DRC Horrors... This Must End

My opinions and views are, oft-times, considered radical, however in the cases of violence against women and our daughters (children in general), I believe my views are not radical enough....

How can we, as human beings be aware of such atrocities and turn a blind eye... Not Attempt every possible thing to prevent and stop the horrors that befall our women, as a result of MENS WARS.....?

Just one Case of Millions.... (please don not think this case unique)

Lucienne M’Maroyi is a 24-year-old woman who has been separated from her husband since she was raped. She is in the Bwirhonzi group of Walungu, the mother of three daughters, the third of whom resulted from her rapes as a sex slave. She named her baby Luck because the people with whom she was taken in the bush were killed, but she was lucky not to have been killed along with them.

“My husband was on a trip to Bukavu when some Interahamwe broke into the house where I was staying with my sister-in-law at around 9 pm. It was in December 2006. They came with flashlights. I had my baby in my arms. They pulled it away from me and threw it aside. I was alone in the house. They left the kids behind, and they stayed with a neighbor. It was a blessing that they did not rape my daughters—they were so young and small, it would have been the worst tragedy for me. They pulled me and tied my arms behind my back with a rope together with my sister-in-law. They dragged us out and brought us to the home of another family where they collected other people. They also took my brother with us. Soon there were five of us. On the way they shot one elderly woman because she could not walk fast enough.

”When we got to the bush, they pulled me down to rape me in front of my brother. They gave him the flashlight to hold. As he hid his face in shame, they struck him with a gun and pulled him away to kill him.

“When they were about to kill me, one of them said I resembled his sister and that I would become his wife instead. They killed another woman. We were beaten many times. As we were swollen because of the walk and having been beaten, one of the men warmed water and gave it to us so we could massage ourselves. They sent a woman to us with food. Fortunately, to my surprise, it was my sister whom we mourned and thought had died. She had been taken at the time they killed my father. She told me she was ill and that nobody would allow her to get treatment. She was also pregnant.

“My sister-in-law was killed during a dispute between two men who wanted to have her as a wife. They decided to solve the problem by killing her.

“Another woman was impregnated. She tried to abort the baby, but she bled too much and died due to lack of access to medical treatment. I remained alone with my sister. I was also pregnant with this baby, Luck, whom I delivered in October 2007. I spent three months and a half with these people as a sex slave.

“I escaped when my elder sister was in labor and was being sent to the maternity clinic. They asked me to take her there, but took my clothes off so that I would not run away. I wore only pants. On the way, we met a government soldier whose wife gave me clothes to put on. They also made porridge for us. Unfortunately my sister died during her delivery. I kept the baby until its father came and took it to Bukavu.

“When my husband heard I was back, he said he would not remain with the Interahamwe’s wife. He stopped me from coming to his farms. I had to live at my father’s old friend’s place, where I sleep with my children on the floor in their sitting room.

UN classifies rape a 'war tactic'

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously in favour of a resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war.
The document describes the deliberate use of rape as a tactic in war and a threat to international security.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said violence against women had reached "unspeakable proportions" in some societies recovering from conflict.
The UN is also setting up an inquiry to report next June on how widespread the practice is and how to tackle it.
Human rights groups hailed the resolution as historic.
'Silent war'
The BBC's Laura Trevelyan said China, Russia, Indonesia and Vietnam had all expressed reservations during the negotiations, asking whether rape was really a matter for the security council.
But the US-sponsored resolution was adopted unanimously by the 15-member council.
It's a very effective weapon, because the communities are totally destroyed
Maj Gen Patrick CammaertFormer UN peacekeeper
Raped for opposing Mugabe
It described sexual violence as "a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instil fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group".
The document said that the violence "can significantly exacerbate situations of armed conflict and may impede the restoration of international peace and security".
During the debate in the council, Mr Ban said: "Responding to this silent war against women and girls requires leadership at the national level."
"National authorities need to take the initiative to build comprehensive strategies while the UN needs to help build capacity and support national authorities and civil societies," he added.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the world now recognised that sexual violence profoundly affected not only the health and safety of women, but the economic and social stability of their nations.
Other speakers identified the former Yugoslavia, Sudan's Darfur region, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Liberia as regions where deliberate sexual violence had occurred on a mass scale.
Deterrent?
The former commander of the UN peacekeeping force in eastern Congo, Maj Gen Patrick Cammaert, told the BBC he had personally witnessed its impact.

A womens' campaigner on the extent of rape
"It's a very effective weapon, because the communities are totally destroyed," he said.
"You destroy communities. You punish the men, and you punish the women, doing it in front of the men."
In the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, some 40 women are raped every day, our correspondent says.
Sometimes women are even raped by peacekeepers who are supposed to be protecting them, she adds.
The question is whether those in conflict zones who use rape in war will be at all deterred by the new measures, she says.