Ben Affleck and Mick Jagger Team Up

Ben Affleck and British rock legend Sir Mick Jagger launched a short film for UNHCRs new Gimme Shelter campaign to help raise funds and awareness about the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

This is such welcome news. Over the past year, I have read about so many atrocities and crimes against humanity in eastern DRC. Some of the images in this short film send shivers down my spine. To see little babies handed up into the arms of people fleeing on UNHCR trucks. Clearly desperate to leave whatever situation they are in. Maybe even being handed up to perfect strangers. I can't help but think, how many of those small children got seperated from their parents?

Following is the complete article as written on the UNHCR website:

The UN Refugee Agency, with the help of American actor-director Ben Affleck and British rock legend Sir Mick Jagger, launched a major new campaign to raise $23 million to help tens of thousands of displaced Congolese civilians.

At the center of the campaign is the "Gimme Shelter" video directed by Affleck and filmed by John Toll, both Academy Award winners. The short film, released at a ceremony in New York on Wednesday, is set to the classic Rolling Stones song, Gimme Shelter, which Jagger and the group donated to the campaign.
The footage was shot last month in Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) strife-torn North Kivu province, where some 250,000 civilians have fled for their lives since fighting resumed in August between government forces and rebel troops.

"We made this film in order to focus attention on the humanitarian crisis in the DRC at a time when too much of the world is indifferent or looking the other way," said Affleck. "The suffering and loss we've all seen first-hand is staggering – it is beyond belief."

"Gimme Shelter" captures the suffering of internally displaced Congolese families who fled the fighting with next to nothing and are now forced to find refuge in makeshift shelters with little to live on. Some 30,000 others have fled to neighboring Uganda and are receiving help from UNHCR.

There are currently 1.3 million displaced people in the DRC, many of them earlier victims caught up in a continuing cycle of violence. The effects of the conflict have claimed as many as 5.4 million lives in the last 10 years, with an estimated 1,000 people still dying every day.

In some areas, two out of three women have been raped. Abductions persist and children are forcefully recruited to fight. Outbreaks of cholera and other diseases have increased as the humanitarian situation deteriorates.

The "Gimme Shelter" campaign hopes to raise US$23 million in 2009 to pay for clean water supplies and for emergency humanitarian assistance kits that contain jerry cans, kitchen sets, thermal blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets and plastic sheeting needed for construction of shelters.

Join the campaign at www.unhcrshelter.org

The Affleck film will be distributed worldwide via the internet, television, mobile phones, cinemas and hotel chains to raise awareness of UNHCR's global work for refugees and to encourage donations for displaced Congolese.
Jagger described the human suffering in the DRC as appalling and expressed strong support for Affleck's awareness-raising efforts. "The Rolling Stones are very happy to contribute 'Gimme Shelter' in support of Ben's efforts to raise the profile of the conflict in the Congo," Jagger said. "I hope this video will help."

Affleck, who has made four visits to central Africa since 2007, urged more public awareness of this and other conflicts in which millions of people have been forced from their homes.

"I'm urging people not to look the other way, not to turn off their TV when news of the violence in the DRC comes on. We all need to stand up and support the work of organizations like UNHCR who are on the ground offering protection and working hard to ensure the rights and well-being of refugees," he said.

My Girl Bonane

Lots of exciting things have been happening in the Gorilla Sector of Virunga National Park lately. The Rangers are back to their very important work of patroling and monitoring the gorillas after 15 long months of fighting within the Park.

The Rangers are in the process of conducting a census of the habituated gorilla families, which consists of counting everything from new births to migrations between the families. It was during one of the patrols that the Rangers came upon one of my favorite gorillas, Bonane. We all thought Bonane was a male, but on this patrol Bonane was spotted with a baby. Bonane, it turns out, is a female.

Bonane is the gorilla I feature with the title of this blog. That picture of her just captures me. Her eyes are so beautiful and enchanting. Her face seems so soft and warm, somehow. She's a gorgeous gorilla and I so guess it's only fittng that she is a female. In one of my earlier posts, I expressed concern for the gorillas safety due to the heavy conflict within the gorilla sector. I wondered if Bonane would ever live to be a silverback in charge of his own family. Well, thanks to the Rangers and the fact that they share everything with us, I now know the answer to that question, don't I! Bonane will never be a silverback in charge of his own group, but she will be a beautiful mother and hopefully raise lots of babies and live a long healthy life.

One of the concerns I have is who the father of Bonane's baby is. When the fighting broke out 15 months ago, Bonane was a member of the Kabirizi family. When the Rangers spotted her with her baby she had migrated to the Humba family. Is Humba the father of Bonane's baby? On one of Dr. Lucy Spellman's more recent posts on Gorilla Doctors http://gorilladoctors.wildlifedirect.org/2008/12/04/sad-week-in-rwanda/ she states the following: "Since I’ve worked here, infanticide has been the outcome every time an infant sired by a male in another group has been born to a newly transferred female." It will be close to impossible to know who the father of Bonane's baby is, due to the fact that the Rangers have not been with the gorillas for 15 months. They don't know when Bonane migrated. I guess a big clue will be how Humba treats Bonane's infant. Humba is known to be the mellowst silverback in the habituated groups. There's just no telling. This picture of Bonane with the cut on her arm was taken recently. She sustained this cut getting in the middle of an altercation between the silverbacks Humba and Kabirizi. Hopefully, her baby made it through the altercation okay.

