A few months ago, I wrote a couple blogs about SOS FED’s participation in a UNFPA data-mapping project underway in the Kivus. SOS FED center staff have been filling out a 3-page survey with information on each survivor of sexual violence that the center receives. This data collection is being facilitated in Uvira and Fizi Territories by Arche d’Alliance. A fortunate side-effect of participation in this project is that SOS FED and Arche have been working closer together than ever before.

This past week, I had the opportunity to visit the UNFPA office in Bukavu, the provincial capital of Sud Kivu. The Bukavu UNFPA offices compiles and processes all of the data collected in Sud Kivu in the 8 territories: Kalehe, Mwenga, Idjwi, Shabunda, Walungu, Kabare, Uvira, and Fizi.

The UNFPA Sud Kivu office just released a report on the data it has collected for the first trimester of 2011 (January-April), and the data coming out of Fizi Territory is less than encouraging. In the first trimester of 2011, 118 rape cases were recorded by the UNFPA partners in Fizi, making it the territory with the second highest rate of sexual violence in the province. First place for the first 2011 trimester went to Mwenga Territory, which recorded 185 cases.

Over half of the recorded cases in the first trimester of 2011 in Fizi Territory belonged to the infamous January 1st mass rape in Fizi Centre, committed by FARDC troops under the command of Col. Kibibi. For their role in this incident, Col. Kibibi and several of his men were convicted and sentenced to prison terms by a Congolese military tribunal. Despite the isolated magnitude of the January 1st event, the sexual violence trends for the first trimester continue to be worrisome. It will be interesting to see the data for the next trimester, especially in light of the Nyakiele mass rape in June.

UN convoy on the road from Baraka to Uvira

UN convoy on the road from Baraka to Uvira

Field projects focusing on stabilization on the part of UNFPA and other UN organizations remain limited in Fizi Territory.

“L’axe est trop chaud.” Dr. Aziza told us.

The security situation in Fizi is obviously precarious, with a multitude of non-state armed groups still operating with impunity. Until the security situation is improved, UNFPA and other organizations such as UNICEF remain outside of Fizi Territory.

I have also found out a few interesting facts about STAREC: out of its $200 million dollar budget, only $5 million is dedicated to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) issues. Out of the $5 million, $500,000 is being used for the data-mapping project in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri, of which the South Kivu base received $200,000. This may seem like quite a bit of money, but for a project of its scope in a space as large as South Kivu, it may not be quite enough. In addition, the data-mapping project ends in 2012; while the UNFPA staff in Bukavu is counting on an extension with assistance from the Canadian government, this type of project needs broader support in order to continue in a relevant manner.

One source of much-needed support for the data-mapping project is from the Congolese government and from local Congolese partners. The UNFPA uses the CTLVS (Comité Territoriale de la Lutte contre la Violence Sexuelle) as a focal point for collecting its information in Sud Kivu. The CTLVS is a government initiative to coordinate and orient the various organizations working on sexual violence issues throughout the country. However, it is clear that the CTLVS has not quite yet found its place in the grand scheme of the things, and many local organizations in Uvira and Fizi do not engage with the CTLVS or with each other.

Dr. Aziza emphasized that synergy, cooperation, and coordination are essential for local organizations working in the Congo. Indeed, if things like the UNFPA data-mapping project and the CTLVS are to be effective and relevant, all the actors in the zone must work together.

Ok, I am going to switch into Dwight Schrute mode here for a second…

FACT: There are lots of soldiers here in North and South Kivu.

FACT: Unless I want to pay a hefty bribe or get the giblets beaten out of me, I do not take pictures of soldiers.

However, the BBC has an excellent slideshow that shows Mai Mai soldiers and victims of the war in Eastern Congo.  This slideshow can be found here.

So, now you know what I see strutting down the street every day.  Also, you get a feel for how vulnerable the civilian population is to these hombres armados.

Bukavu, on the shores of Lake Kivu

Bukavu, on the shores of Lake Kivu

Ned and I recently returned from a short trip to Bukavu, trying to secure living arrangements and such for an Advocacy Project fellow that will be working there this coming month.  Bukavu is a larger city north of Uvira that sits on Lake Kivu.  There is but one good way to get from Uvira to Bukavu: taking a minibus, or agence.  The agences have colorful, distinctive names, such as Okapi, Arc-en-Ciel (rainbow), and Colombe (dove).

If you take the safer, less scenic route from Uvira to Bukavu, you travel through Rwanda for a short distance.  The differences once you cross the border into Rwanda are startling; in Rwanda, all the roads are paved and lined with cement drainage ditches.  Most of the rural towns have shiny new electrical wires running to all the houses.  Thus is the plunder of the Congo.

By the way, a visa to Rwanda is free for American citizens, but it seems that citizens of European francophone countries have to pay $60 to even get a transit visa through Rwanda.  My interactions with Rwandan border and immigration officials were cordial once they saw the American passport.  On a larger geopolitical scale…

After driving through Rwanda for about half an hour, you arrive back at the Congolese border and into Bukavu.  Once in Bukavu, the world descends into chaos.  Since it is the dry season, it is incredibly dusty, and a lot of things just do not work (electricity, roads, water).  Nonetheless, Bukavu is blessed with a mild climate from Lake Kivu.  If you squint just right, the hillside surrounding the lake looks like it belongs in Italy, and the houses look like idyllic villas.  There are also an abundance of natural gas deposits in the DRC-side of Lake Kivu.  The DRC extracts the natural gas and sells it to Rwanda; proceeds from the sale go to pad the pockets of the people in charge.  Thus, Bukavu is yet another city where you will not see the riches of the Congo.

Recommended reading: Africa’s World War by Gérard Prunier.  In his book, Prunier neatly dissects the conflict that has engulfed Central Africa since the Rwandan genocide of 1994.  Prunier’s book is very up to date (published in 2009) and gives comprehensive background information on all the countries involved in the conflict.  I find Prunier’s book to be an excellent and well-rounded resource to catch up with this conflict that the mainstream American media has largely ignored.