Stability in Africa?
Who really knows how this is all going to turn out but for the time being, good news is coming out of central Africa. Today the Democractic Republic of Congo sworn in it’s first elected president in over 40 years. The country has been in chaos over the last few years following a peace treaty for a civil war from 1999-2003.
The run-off elections were held in the end of October and had the potential to cause even more problems if the losing side opposed the results. There were definitely some minor problems and a few outbreaks of violence throughout the country in the days following the results but things have calmed down since then and rebel militia have promised to disarm and join the national army.
This is GREAT news because the problems in the Congo seem to be the cause of issues in the surrounding countries. It seems instability just leaks across the borders into Rwanda, Burundi, Angola and all the other countries that border DR Congo. They don’t call it the Heart of Darkness for nothing.
For obvious reasons, I have been keeping an eye on the situation in the Congo for quite some time and even more so since I decided (with my friend Daisy) to visit Rwanda during my trip. We also decided that while in Rwanda we might try crossing the border to DR Congo to spend a day in Goma. Goma is the a city in eastern DRC that is home base for UN peace keepers in the region and was ravished by a volcano that erupted a few years ago. At first, I was really excited to be able to see the power of nature and what it did do the lively hood of these people and how they worked through it and hopefully draw off of that experience myself. But now, I think the more exciting possibility is to be able to talk to Congolege people about their hope for the future with a president elected by THEM.
Tags: Africa, congo, elections, Pre-Trip, rwanda
Joey
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