Democratic Republic Of Congo
June 2008
Our next stop was to the Congo and on the very day we arrived ranger Buzara was shot tortured and murdered by rebels/ poachers when his patrol was ambushed and out numbered. Buzara and his colleagues put up a good fight but when he ran out of bullets, they were overrun by the poachers who outnumbered them seven to one. They shot Buzara, then very sadly tortured and eventually killed him.
We attended his burial the very next day, and paid tribute to him and respects to his family on behalf of The Thin Green Line Foundation, the Internationals Rangers Federation, and the world community supporting rangers. When we asked the rangers who else had been shot at in their work, every one of the 50 + rangers raised their hands. So started our bumpy trek trough the Congo where, with the assistance of DRC’s Jobogo Miribdi, we visited 150+ widows in Rwindi, Rhumongabo, Bukavu, Kabraza, Rotura, and Lulimbi, All on the eastern edge of Congo and mostly in Virunga National Park which runs hundreds of kilometres along the Ugandan DRC border.
It is difficult to pay widows directly in DRC because of the turbulent history there, the lack of banks and potential danger they could be placed in if they were to have cash. So, in the DRC?Congo we have decided to investigate projects as a safe alternative for the widows.
All of the widows said their priorities were housing (they currently live in makeshift slums or other housing) school fees, medical supplies and employment possibilities. Due to the number of widows here this will have to be completed as a staged process as we sadly don’t yet have nearly enough funds to cover all the widows, but we continue to strive to improve the situation for the families of these fallen heroes of conservation.
So, if you or someone else you know is interested in supporting our work in Congo or anywhere else around please get in touch.
On this trip in DRC I also met with the Director General (the boss) of Congo parks and TGL have this organisation’s full cooperation. This includes the department requesting land form the government to house the widows and children of the rangers killed. Hopefully we will make significant progress with this in the near future.
Also a good link was established with Wildlife Direct who already work supporting rangers in the DRC, and they could potentially have a hand in distribution and or management of future projects. While travelling the difficult roads of DRC, Brett and I were also treated to viewings of the beautiful lowland gorillas, which the rangers proudly showed off as those that had survived the war along with the rangers. Adrenalin was never far from the cerebral cortex as hippos also grazed by our tent and we had nightly visits from a herd of elephants. Many of the game hung around the rangers’ camps at night time where they knew they were safer from the bullets of would- be poachers.
We also narrowly missed an ambush ourselves in the north where five rebels/poachers were waiting. Luckily, a fisherman who had narrowly escaped himself warned of the impending ambush down the road and an hour later with the assistance of 15 heavily armed rangers we made it to the border of Congo and Uganda. Our driver wasn’t so concerned as he had already lost all his gear when he was held up with a barrel of an AK47 pointed at him and was threatened with being shot. Ironically, the bandits handed back his SIM card… as that would be rude!
It is important to say it seemed very safe in Goma and down south at Bukavu where the lowland gorillas were. It’s important to say as the rangers and locals need the tourists to return. North of Goma is a different story and you’ll need to assess the safety of these regions yourself before venturing there, if you decide to go.
So we have achieved much in the near 11 months since the film premiere.
Many thanks to all involved who have made it possible. We should celebrate how far we have come in a short time, but as you all know, there is still much to do. Once we have paid out families of rangers around the world (we need to raise $1.5 million USD) we would also like to commence Project Connect which aims to reduce ranger deaths by improving community conservation projects which bring rangers and communities together. One example is in India and Uganda where we hope to provide solar cookers for rangers to give to their local communities. These solar cookers will reduce the need for the communities to enter the forest for wood, thus protecting the forest, reducing the incidents between rangers and community and actively building a positive relationship between them.
