Thank you, HBO, for airing a powerful and shocking documentary on the plight of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo-The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo. A testament to the power of human destructiveness, as well as the monumental strength of human survival and perseverance in the face of terror and oppression. This is a story of hopelessness and hope; of darkness and light; it is a story of awareness, bringing the tales of the untold to the public.
Awareness is paramount; awareness brings action. Action brings change.
"In the 1880's King Leopold of Belgium created the Congo to be his own personal slave colony, plundering ivory and timber, and killing half the native population...
The DRC has over 80% of the world's reserves of Coltan, a key ingredient of cell phones and laptops; it is estimated that over $1 million worth of Coltan is stolen out of the country each day...it's an economic war...It has been the deadliest conflict since WWII; in 10 years, over 4 million people have died; some estimates put the number of raped women and girls at over 200,000. Rape is a weapon used to create instability in the region."
Historical patterns repeating themselves in one of the world's most forgotten regions, the former Belgian Congo, today, the Democratic Republic of Congo. The plunder of materials and of human rights and dignity started with Leopold in the 1800's; they continue today with the mass killings and rapings at the hands of the rebel armies of Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda. Rape is a weapon, which has been employed with deadly and silencing efficiency. This film is a testimonial to the women of the Congo, the women who have suffered and endured so, endlessly, over the years.
In other news, I leave on Thursday for Ethiopia; a journey that will be both internal and external; new experiences, and the challenge to live and remain in the present moment, in a totally new environment, however fleeting the time will be. A journey that will be of mind and body, intellect and emotion, the inevitable reflection and anticipation. My goal is to enter every new space as impartial as possible, in order to remain open to everything I can absorb, while not influencing things with my mind that I do not fully understand. Allowing experiences to unwind without partiality, an observer in a grand game of life. Arriving without preconception, bias, and fear.
I have been fascinated by the African continent for some time; however much I have read, studied, absorbed, and lectured on will not prepare me for the first step on African soil, my first breath of African air, the first smile of an African face, the first frown of an African soul.
This thought directs me to the words of a sage, Peter Mattheisson, describing Buddha Nature.
"To practice Zen means to realize one's existence moment after moment, rather than letting life unravel in regret of the past and daydreaming of the future...as the clutter of ideas and emotions fall away and body and mind return to the natural harmony with all creation. Out of this emptiness can come a true insight into the nature of existence, which is no different from one's Buddha nature."
Official Trailer for The Greatest Silence:
