Speaking from his home in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, on February 23, Josué Seleman told of the turmoil in the city after M23 paramilitary rebels entered Bukavu on February 14, three weeks after capturing nearby Goma in the east of the country.
Seleman is a medical doctor and pastor of a church that is part of the Communauté des Eglises des Frères Mennonites au Congo (Community of Mennonite Brethren Churches in Congo), the largest Mennonite group in DR Congo, with nearly 100,000 members.
Speaking in French, Seleman told Canadian Mennonite that rebels entered the city only to leave again, but this was followed by local youth and young men stealing weapons and looting the city, damaging many businesses and “panicking the population.”
The regional governor said that Congolese troops withdrew to avoid urban fighting, but, as the BBC reported, “This left a security vacuum in the city on Saturday, with chaotic scenes playing out, including a reported prison break from the central prison.”
The roots of the conflict are complex in this mineral-rich country, which has previously been marked by ethnic violence. At least 40 per cent of the global supply of coltan, a metal used in smartphones, comes from DR Congo.
Two of the looters involved in taking 7,000 tonnes of humanitarian supplies from a United Nations warehouse were reportedly burned alive. The Red Cross recovered 15 bodies, including that of a pregnant woman, following the looting. Most of those injured were civilians, including women and children.
When the rebels took control of the city on February 16 after two days of chaos, seizing the regional governor’s office, “It was almost a kind of liberation,” Seleman said. “They began to reestablish order in the city.”
While several members of Seleman’s church owned shops that were looted, when the church met on February 23 for services, the congregation expressed thanks to God for protection during the “pillaging.”
One of the pastors preached on Hebrews 10:25, reminding the 130 members of the importance of meeting together for encouragement and talking about sharing in the sufferings of Christ. They prayed for their country and for protection of families and the church in this moment. Seleman also noted they prayed against fear and “the hatred that arises” and that they might remember how to live as brothers.
For some time during the turmoil, Seleman reported, people were unable to get food or other supplies, and the city, which borders Rwanda and is a commercial gateway between countries, found its borders closed for several days. He said pharmacists are running low on some medicine and banks have been closed.
After several days of staying in his home, Seleman left the other 12 members of his household and returned through what he described as a “ghost town” to the hospital to see his patients. By the end of the week, the city was engaged in a massive cleanup.
Seleman said many church members have been asking whether God has abandoned them in this time. They note that Congo is a country rich in natural resources and wonder why God has blessed them with minerals only to let the people die at the hands of those fighting over them. They also wonder whether the international community remembers them.
“It is not only Gaza or Ukraine that needs prayer,” said Seleman. “It is also Congo.” He asks that Mennonites in Canada and around the world remember their brothers and sisters in DR Congo, praying for peace in their country, but also that those in the church there might regain their confidence in God. Knowing others are praying for them, he said, is an encouragement.
Congolese Mennonites in Canada are also concerned about the trouble in Congo. Charles Tabena, pastor of Centre Béthésda Mennonite de Québec in Quebec City, is in regular communication with family and friends in Bukavu and Goma. He wrote in an email to Canadian Mennonite:
We pray that God, the father of shalom, will restore a lasting peace in the eastern DR Congo where, because of the intermittent political fighting, dozens of women have been raped, many children have been orphaned, many deaths have been recorded. May God send peace to all the people of the DR Congo and to those of the east of this country in particular.
“Nous prions que Dieu, le père du shalom, ramène la paix durable dans l’Est de la RDC où, à cause de la guerre politique intermittante, des dizaines de femmes sont violées, un grand nombre d’enfants qui reste orphelins, plusieurs morts enregistrées au quotidien dans des villes comme Bukavu et Goma avec des hostilités repetitives. Que Dieu puisse envoyer la paix à tous les peuples de la RD Congo en générale et à ceux de l’Est de ce pays en particulier.”
Francois Machichi, pastor of Goshen Mennonite Church in Ottawa, added his prayer, asking God to “open the door to an effective reconciliation in a region marked by deep tribal hatred.” He prays that “Mennonites might intervene in sending pastors to animate unity and reconciliation.”
Mennonite World Conference convened an inter-Anabaptist task force to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the eastern DRC. Donations can be made at mwc-cmm.org/en/global-church-sharing-fund
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