African Cultures 12:30 - 1:45

Rob Crilly. The Times. London (UK): Nov 18, 2008. pg. 34

After an attempted cease-fire by the government, the rebels started up the conflict once more when all had hoped for peace (but could not imagine it would actually happen). People from the small town of Rwindi were forced to evacuate and become refugees in their own territory. They fled to the regional capital, Goma, where it was said the government was building a stronger defense against the rebel army. The UN is making an attempt to settle the conflict by encouraging both sides to not disrespect the "humanitarian situation" by continuing to fight. However, the rebels insist the government army fired on them to begin with restarting the conflict. This article states the reason for the conflict is the abundance of resources and fertile soil in the area, causing different factions to fight like little kids over a toy. Hopefully the UN will have more luck in solving this crisis so that no more people are displaced and there are no more deaths.

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-10-08-the-day-anc-split

Though nothing official has been decided, there is still hinting that a split in the African National Congress may occur. The former defense minister recently stated that "a convention...would be called shortly to determine how to proceed with democracy in this country," though he did not mention anything about the formation of a separate party. He claimed that the principles of the ANC have changed and that tribalism is affecting it, and questioned the democratic system of modern-day South Africa. Here is yet another ex-government worker who is dissatisfied with the system and ready to take action. Who knows what the result of that action will be.

Just recently the WFP has increased food distributions throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As a result of the need for food assistance, fighting between the Congolese army and Laurent Nkunda's rebels has increased severely. There has been over 100,000 people who have been displaced just this week, many of them coming from the rebel-held territory north-west of Goma. The WFP has also started a 20-day ration to over 56,000 people in Kitchanga and 11,000 in Kilolirwe.

Published: November 11, 2008

Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2008/nov/11/congo-unitednations

"What can the UN do in Congo?
The UN faces an almost impossible task in Congo - as it did in the past

Human Rights Watch has called on the UN to send 3,000 more troops to eastern Congo to protect civilians caught up in the fighting between forces led by Laurent Nkunda, the renegade Tutsi general, and government troops.

The UN already has 17,000 peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – the world's largest UN peacekeeping force. It sounds a lot but it is thinly-stretched in a country the size of western Europe.

The UN's reluctance to send in more troops is understandable. Its troops do not have much peace to keep and they have been sucked into the fighting, sending helicopter gunships to fight on the side of the government against Nkunda, who once again has threatened to take over the whole country. Civilians have turned against the UN, stoning UN offices because they are frustrated by the inability of peacekeepers to protect them from the fighting.

The UN does not have a happy history in the country. The UN's first mission in Congo, from 1960 to 1964, was a disaster, Tim Butcher declares in his fine book Blood River, an account of his recreation of Stanley's expedition on the Congo river. Peacekeepers, then as now, were drawn into the conflict, fighting against white mercenaries and Congolese rebels backed by Belgium.

At its peak strength, the UN deployed almost 20,000 troops in Congo, lost more peacekeepers in combat there than on any other peacekeeping mission before or since. The mission also cost the life of the UN secretary-general, Dag Hammarkjold, who was killed in a plane crash in 1961 on his way to Ndola in what is now Zambia where talks were to be held in a bid to bring about the cessation of hostilities.

The present UN force has been plagued by complaints common with any UN mission: lack of adequate equipment or a clear chain of command. Substitute Darfur – where helicopters are lacking – for Congo and the complaints sound depressingly familiar.

The UN secretary, Ban Ki-moon, has said he will travel to the region to press for an end to the catastrophic conflict. The world will wish him well, but Nkunda seems in truculent mood and in no hurry to end the fighting that has strengthened his position against a weak central government.

The UN has little choice but to continue with its thankless task and Ban's best hope seems to be to persuade the big powers to lean on Congo and Rwanda into ensuring that existing peace agreements are upheld.

In the meantime, Human Rights Watch believes more UN peacekeepers are needed urgently on the ground to prevent further civilian deaths.

