 et 1907, les Congolais furent l’objet d’un effroyable massacre à grande échelle, à l’instigation du roi des Belges de l’époque, Léopold II. L’enjeu, c’était le caoutchouc, indispensable à la fabrication des pneus. Aujourd’hui, l’enjeu s’appelle « coltan », « minerai de sang », indispensable à la fabrication de…
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American Claims Land In Egyptian Desert So Daughter Can Be Princess
Seriously, this is not acceptable. It could have been cute if it just stopped there but the guy wants his land recognized internationally. African should be aware that this situation could open a pandora box. Integrity of African territory is not a joke. Africa is plundered enough as it is and USA is definitely not a stranger to that situation. African people should remain vigilant now more than ever. Plus, I doubt USA would accept an African declaring a part of amerrican desert his! let’s be serious!
With love, from Australia to Congo
Interesting article but one mistake: DRC was named Zaïre years after Independence from Belgium. On October 29, 1971 to be exact.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, also referred as DRC or Congo-Kinshasa, was also named Zaire during the Belgian colonisation era. The word ‘zaire’ is an adaptation of the Kongo word of ‘nzere’ or ‘nzadi’, meaning ‘the river that swallows all rivers’. The DRC is the second largest African nation in central Africa and home to more than 250 ethnic groups. The country is the most biodiverse African country with five of its national parks listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. It is the territory of many rare and endemic animal species such as bonobos, African forest elephants, silverback gorillas, okapis and white rhinos.
The DRC is replete with foreign and traditional customs and this great diversity has made Jessica, a young Congolese in Melbourne, very proud of her country. Having been in Australia for 7 years, Jessica still fondly remembers her country of origin.
©2014 Jessica in her Congolese outfit
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Not all messages about rape were welcome at Hague and Jolie’s sexual violence summit
An important shift has taken place in our awareness of sexual violence. The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, co-chaired by foreign secretary William Hague and Angelina Jolie, the UN’s special envoy for refugees, is the biggest, highest-profile global meeting ever convened on this topic.
But the event has been marred by the silencing of Congolese sexual violence survivors, who found themselves locked out of a public forum. The security for the event was handled by G4S – on behalf of the Foreign Office.
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Elections au Congo: la Constitution va être révisée
Le gouvernement de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) a annoncé lundi soir avoir adopté un projet de révision constitutionnelle destiné à permettre l’organisation des élections à venir comme il l’entend.
Ce projet a été entériné à l’occasion d’un conseil des ministres extraordinaire au cours
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Lingala: Ki kamarade ya bomwana tango mosusu elekaka bondeko.
Lingala lessons in English.
Ki kamarade ya bomwana tango mosusu elekaka bondeko.
Friends from childhood sometimes connect better than relatives.
http://goo.gl/MQLrM4 Lingala Lessons 13 to 16
http://goo.gl/R970Zu Lingala Lessons 1 to 4
http://goo.gl/bDd35A Lingala Lessons 5 to 8
http://goo.gl/WFj2DR Lingala Lessons 9 to 12
http://goo.gl/4REG4l Lingala Lessons 17 to 20
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Tags: Learn Lingala, Yekola lingala, lingala quotes, saying congolese, apprendre le lingala, tabu ley, mbilia bel, nakei nairobi,
Increasing Mai-Mai attacks in Katanga raise security risks to DRC mining operations and road cargo
IHS Jane’s Intelligence Weekly
Key Points
- Following an amnesty law and military successes against rebel groups in North Kivu, rebel activity is shifting south to Katanga.
- Bakata Katanga and FDLR rebel groups remain active and, under pressure from successful military advances, are likely to increase attacks on civilians and road cargo in Katanga.
- Risks to cargo to and from Zambia, travellers and mining operations will rise in Katanga, mainly in the Pweto ‘death triangle’ but also in and around the provincial capital, Lumumbashi.
EVENT
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on 23 April that the mineral-rich southern province of Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo was at risk of becoming a “humanitarian catastrophe” due to deteriorating security. Despite a recently passed amnesty law for rebels and army deployment against armed groups in Katanga, armed attacks by separatist ‘self-defence militia’ groups are likely to increase…
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LUBANATION.COM 