The Anatomy of a Hopeless People...

I sit here at my computer tonight without words to explain my emotions. I am a mess of seething anger and frustrated hopelessness, floating in a ocean of sorrow. I have no words for the disjointed reality that I am only beginning to see, only that my hands want to reach heavenward in a pleading gesture of how my heart feels at this moment. "Oh Lord, how can you let this happen? How can you sit and watch so much evil happen without rising a hand against it? How can you watch your little children endure so much agony and horror? How long will you let this continue?"

To my heart-cry I find His response in His eternal perspective from the book of Isaiah...

"I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. For I am the LORD your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar - the LORD Almighty is his name. I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand - I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth...'"

I know and believe my Lord, yet it's so hard, almost impossible in my humanity, to keep that perspective when you're faced with worlds overwhelming need for love. It is this lack of love for one another, stirred into the foulness of evil, that drives mankind to do such horrific things as rape women and children and murder babies and old people.

As you can well guess by now, this post is not for the faint of heart nor is it for anyone looking for a quick "pick-me-up", so if you're looking for "happy, happy, joy, joy" today, that's the next blog over.

I will tell you, this post is ultimately about hope and with that in mind, I ask for your consideration: spend the next few moments to learn about one issue (one out of scores) that I believe every good person in this world should take a stand against... even if only for one small moment in time.

So what is it, what is it that has me so ignited?

I've just finished reading an article about eastern Congo. As many of you know, not much good comes out of eastern Congo. This country has been ripped to shreds, it's people decimated (almost to the point of genocide) for the past 60+ years. The Second Congo War stands eerily alone as being the world's deadliest conflict since World War II in that, by 2008, the war and its aftermath will have killed over an estimated 5.4 million people.

To give you a bit of background information on this region of Africa, many of the countries in this part of the continent have been undergoing "ethnic cleansing" by radical Muslim extremists or various other military and/or governmental groups. Such countries include Congo, Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda to name a few. Whether under the guise of civil or religious wars, many of the atrocities being committed there today are over the color of ones skin and ancestral background. Many of these countries have "cartoon" governments that secretly participate and fund these unimaginable acts or sit idly by, turning their heads as their people are viciously raped, slaughtered and starved to death.



In addition, other countries that could exercise huge amounts of positive influence in this area (like China and Egypt) do nothing to persuade or discourage this behavior, because of their ever increasing desire to fuel their own economic booms with African oil.

The situation is dire - the need is massive - and the world governments continue to sit on their hands. Instead of real help from the United Nations (which has acknowledged the genocidal seriousness of the situation) these suffering people are left to the humble care of struggling aid workers and under-supported humanitarian health organizations who do the best they can with what they are allowed to put on the ground.

The particular article I read today was about how men in eastern Congo are using rape as a weapon of war against women and children. Yes, I said children. Doctors in eastern Congo have reported witnessing the horrific aftermath of this heinous crime against little ones as young as 12 months old up to a 71 year old woman. These doctors are saying that the occurrence of fistulas has become epidemic.

For those of you wondering what a fistula is, normally it's a rare occurrence of the ripping or tearing of the walls that separate the vagina, bladder, uterus or rectum. If a doctor does see one, it is normally associated with immensely difficult childbirth or in some cases... tremendously violent rapes. In eastern Congo, rape is such an everyday occurrence that many clinics specialize in only helping rape victims. Many staff at such clinics report that this condition has become a common occurrence among the victims they treat, rendering many of them ultimately helpless in their efforts to hold urine because they have been so physically damaged.


A hospital in Congo where almost all the patients are victims of brutal rapes




Besides the physical scars these women and children will carry for the rest of their lives, the psychological torment they endured will leave them crippled in other ways. Many victims are raped simply because they left the safety of their refugee camp to scavenge for wood or food, while others are raped in their own villages, some in front of their families, by drunken soldiers who are so desensitized to this act that the screams of their victims don't phase them anymore.

