Watch Professor Aziz Fall’s conference

Panafricentrage from Aziz S.Fall on Vimeo.

His talk covered: International panafrican strategy of disengagement and the making of balanced continental development. Understanding of the unfavorable insertion of Africa in the international partition of labor and condition for the emancipation of this order by controlling the accumulation and the various means of achieving this. Rewrite scientific history of the victors, recover a sense of maat, for historical maaterialism and an anti-imperialist self-reliant development, gender-neutral and environmentally friendly. Advanced and revolutionary contribution of the intelligentsia and Diaspora at his advent.

The live webcast will begin at 4:30 p.m. US Eastern Standard Time at www.congoinharlem.org after the screening of Blood in the Mobile directed by Franck Piasecki Poulsen. A rich dialogue and exchange will take place among Congolese and non-Congolese experts. Sekombi Katondolo (producer of Blood in the Mobile and founder/director of Mutaani FM), David Aronson (freelance journalist, blogger, author of NY Times article on Conflict Minerals), Steve Hege (current member of the UN Group of Experts on the Congo), Eric Kajemba (founder and director of Observatoire Gouvernance et Paix), and Mvemba Phizo Dizolele (writer, foreign policy analyst and independent journalist) will discuss the impact of the Dodd-Frank Conflict Minerals provision on the situation in the Congo.

Click here to read recent articles written on Conflict Minerals and the Dodd-Frank Provision.
Click here to find out more about Congo Week and how you can participate in the global movement.

About Congo in Harlem
Congo in Harlem is an annual week-long series of film screenings accompanied by special events, panel discussions, performances, and receptions. Congo in Harlem will provide audiences with more than the traditional movie-going experience — it offers opportunities to discover Congolese culture, learn about the ongoing humanitarian crisis, engage in dialogue, and get involved.

About Sahara Reporters
Sahara Reporters is an online community of international reporters and social advocates dedicated to bringing you commentaries, features, news reports from a Nigerian-African perspective. A unique organization, founded in the spirit of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, comprising of ordinary people with an overriding commitment to seeking the truth and publishing it without fear or favor. Because its core members are unapologetic practitioners of advocacy journalism, Sahara Reporters also serves as an umbrella outlet for objective reporting of verifiable and accurate news and untainted social commentaries for anyone wishing to exercise their freedom of speech in the public interest and common good.

I greet you in the name of many Congolese youth who are seeking to ride the winds of change that blew from the African youth revolution in Soweto in 1976 to the streets of Cairo today, and making its way across the Atlantic to America, symbolized by the Occupy Wall Street movement.

As we embark upon the fourth annual Breaking The Silence: Congo Week, October 16 – 22, 2011, I would like to bring you up-to-date on the global movement in support of the Congo.

Congo Week continues to grow both inside and outside of the Congo as people throughout the globe utilize Congo Week to articulate the challenges and potential that exist in the heart of Africa. Since we launched Congo Week in October 2008, over 60 countries and 300 university campuses and communities have joined us in the global call for justice for the people of Congo. Over 200 Congolese organizations reiterated the global appeal for justice, accountability and an end to the impunity by calling for international action on the recommendations of the United Nations Mapping Exercise Report.

Your role in Breaking the Silence by demanding justice for the people is making a difference. More people are becoming informed, educated and engaged. Your actions, no matter how small, are strengthening the resolve of the youth and others inside the Congo who are waging a courageous fight, day and night to bring about peace, stability and human dignity. Knowing that they have the support of people of goodwill throughout the globe makes a tremendous difference.

The key teaching tool for Congo Week IV is Friends of the Congo’s short documentary, “Crisis in the Congo: Uncovering the Truth.” Since its launch, over 100,000 people have viewed the film on YouTube and over 1,000 people have downloaded it to view or screen in their homes and communities. Youth throughout the Congo are using the film as a teaching tool during Congo Week; we encourage you to do the same by downloading the film here: http://congojustice.org

The youth of the Congo who represent the majority of the people are encouraging you to continue to support our fight for justice and human dignity. In the past year, our youth partners have made great strides in strengthening their capacity in the quest to bring about peace and stability in the Congo. We encourage you to participate in our special contest to support the youth of the Congo and their pursuit for social change. http://congoweek.org/congo-week-fundraiser.html

