Democratic Republic of Congo

Readings:
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12;
Psalm 51:1-17;
2 Corinthians
5:20b-6:10;
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.

Fasting and Repentance

by Claire Evans

Ash Wednesday is a day set aside by Christians for fasting and repentance, a
time to examine our lives and return to God's path. Fasting can be a
spiritual discipline that undergirds prayer. In a small way, it can put
those of us who are well fed in solidarity with the poor.

I have often wondered how people who are hungry not by choice but as a way
of life view these calls biblical calls to fasting. When over lunch
conversation I asked a recently returned member of CPT's Congo delegation,
"What do the Congolese people eat?" she said simply, "They don't."
Presumably, she was exaggerating a little - but not much. Over the past ten
years, some four million people have died during the conflict in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)--mostly due to malnutrition and
preventable diseases exacerbated by hunger.

Everywhere they visited, the CPT delegation observed dire poverty. They
also heard the stories of women, health care professionals, and human rights
advocates who clearly connected the violence with the hunger.

Militias and the DRC military alike use systematic and brutal rape of women
and girls as an "inexpensive" weapon of war. Estimates of the number of
rapes range from 50,000 to the hundreds of thousands, and ages of the
victims from two months to over seventy years. Because armed groups attack
women as they work in their fields or collect water, they are afraid to
carry on these normal tasks essential to feeding their families. Once
attacked, survivors are often stigmatized and unwelcome back into their
communities, further shredding the social structure necessary for healthy
survival.

"Before the war," Jeanette, a rape survivor and member of the Church of the
Brethren in Bukavu, told the delegation, "I used to be just like the rest of
you. We were peaceful and were able to live in our homes." Many women
emphasized that if the violence ended, they would not need material aid from
outsiders. If the Congolese could control their own natural resources, they
might even prosper.

Since the nineteenth century, multinational corporations have been
exploiting the natural resources of the Congo--first rubber and ivory, now
gold, diamonds, and coltan. Even if you have not bought gold or diamonds
recently, there is a good chance you have used a laptop computer or a cell
phone. Coltan is an essential component of these items, and 85% of the
world's reserves are located in the Congo. Even if we want to distance
ourselves from the Congo's tragic colonial past, our use of laptops, cell
phones and digital cameras implicates in the current conflict.

What does this mean for our Ash Wednesday themes of fasting and repentance?
Confession - acknowledging our complicity in the exploitation of Congolese
resources by benefiting from it as consumers--is the first step. The next
is taking action to move forward on a path toward justice. We need to
educate ourselves and seek out groups that advocate for a more just economic
system.

Work for and pray for a world no one will need to fast involuntarily.

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to
undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break
every yoke." - Isaiah 58:6.

+++Prayer:

Loving God, We know it is your will that none of your children should
hunger. May we help bring in your reign of justice
and peace, as we look forward to a day when all your children partake
together from your abundant table.

Amen.

*See: www.friendsofthecongo.org/action,
www.amnestyusa.org/diamonds,
www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/campaigns/no_dirty_gold.