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.