Congo in Harlem 2 Youth panel

Key Organizers in Japan, Australia, France, Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, The United States and many other countries are joining with our partners inside the Congo to call for justice for the people. Organize or participate in an event or activity for Congo Week on your university campus, in your home, religious institution, community center or any other venue in your community. Should you be in New York during Congo Week, join us for Congo in Harlem – a week of film screenings, performances, panel discussions, exhibitions, tributes and special events highlighting Congolese cultures and its people’s contribution to the global community. http://congoinharlem.org

This is an historic opportunity for you to be a part of the global movement to bring an end to what is the greatest humanitarian crisis at the dawn of the 21st century and the deadliest conflict since World War Two. Seize the moment and become a part of a noble pursuit for justice and human dignity in the heart of Africa, my home, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kambale Musavuli
Student Coordinator
Friends of the Congo

Remember to post your event on the events calendar:
http://congoweek.org/component/events/

Share the Congo Week promotional video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0AWeWvMkHk

Sign-up for Congo Week!
http://congoweek.org/participation-form.html

Download Congo Week Organizers Tool Kit and Materials:
http://congoweek.org/downloads.html

Support the Congo Week Benefit Concert:
http://www.congoweek.org/congo-week-benefit-concert.html

Participate in the CELL-OUT, on Wednesday October 21, 2011. The CELL-OUT is a digital moment of silence for the people of the Congo and the usage of our cell phones to mobilize support for the people in their pursuit for social change.
http://congoweek.org/the-cell-out.html

Human Rights Advocates Denounce CMU’s Collaboration with President Kagame

Contacts: Rebecca Cech  (412) 736-9889
Jeffrey Cech (724) 880-4371

The Pittsburgh City Council advised caution in US support of Kagame’s government, but Carnegie Mellon University invites Rwandan president to begin a privileged relationship with the university, ignoring both local concerns and international charges against him.

Wednesday, September 13, 2011 (Pittsburgh, PA) — On Friday, September 16, 2011, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) plans to inaugurate a partnership with President Paul Kagame to develop Rwanda’s leading role as an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) nation. Human Rights Activists have expressed outrage at CMU’s extension of privilege and resources to President Kagame despite his human rights abuses in the DR Congo and serious curtailments of political freedoms in Rwanda.  As Kagame delivers his speech on Friday, advocates will gather beside University Center on Forbes Avenue to denounce CMU’s decision and counter the institution’s public act of support with one of disapproval.

CMU’s red carpet treatment of Kagame is a jarring contrast to the Pittsburgh city proclamation 2011-1897, adopted July 12, 2011 which urges caution in the US relations with the Rwandan government. The Council supports Public Law 109-456, which “gives the Secretary of State the power to withhold U.S. Aid dollars from countries acting to destabilize the Congo.” The Council understands that giving resources to Kagame means underwriting his human rights violations and many abuses of power in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region of Africa.

► In 2008, The Spanish National Court, The Audiencia National (same court that tried Chilean dictator Pinochet), indicted forty Rwandan military officers for terrorism, mass killings, and several counts of genocide against Rwandans, Congolese, and Spanish citizens, following the 1994 genocide. Spanish Judge Fernando Andreu has said he has evidence implicating Rwanda’s current President Paul Kagame, who has immunity from prosecution as a head of State.

► In 2010 Human Rights Watch wrote that “if leaders continue to ignore the darker side of Kagame’s story, they will only compound the problem. Burying the truth about horrific crimes is a very effective way to sow the seeds for future grievances and more violence.”

► The United Nations Mapping Exercise Report of 1 October, 2010 identifies countries “that could be held responsible for serious violations of human rights committed by their national armies during the period under consideration in the DRC, and in particular Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Angola.” Crimes committed by Kagame’s army in the Congo have also qualified as acts of genocide by U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

CMU’s red carpet treatment of Kagame defies these warnings and protests. Advocates are urging CMU to revoke its partnership or to make its relationship with Kagame explicitly conditional on improvements in his human rights record and extensions of political freedoms in Rwanda.  Without these measures, they argue, CMU will earn an almost certain historical stain as one of the institutions that supported the despotic rule of another African strongman.

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When I was made aware of this ad by a Congolese sister of mine who happened to have caught it on TV, I became very confused in trying to understand why Walmart would make such ad where they create the image of Congo that the world has been stuck with from Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.”

