The 2006 election in the Democratic Republic of Congo was supposed to usher in a new period of peace and stability for the beleaguered, exhausted Congolese people. Instead, it made one of the country's most intractable problems worse.
DRC: Day of Prayer for Peace
Published October 11, 2008
Today the government declared a national day of prayer for peace and gave everyone a holiday. The army commemorated the day by attacking Nkunda positions in at least two places by 6am. As one national aid worker told me, "We've been at war for 15 [sic] years and now they choose to tell us to pray for peace."
In the city, the roads were quiet, and in the morning people went to the cathedral or the local churches to pray. By afternoon, dozens of men were drunk in the streets.
I met a taxi man named James who wouldn't work past dark because it would be too dangerous to get home to his neighborhood – he's a Tutsi – and so he gave my friend his taxi to keep for the night and took a moto home.
Contributor Michael J. Kavanagh reported for Worldfocus last year on the crisis in eastern Congo. He's currently based in the DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa.
Journalist Michael J. Kavanagh reported on the Crisis in Congo for Worldfocus last year.
Gateways
Grantee
Michael J. Kavanagh is a journalist based in Kinshasa and New York who reports on conflict and post-conflict development issues around the world, with a special focus on Africa. His radio and...