In a letter written to the U.S. Congress by a group of 44 women who were raped in Sudan, we learn first hand of the horrors they endured (the region they were from as well as their names were removed for safety reasons):

"Messrs. Members of the U.S. Congress,

Peace and the mercy and the blessings of God be upon you. We thank you for your help and for standing by the weak of the world, wherever they are found. We welcome you to the […] region, which was devastated by the Janjaweed, or what is referred to as the government ‘horse- and camel-men,’ on Friday [… 2004], when they caused havoc by killing and burning and committing plunder and rape. This was carried out with the help of the government, which used the […] region as an airport and supplied the Janjaweed with munitions and supplies.

So we, the raped woman of the […] region, would like to explain to you what has happened and God is our best witness.

We are forty-four raped women. As a result of that savagery, some of us became pregnant, some have aborted, some took out their wombs and some are still receiving medical treatment.

Hereunder, we list the names of the raped women and state that we have high hopes in you and the international community to stand by us and not to forsake us to this tyrannical, brutal and racist regime, which wants to eliminate us racially, bearing in mind that 90 percent of our sisters at […] are widows.

[Above] are the names of some of the women raped in the […] region. Some of these individuals are now at […], some are at Tawilah and some are at Abu Shouk camps. Everything we said is the absolute truth. These girls were raped in front of our fathers and husbands.

We hope that you and the international community will continue to preserve the balance of the peoples and nations.

Thank you.
From:
The raped women at […].”

A young patient contemplates her future as a survivor

To think these women have nothing better to pin their hopes on but the international community is painful to hear. Although the U.N. has sent troops, the problem is much larger than what the troops are able to handle at this point. When I think about the scale of what is occurring on a daily basis there in Congo, a feeling of hopelessness starts to overwhelm me, "who is going to help these people?!"

My friends, I remain convinced that such atrocities will long endure the silent, small efforts of the compassionate good, and will unfortunately, continue to exist until Jesus returns, but until then, what can we, the people of America (especially the CHRISTIANS of America) - what can we, the everyday, average Joe's do to put a stop to this?

One thing is for certain - if we all sit on our hands, the only thing that will happen is... nothing.

If it is within our power to do something good to help when we hear of a person or situation who needs our aid, is it not our charge to help? Does it not become a matter of giving up a little of what we want to make someone else's life not only a little more endurable (and by endurable, I mean "bearable enough to desire to live") but most importantly, as Christians, share the Hope we have with the broken, so they can endure and carry on with some sort of joy? Is that not what we are supposed to do?

All we need to do is take one step - that's all... nothing huge... just one small step.

Here's a list of 5 ways we can make a difference. I will be going through this list myself, checking off one thing at a time over the next few months.

5 Ways to Make A Difference

1. Call! Put a phone call or email in to your congressman and ask him/her to support legislation that will help put an end to the crisis in Congo and help support the victims and refugees
   
2. Advocate! Spread the word - spend 15 minutes of your day to read about Congo or Darfur and then talk to other people about it - create awareness - advocate for these precious ones
   
3. Volunteer! Donate some of your time with an organization that supports victims
   
4. Raise Funds! Host a garage sale, car wash, or take donations for an organization that supports victims
   
5. Donate! Remember - even small amounts count! Check out this video and see how this organization supports survivors...
   
   
   

I truly hope you will join me, for the anatomy of a hopeless people is not comprised so much of the selfish gain and insidious evil that attacks from outside of it, but instead, consists of the savage stripping and devastating loss of every precious treasure held dear by those within it.

When I think of the hopelessness these people endure - the woman who just saw her child murdered, the man who just witnessed the raping and mutilation of his wife, the child who is now without a mother and father after witnessing their tortuous deaths, even the solider whose heart is lost in rage and dispair - when I think of these people, I grieve.

But I know, each one can be recovered from that darkness, each one can be reclaimed and reformed into something fresh and new... because I know the Lord of Israel... The Redeemer! And I know He values each and every one of His children as precious treasures.

How much different would the world be if we, as authentic Christ-followers, followed His lead and gave everything we are just to make the world better for even one of the least of these?