The commercial implied that Congo is a country where there is a high risk of contracting leprosy as one travels there.

Walmart ad made by the Martin Agency

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUyxzgmoyuQ

As a Congolese, I could not let this go and not do something. This is also true for many of my Congolese countrywomen and men who have taken this opportunity not only to let Walmart know that this type of stereotypical ad is unacceptable, but to also say that we as Congolese will not remain silent anymore about how the world is misinformed about the situation in the Congo.

My little contribution to the movement is a letter that was sent today to the Chief Executive Officer of Walmart, Mr Mike Duke, informing him about the Congolese people’s discontent of their ad. Thanks to the tireless advocates who helped in the research and writing of the letter.

Here is what was shared with the CEO of Walmart. You can track the letter by following this link.

August 26, 2011

Mike Duke
Chief Executive Officer
Walmart Home Office
702 SW 8th Street
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611

RE: WALMART BACK-TO-SCHOOL AD “URGENT CARE” BY MARTIN AGENCY

Dear Mr. Mike Duke:

My name is Kambale Musavuli. I am a Congolese Human Rights Activist and Spokesperson of Friends of the Congo. I am writing to lodge a formal complaint against your “Urgent Care” advertisement released August 9th, 2011 on the web and on TV networks, as part of the Walmart Back-to-School campaign. This ad, created by the Martin Agency, constitutes a serious offense to Congolese people in particular and Africans in general.

The ad misinforms viewers and customers alike, encourages prejudicial attitudes toward Africans, and desensitizes its audience to the greatest humanitarian crisis at the dawn of the 21st century, which is grossly under-reported and widely misunderstood.

1. Misinformation: The ad depicts a student researching WebMD on his smart phone as a means to diagnose a friend’s skin condition. In the process, he suggests that the Congo is either a unique or high-risk source for leprosy, and that he has pulled this information from the WebMD website. Research reveals no mention of Congo on WebMD’s leprosy page. The World Health Organization’s site referenced by WebMD states that leprosy in the Congo reached a stage of elimination in 2007. The same page confirms that 100 cases of leprosy occur annually in the US, meaning that one would not have needed to leave the country for exposure. Viewers are wrongly encouraged to associate leprosy and the Congo without any logical basis for the connection.

2. Prejudice: The ad is only 30 seconds in length, making full characterization of any place or people logistically impossible. However, the Congo has long held a space in Western imagination as a symbol of fear and contagion. With this historical and cultural context, referring to the country as shorthand for disease further entrenches prejudicial stereotypes. The ad encourages us to laugh at the idea that a Caucasian, American, middle-class freshman would travel to the Congo. The joke hinges on the improbability of his visit, either because of the boy’s race, nationality, income, or age. Congo’s undesirability as a destination remains a strong overtone throughout. Viewers are encouraged to think of the Congo solely as a place to be avoided and feared.

3. Desensitization: The media has not adequately covered the conflict in the Congo, despite the fact that it has the most human casualties worldwide since World War II. Nearly six million people have died in the last fifteen years of Congo’s conflict, many from disease because of poor living conditions and displacement. Part of the reason why the conflict receives little coverage is the lack of interest by American viewers. By referring to disease in Congo as a joke, the ad encourages viewers to dismiss conditions of struggle and conflict in the country as “normal” and, therefore, unworthy of attention, intensifying an already serious case of inattention and mis-education about Congo in particular and Africa in general. In fact, it plays into the vilest stereotypes about Africa that desensitizes Americans about the place and the people.

While no one is meant to treat advertisements as public service announcements, they nevertheless function as strong public messages. Ads have power, and this one constitutes a particularly aggressive form of ignorance. It is questionable to benefit as a corporation from the sale of technological products like smart phones while suggesting publicly that the poor living conditions in Congo are an unrelated misfortune, especially when metals found in the phone may play a role in fueling the conflict in the Congo.

I am just one of thousands of supporters, Americans and Congolese, demanding that Walmart takes responsibility for its negative impact with this ad. At minimum Walmart should:

1. Remove the “Urgent Care” ad from all forms of media circulation (TV networks, web, etc.),
2. Issue a press release delivering a public apology to the Congolese people about the ad, and
3. Educate and sensitize a.) your staff (especially the Marketing Department who approved the release of this ad) and b.) your customers by providing teaching materials that explain the situation in the Congo and what Walmart is doing to practice responsible sourcing as it relates to the Congo’s mineral resources.

