Recent turbulence in the financial market is a reminder that economic stability is heavily reliant on collective perceptions and ‘market confidence’. So it is with security, and nowhere is this more evident than in a so-called fragile state like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is plummeting into a different kind of recession.
The seemingly endless crisis in North Kivu is making a rare foray into the international news agenda. (Recent reports from The New York Times and the BBC.) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that “the intensification and expansion of the conflict is creating a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic dimensions and threatens dire consequences on a regional scale”.
“You should be ashamed of yourself”, said a man on the train this morning, berating a fellow commuter who had just barged his way onto the train as the doors were closing. “You knocked that woman over. You even swore at her.” The accused looked duly bashful. “I didn’t mean to” came his childish response, “and I wasn’t swearing at her, I was swearing at the other people”.
Last week, the UN accused the Congolese government of using excessive force in recent military-style police operations in Bas Congo. According to the UN, ‘at least 100’ people were killed, wounded captives were summarily executed, houses were looted and razed, and bodies were collected and disposed of. The same thing happened last year. Excuse my lack of objectivity, but this is disgusting behaviour.
The ruling party faithful are lining up to dismiss the report. The government spokesman said it was “mendacious”, with “conclusions that could seriously undermine the credibility the DRC is painfully and very patiently trying to restore”. The Provincial Minister for Justice, Human Rights and Information (no less) went further: “it’s unfounded… quite simply a muddle of confabulations and monstrosities.”
The other day I visited a school with no roof. When it rains, classes stop.
I was told that there had been a battle in town, but much of the damage looked too systematic, and it seems militia groups deliberately destroyed administrative buildings and symbols of learning. That’s certainly what happened to a seminary library in Fataki, not far to the northeast, as the caretaker explains here:
The local militia groups have mostly disbanded, so people are moving back to Djugu (ahead of the UN, whose security officers are more cautious). A project is underway to build a new army camp there, bringing better water supplies and perhaps some money for a new school roof before the end of the year.