Good Things Are Happening

This week we have some very good news for Virunga National Park and the humanitarian crises happening in DRC.

Today I learned that the American actor Ben Affleck has traveled to Congo and has taken a tour of a few IDP (internally displaced people) camps. This is amazing news and hopefully he can bring some much, much needed attention to the plight of the people suffering in this part of the world. I read news articles of children that have been separated from their parents. One little orphan was only 2 or 3 years of age and was found in a home with several dead people. A man carried him several miles to a hospital, where he could be treated for injuries (I think a gunshot wound)to his arm. They did not know his name, whether or not his parents were still alive, or exactly what they were going to do with him. He was being cared for by a young man that Doctors Without Borders was paying a small salary to. My heart breaks to hear a story like this. I think of my sons and how I/they would feel if we were separated by war. How I wish I could pluck this little one up and comfort him. If only I could!

Yesterday, I learned that Emmanuel, Pierre, Eddy and Brent Stirton (National Geographic photographer) went to Rumangabo Headquarters to see if they could gain access for the Rangers to come back and monitor the mountain gorillas. They were able to visit the Bukima patrol post for the first time in 14 months. What great, great news. Today I have learned that 120 Rangers have returned to Virunga National Park. A census on the gorillas will soon be carried out. After 14 months of not knowing how our beloved gorilla families have been doing, the Rangers will finally (if nothing horrendous happens) be able to check on them.

One of the last few gorilla sightings I can remember was a year ago, this past August when Bilali,from the Munyaga family,had a baby. It was one of the most precious videos I have ever seen. She was so patient as the Rangers seemed to disturb her and her new son. It was all out of love. And she seemed to understand that and allow for it. I was so enchanted by her and that little one. It was Mother's love to be sure. You could see it on Bilali's face. It reminds me that we are so close as a species. They love, care for and protect their young, as we do. Sadly, we were to learn a few days later that Bilali's little one perished in a scuffle between two silverbacks. It was so hard to learn this news and made it all the more important that something must be done to save these precious creatures. I remain hopeful that when the Rangers go to carry out this census, they will find new babies that have been born and are thriving in these wonderful gorilla families.

Thousands of Miles Away

As I set here in my warm, comfortable house; my husband and kids safe; my other relatives safe in their homes; my pets are fed and safe too; my friends are safe in their homes. My thoughts are thousands of miles away in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I know people do not feel safe in their homes. They are hiding under their beds from gunfire and fighting, right outside their homes. Their children are crying in fear and they are trying very hard to comfort them. They are fleeing into the forest, with only the clothes on their backs, walking for miles with no food or water, walking with their small children. Fear all around them, as they hide from being brutally raped, killed or having their children kidnapped to become sex slaves or child soldiers. They can’t even think about their pets. That is not the kind of luxury they have. They can’t think about the safety of the endangered mountain gorilla or the whether or not these armed groups are killing hippos or elephants for bushmeat. They can’t think about whether or not the forests of Virunga National Park, the oldest National Park in Africa, are being chopped down at alarming rates for charcoal. They are just trying to save their own lives and the lives of their children and family.

My thoughts are thousands of miles away. I’m wondering if the mountain gorilla families that I have learned about this past year, are safe. I wonder if little Noel, who shares my Christmas Eve birthday, is still living. I wonder how my favorite gorilla, Bonane is doing. Will he ever become a great silverback, in charge of his own family? I think about Senkwekwe, the beautiful silverback who lost his life protecting his family from the humans that came to slaughter them. Are there other silverbacks having to do the same thing at this very moment? I have the luxury of these thoughts. I am thousands of miles away.

Raising Awareness

I have started this blog with the idea of raising awareness on three issues:

1. Virunga National Park and the endangered mountain gorilla;
2. Other endangered African wildlife and eco systems;
3. Human suffering throughout Africa.

In August 2007, I came upon an article in Newsweek magazine regarding the slaughter of the Rugendo family of mountain gorilla in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, I have learned a great deal about what the threats to Virunga National Park and the mountain gorilla are. I've learned that it is a very dangerous and complicated matter, but one that is not without hope. In raising awareness about Virunga National Park and the mountain gorilla, I also hope to raise awareness regarding the humanitarian crises in DRC. It is my belief that by helping the people, we can save Virunga National Park and its wildlife.

With this blog, I will also work hard to raise awareness to help save other precious eco systems and majestic animals throughout Africa. I have been profoundly affected by many stories of all kinds of African wildlife such as bonobos, elephants, raptors, lions, cheetah, chimpanzees, giraffe, and rhino as well as, the many conservationists on the ground working their hearts out to save them.

For me, this is a labor of love and concern for the future of these animals that I have dreamed about since I was a child. I don’t want my children to grow up in a world with no wild mountain gorilla, African elephant or giraffe. I can’t imagine a world with no wild lion, cheetah, or leopards. And our Mother Earth just would not be the same without the Mara, one of the “Seven Wonders of the World.”

At the same time, my heart goes out to those suffering throughout Africa. There is a tremendous amount of human suffering that I have learned about and read about within this last year. I would like to raise awareness regarding this issue and somehow help to facilitate an end to it, sometime within my lifetime.

I have a lot of work to do and hopefully you’ll join me in raising awareness and saving some of our worlds most magnificent and majestic wildlife.