Through your reparative actions, I ask you to fulfill your 2010 statement that Walmart “will make the absolute most of our opportunity and capacity to lead as a retailer, as a company, and as people who truly care about serving and helping other people around the world.” Thousands of people eagerly await your response and evidence of this commitment.

Sincerely,

Kambale Musavuli

Spokesperson
Friends of the Congo

Note:

Link to learn more about the Congo
http://www.congojustice.org

Link to Walmart ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUyxzgmoyuQ

Link to response from the Congolese community
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSejKW9OJjE

Link to Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CongoAdProtest/

Friends of the Congo’s Visit to Los Angeles: An Overwhelming Success

Hollywood, CA – August 11, 2011 – “Angelino’s responded with an enthusiastic show of support in response to the screening of the film “Crisis In The Congo: Uncovering The Truth” said Kambale Musavuli, International Spokesperson for Friends of the Congo.

The Washington D.C. staff of Friends of the Congo reported that they were impressed by the tremendous outpouring of empathy and support from the people of Southern California.

Sojourner Truth hosted by Margaret Prescod of KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles has just completed a week long broadcast of an interview with Kambale Musavuli infused with selected segments of the film. Interested parties can listen to KPFK archives Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod  (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4).

Dominique Diprima of Stevie Wonder’s radio station, KJLH, Charlene Muhammad of KPFK and Jamaal Gorree of Inner Light Radio have all provided a media platform for Friends of the Congo to speak to the Southern California community.

“Over 50,000 have watched the film on You Tube and the film is well on its way to being viral,” Musavuli opined.

Former TV host, Joe Rogan, of the popular show FEAR FACTOR called the film “an eye opening video on what’s going on in the Congo.”

“The film ‘Crisis In The Congo: Uncovering the Truth’ was screened before 200 young South Africans who were so moved that they vowed to join in the effort to bring peace and stability to the Congo. The film is also being shown in the Democratic Republic of Congo via Tele 7. Several Congolese newspapers, blogs and online news sites have written about the film and have encouraged Congolese leaders and politicians to see the film,” stated Musavuli.

Musavuli at African House in Los Angeles after film screening - Photo Danna Kiel

There are ongoing calls for the screening of “Crisis In The Congo: Uncovering The Truth” in additional cities such as San Francisco, Berkeley, Chicago and there are other screenings scheduled in San Diego, New York, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas and other cities around the world. Friends of the Congo is encouraging communities throughout the globe to screen the film, which can be easily downloaded from the CongoJustice.org website. The film has been translated into English, Spanish, French, Japanese and soon German.

The Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Kenya has screened the film and made copies to share with its network to encourage others to watch the film and do screenings.

“As an increasing number of people throughout the globe watch the film, they are being moved to act and help bring an end to the unnecessary suffering in the heart of Africa. People ask how can the world stand by and let such atrocities continue while we benefit from the Congo’s rich resources? People are responding to Friends of the Congo’s call to conscience and action,” stated Maurice Carney, Executive Director of Friends of the Congo, Washington D.C.

For further information contact http://www.friendsofthecongo.org or phone 202.584.6512

Une caractéristique constante des 51 années d’indépendance est l’intervention d’entités extérieures dans les affaires du Congo. « Le Conflit au Congo : la Vérité Dévoilée » explore le rôle joué par les alliés des Etats-Unis et de la Grande-Bretagne, le Rwanda et l’Ouganda dans le déclenchement de la plus grande crise humanitaire du monde à l’aube du 21ème siècle.

Le film replace le Congo dans un contexte historique, social et politique. D’éminents experts, praticiens, activistes et intellectuels nous livrent des analyses et des prescriptions auxquelles la population Congolaise n’a que très difficilement accès. Beaucoup d’analystes abordent souvent le Congo en dehors des enjeux géostratégiques qui empêchent les Congolais de déterminer pleinement leurs propres affaires.

Parmi les intervenants, on compte d’éminentes figures telles qu’Adam Hochschild, auteur de « Les fantômes du Roi Léopold », Anneke Van Woudenberg, chercheuse en chef à Human Rights Watch, et Howard French, ancien reporter du New York Times et auteur de « A Continent for the Taking ».

Ce film est un appel aux consciences et à l’action.