"Progress on the political front has not been matched by progress to meet the urgent need to protect civilians now at risk," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, a senior researcher on the Congo for Human Rights Watch. "Negotiations offer promise of a solution in the Congo in the long run, but civilians need protection now from the killing and raping."

Response:
History repeats itself. The UN has a history of failing to provide peace in the Congo. This might be their chance to redeem themselves, protect the millions of displaced civilians, and provide the necessary peace, yet they do not seem to be doing so. Throughout the different articles I have analyzed, I have always questioned the role of the UN. I have been focusing heavily on the affected civilian population, especially because they are the most affected. I was questioning UN involvement, and their effectiveness, however, after reading this article, I now realize the task is harder than it seems. The UN is attempting to fix the conflict, however I do not believe they are carrying the correct approach. Even though 20,000 troops does seem like a huge number, it really is not when compared to the size of the entire country as a whole. As was mentioned in the article, the Congo is almost the size of Western Europe, which means the number of troops should be increased.
Even though it is their job to end this conflict and encourage negotiations between the two sides, I think their primary focus should be to protect the thousands of innocent people who are being raped, murdered, and kidnapped in a daily basis. African insurgents seem to posses incredibly violent and harsh war tactics, and I believe this is one of the reasons why the UN is seldom successful in achieving their job properly in this area, because protecting the affected population prevents them from working to solve the conflict itself.

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I don't know what to do... I have started to do my own research and put together my own project. I waited after class for a bit on Wednesday and I will tomorrow also. We are running out of time, we really need to meet.
-Jen M.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/3103833/South-Africa-ANC-split-deepens-post-Thabo-Mbeki-as-state-premier-Mbhazima-Shilowa-quits.html

It seems as though the ANC of South Africa is moving closer and closer to an official split. The recent resignation of Mbhazima Shilowa, provinical premier of Gauteng (which encompasses major cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria), in protest to the firing of Thabo Mbeki from the presidency is an attestment to this fact. At this point, it looks like everyone is picking a side and sticking with it no matter what--even if it comes down to losing a job. Apparently, the Gauteng faction of the ANC has been having its own divisionary issues within itself, which have led to rumors that Shilowa and "a group of senior members are planning a breakaway from the organization," though he denies this claim. He responded to these rumors: "I know of no group who is starting another new party. I cannot be party to something I do not know." He says this now, but we'll see how things end up in a few weeks.

The structure of Tropical Fish allows Doreen Baingana to present her message through several viewpoints, which come from Christine and her sisters, Patti and Rosa. Quite, notably, however, all of these perspectives come from women. And while not every vignette is about gender, the female temperament is a strong undercurrent throughout the collection. This reflection tends to speak to the relation of women to men, a connection that Baingana does not categorize with the absolute dominance of one sex. Rather, she shows how both men and women are capable of holding a power over the other.
Readers are introduced to the idea of “women vs. men” in the very first story. Here, in “Green Stones,” Taata is established as a strong male figure with a high-ranking job and possesses the silent, authoritative nature that is often associated with men of power. He showers his wife with gifts, signifying his wealth and prosperity, but only out of guilt for being absent so much of the time. When Taata begins to drink heavily, he loses his job and consequently, his respect, as he relies on Maata to take on more responsibility, not only as a worker but as the person in charge of money in her household. She no longer receives sweet gifts from him, a sign that the balance of power has changed. This story shows how a man can be both strong and weak, even though that is not the expectation. Society presumes them to be dominant over women, as is mentioned in “Passion,” when Rosa says, “Anything a man says, we obey.” And this notion seems supported in “First Kiss,” when Christine is stood up by Nicholas, thus displaying that the power she held over him the previous was simply temporary. The conclusion drawn from these stories is that men hold authority as caretakers, while women hold it as objects of desire. The roles, though, sometimes change, signifying that love between women and men is best established when their responsibilities and beliefs are shared.

- Bess Schelper