Le film est disponible au téléchargement et à la distribution. Cliquez ici pour télécharger ce film.
http://congojustice.org/download-video/

Apprenez-en plus sur nous en visitant les liens suivants:

Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/CrisisInThecongo

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CrisisInTheCongo

Twitter
http://twitter.com/CongoCrisis

I am proud to announce you that I am part of the Host Committee of an organization doing amazing work in African post-conflict zones, including the Congo! So, I’m writing to invite you to an exciting party that’s right around the corner. Now AfriCAN has teamed up with l’Altruist to stage a fundraising party for their efforts for Congo. The party will take place Tuesday, June 28 (7-11pm) at Gallery Bar (120 Orchard Street) in New York City. They’ll have great drink specials, the amazing DJ mOma, a short film directed by Now AfriCAN with exclusive images from Goma, interesting people and just the right atmosphere to help you let loose for a good cause.

Tickets to the event are $15 until June 27 @ noon and can be purchased online at http://nowafrican.eventbrite.com.  Tickets will also be available at the door for $20. Now AfriCAN works with the African youth living in post conflict zones through micro-finance, education and the media and needless to say, they need our help.  If you can make it to Gallery Bar on the 28^th you’d be helping Congolese entrepreneurs launch their micro-ventures while having a great time in the process.

For those of you who would like to support more, they have different level of donations corresponding to different types of micro-ventures that the youth in Goma have submitted to them:

• $100: you can support a young entrepreneur who would like to establish a cattle venture
• $200: you can help a young entrepreneur own a small kiosk, the primary place to purchase everyday needs  in Goma!
• $400: you can enable a young entrepreneur to acquire a chukudu (ingenious hand-made bicycles used in the region to transport goods) and transport goods and materials for cash!

Attached you will find the flyer of the event you can use as your Facebook photo to help us attract even more people to our event! But whatever you do, your presence, most of all, will help make a difference!

I know I will be there! Will you be there to support Congo’s youth?

Click on image to purchase ticket.

President Barack Obama delivers his address on Libya at the National Defense University in Washington, Monday, March 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

On March 28, 2011, United States President Barack Obama spoke to the American people about Libya and why the United States (U.S.) must engage militarily as opposed to diplomatically. The U.S. , led by AFRICOM (the U.S. Military Command in Africa that enforces U.S. foreign policy), initiated the bombing of Libya ostensibly to enforce a United Nations (U.N.) mandated No-Fly Zone. The rationale for the U.S. intervention in Libya is to protect vulnerable civilians from mass slaughter by the Libyan regime.

One has to question why the U.S. has pursued a military path to “protect” civilians in Libya, especially considering that there is a far greater humanitarian crisis unfolding in the heart of Africa. The question generates greater concern when one considers that President Obama has had diplomatic tools at his disposal to help alleviate the human suffering in the Congo but has not used them.

For the past 14 years, more than 6 million Congolese have perished due to the ongoing conflict, which was triggered by U.S. allies Rwanda and Uganda when they invaded Congo in 1996. As the world focuses on the Western Intervention in Libya under the guise of moral responsibility to protect the vulnerable, the global community must question the lack of action on the part of the U.S. and the coalition when it comes to the millions dead in the Congo.

On December 15, 2008, the U.N. published the Final Report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo. This report documented, among other things, satellite phone records for members of one of the rebel groups responsible for destabilizing the Congo, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP). The CNDP was in communication with the Rwandan Defense Force high military command and the Rwandan presidency.

Given the solid evidence of Rwanda’s complicity in support of the CNDP who was destabilizing the Congo, global pressure had begun to be applied but not from the U.S. or Great Britain. Sweden and Netherlands took the lead in applying pressure to Rwanda by withholding aid to the Rwandan government. This action played a key role in Rwanda placing under house arrest the rebel leader of the CNDP, Laurent Nkunda, and causing the rebel group to integrate into the Congolese army.

This diplomatic action showed the world that Rwanda is susceptible to outside pressure. Unfortunately, the U.S. and Great Britain did not apply any overt pressure. Instead of following the lead of Sweden and Netherlands, the U.S. pursued a backdoor deal that would result in a rapprochement between President Kabila and President Kagame while allowing Rwandan troops to enter Congolese soil once again. In essence the U.S. backed a personal back door deal as opposed to an institutional transparent approach, which would have better served the prospects for long-term peace and stability in the region.

The U.S. has a diplomatic tool at its disposal that can make a difference in the region, the Obama Law, Public Law 109-456. This law, written by Obama and enacted in December 2006, provides the U.S. with the force of law to hold accountable Congo’s neighbors that have been destabilizing the country since 1996. It received bipartisan support in the senate and was also co-sponsored by then-Senator Hillary Clinton. This law also calls for the appointment of a special envoy to the Great Lakes region and gives the Secretary of State the authority to withhold aid from neighboring countries that destabilize the Congo.

On October 26, 2007, U.S. President George Bush met with Congolese President Joseph Kabila in the White House. Then-Senator Obama released a statement reminding President Bush about his commitment to enforce the newly enacted U.S. law, Public Law 109-456, and stated that “It’s time the Administration stops ignoring the call by Congress to appoint a special envoy to the DRC, and strengthen the U.N. peacekeeping force which is working to stabilize the eastern part of the Congo.”

Now that Barack Obama is President, neither he nor Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has taken steps to enforce this law. Unfortunately, President Obama has demonstrated the same lack of action on the Congo as his predecessor, George W. Bush.

The Obama Administration’s lack of resolve in implementing U.S. law as it relates to the Congo where the humanitarian crisis is far greater than in Libya, leads one to question why the double standard in applying the principle of the responsibility to protect, especially considering that the Congo situation does not require a military solution but rather robust diplomatic and political action.

The suspicion many analysts share is that the U.S. is quick to act against its enemies while providing cover for its allies, even if its allies are clearly culpable of committing mass atrocities, crimes against humanity, and possible genocide according to the recently published U.N. report called “UN Mapping Exercise Report”.

This report, released by The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on October 1, 2010, documents “the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 and June 2003.” It also identifies countries “that could be held responsible for serious violations of human rights committed by their national armies during the period under consideration in the DRC, and in particular Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Angola.”

During President Obama’s visit to Ghana, he shared with the Africans that the U.S. will engage differently in Africa from previous administrations by supporting strong institutions and not strong men. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has yet to hold to this principle when it comes to Central Africa. It continues to support Central African strongmen, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Paul Kagame of Rwanda while the people of the region continue to suffer from an ongoing conflict and the plundering of their natural resources.

In the final analysis, if President Obama can implement a No-Fly Zone over Libya, surely, he can implement Public Law 109-456 and hold accountable U.S. allies Rwanda and Uganda who are responsible for the destabilizing of the Congo and the region of the Great Lakes.

Pressure has been mounting against the U.S. Government as it remains inactive in implementing the Obama Law. Students organizing through “Congo Week” have made their priority demand to the Obama Administration the enforcement of Public Law 109-456. American Playwright Eve Ensler, along with her supporters, called for the enforcement of the Obama Law in June of 2010.

Last year, President Obama signed into law the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010” (Dodd-Frank Act). This new law, in its section 1502, requires companies to submit a new annual report and, in some cases, an independent private sector audit report, to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) if they are using conflict minerals that originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country.

A multi-stakeholder group composed of companies, non-governmental organizations, socially responsible and faith-based investors submitted recommendations to the SEC asking, in addition to the new reporting requirement for companies, that the SEC coordinates with the State Department the implementation of the Obama Law to curb the violence and illicit trade of minerals in the Congo.

Furthermore, thirty-five Congressmen, sixteen Senators, Actor Ben Affleck, The Dear Hillary Campaign, a collection of human rights organizations and socially responsible investor groups, and thousands of American voters have also called on President Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton to start implementing PL 109-456 with an appointment of a Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, which is Section 107 of the Law.

Friends of the Congo maintains that the appointment of a Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region of Africa, as one of the steps to the full enforcement of the Obama Law, should embody the spirit of President Obama’s July 2009 speech where he calls for a shift in U.S. policy to one that supports strong institutions as opposed to its practice of supporting strongmen throughout Africa.

Lend your voice to the effort of bringing an end to the crisis in the Congo, the deadliest conflict since World War II, by signing the petition to appoint a special envoy to the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

Circa 1981-1982 with my mother in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo

On this day, Mother’s Day, there are so many things I can say or write about my mother. I can speak of how my mother finished her college dissertation while pregnant with me, her last child. She always shared with us how tough it was to stay focus and committed to going to college while working to support the household and making sure that my two eldest siblings were ok too, all the while being pregnant.

I can speak of how my mother raised three children by herself in Congo… the nights when she had to be a dad and mom during the military uprising in the early 90s, and during the first Rwandan-Ugandan war in the Congo in 1996. I can also speak about her commitment that she made to her children about making sure we all were in school and had food in the house no matter the financial hardship. As a child, I witnessed how our house furnitures and her Sunday’s best- clothes were sold in the market just to make sure that tuition was paid (Yes, in the Congo, education is not free and the best schools in Kinshasa have really high tuition rates).

I can’t forget how she challenged us as her children to think, read, and be able to make analysis of political situation… I still remember the Paris Match magazine she will bring home for us to read, or her spending extra hours after work to make sure our homework was done…

Yes, she instill in me the passion I have today to not only push for excellence, but to know what is wrong with the elite life and how to help people from all backgrounds… Even one year, though I was able to go to schools such as Flamboyants, Petits-Anges, and Malula in Kinshasa (some decent schools in Kinshasa), she made sure for one year, I was able to attend a school called Petits-Bois, right in Kinseso, a neighborhood that could be considered as the ghetto of the ghettoes in Kinshasa (capital city of the Congo).

What I learned going there was invaluable. I saw how less fortunate kids than me were as smart as my former classmates in other schools, yet they did not have the same type of access to materials for their studies nor did they not have the same opportunities than the most fortunate ones.

Mom, as I call her, made me who I am today… Without her, I am sure I would not be the man I am today as cliché as it may sound.

For that Mom, I thank you for enduring the 9 months… and even more years later… to make sure that I contribute positively to this earth.

This is so true to many mothers in the Congo… the mothers in the East of the Congo are always on my mind. Every day, I think about how they live. Can you imagine living in constant fear of being brutalized by armed men? For my New York friends, think about living in the state of mind you had on September 11 2001 when you did not know what was going on… and take that feeling spread over 14 years… These strong Congolese women wake up every morning with that fear of the unknown and yet walk out their front door with their head high…

Knowing their strength, I can only spend this day not just honoring my mother, but all my Congolese mothers, who, when faced with adversity, they always rise up with strength and power.

To all my Congolese mothers, thank you for all you are doing… and us your children, will make it right very soon! “Our Time Will Come!”

Here is a poem dedicated to all the mothers on this day… a poem by Camara Laye

To My Mother

Black woman, African woman, O mother, I think of you …
O Dâman, O mother,
who carried me on your back, who nursed me,
who governed by first steps,
who opened my eyes to the beauties of the world, I think of you …

Woman of the fields, woman of the rivers, woman of the great river, O
mother, I think of you …

O Dâman, O mother, who wiped my tears,
who cheered up my heart,
who patiently dealt with my caprices,
how I would love to still be near you.

Simple woman, woman of resignation, O mother, I think of you.
O Dâman, Dâman of the great family of blacksmiths, my thoughts are
always of you, they accompany me with every step,
O Dâman, my mother, how I would love to still feel your warmth,
to be your child that is close to you …
Black woman, African woman, O mother, thank you; thank you for all
that you have done for me, your son, so far away yet so close to you!

A ma mère (French)

Femme noire, femme africaine, ô toi ma mère je pense à toi…

Ô Dâman, ô ma mère, toi qui me
portas sur le dos, toi qui m’allaitas,
toi qui gouvernas mes premiers pas,
toi qui la première m’ouvris les yeux
aux prodiges de la terre, je pense à toi…

Femme des champs, femme des rivières, femme du grand fleuve,
ô toi, ma mère, je pense à toi…

Ô toi Dâman, ô ma mère, toi qui
essuyais mes larmes, toi qui me
réjouissais le coeur, toi qui,
patiemment supportais mes caprices,
comme j’aimerais encore être près de toi, être enfant près de toi…

Ô Dâman, Dâman de la grande
famille des forgerons, ma pensée
toujours se tourne vers toi, la tienne
à chaque pas m’accompagne, ô
Dâman, ma mère, comme j’aimerais
encore être dans ta chaleur, être
enfant près de toi…

Femme noire, femme africaine, ô
toi, ma mère, merci ; merci pour tout
ce que tu fis pour moi, ton fils, si
loin, si près de toi !