“They are like my family.”

“They’re just fucking monkeys.”

On Thursday 15 May 2014, the Frontline Club screened Virunga, a masterful documentary that portrays both the highest of human empathy, and lowest of murderous greed in eastern DR Congo.

Present for the Q&A were director Orlando von Einsiedel, producer Joanna Natasegara and investigative journalist Melanie Gouby, who is featured in the film.

From left: Melanie Gouby, Joanna Natasegara, Orlando von Einsiedel. Photo credit: George Symonds

The audience voiced rave reviews:

“It is a beautiful film, and the stars are the gorillas”
“Brilliant film, really engaging”
“Amazing and powerful”
“Incredible film”

Director von Einsiedel began with how the two year project started:

“I’ve been interested in trying to tell a positive, different story from eastern Congo. One that wasn’t all about the many negative things that we mostly hear about the place.

 

“Between 2008 and 2012, there’d been a period of relative stability, and I learned about the really inspiring work of the rangers of Virunga National Park. In their story I saw a metaphor for the wider rebirth of the region.

 

“That the park was implementing various different development projects, tourism was starting to grow again . . . I’d only been on the ground maybe three weeks and this new civil war started.

 

“Around the same sort of time I learned about the park’s concerns about the illegal oil exploration by SOCO International. I ended up staying because I was enthralled about the rangers and their work.”

Orlando von Einsiedel, Director

Two representatives of SOCO International were allegedly present at the screening. The company had issued a PR statement in response to what it “believes to be groundless allegations” recorded in the film.

An audience member from BBC Panorama asked how the filmmakers responded to SOCO’s comments.

“It’s quite simple,” replied von Einsiedel:

“We wouldn’t be sitting up here if we didn’t stand by the journalism and the work that we’ve done.

 

“In terms of SOCO International, what they’re doing in Virunga National Park is illegal. . . . It’s illegal under Congolese national law, it’s illegal under international law, and on top of that, over the years we were there, we have serious concerns about a lack of oversight that this company has. To do with corruption and links to armed groups.”

Excellent night at the @frontlineclub– a sneak preview of the brave @virungamovie and Q&A w/ @jojonata & team pic.twitter.com/foIhGyRATh

— Kate Hardie-Buckley (@katehbuckley) May 15, 2014

Natasegara elaborated on SOCO’s legal position:

“There’s no suggestion that there’s any oil under Virunga National Park. That’s the first misnomer that SOCO International put out. There is no proof that there’s any oil under this world heritage site. . . . What they are doing is illegal, as Orlando said.

 

“What they failed to recognise is that it’s illegal at the highest level of law. It’s enshrined in the constitution that a world heritage site cannot be exploited in this way for oil exploration, ever. So all the permits they would like to suggest they have are all null and void. . . .

 

“So in terms of whether we have oil or not, what we have is a bird in the hand, and a bird that we don’t know exists. The bird in the hand is Virunga National Park, a world heritage site which is there for all of us; and is in fact building a £150 million development programme which is genuinely helping the local communities . . . .”

Jonna Natasegara, Producer

“What power do we have to act against these groups, these immoral positions?” asked a member of the audience.

“There’s a moral position and there’s a legal position,” posited Natasegara:

“SOCO International is a British company, so talk to your decision makers. . . . Talk to your own authorities, let them know how they feel about this issue. In terms of stages we have spent quite a long time building a campaign that goes alongside the film. You can follow that campaign on our official media and on our website.”

Gouby responded to a suggestion that if not SOCO, someone else would do the same thing:

“Total, the French oil company, has a similar concession north of the park, and they’ve promised they would not go into the park. So there is no evidence that any other company would do the same thing.”

Melanie Gouby, Journalist

“I thought the real heroes were the rangers,” said a member of the audience:

“I thought the contrast between the virulent racism of SOCO’s representatives against the brave and eloquent way the rangers spoke was extraordinary. I noticed that in SOCO’s rebuttal, they said nothing about the racism that was shown, that they should re-colonise the Congo.”

Another audience member offered SOCO the floor:

“If someone from SOCO is here who thinks we’ve been given the wrong impression, is there someone who’d like to correct that impression for us now?”

There was no one to respond.

Feel lucky to have seen such a powerful film & piece of journalism @virungamovie about @gorillacd at @frontlineclub #DRC #film #conservation

— Charlotte Minvielle (@Cha_Minvielle) May 15, 2014

The audience was full of praise for those involved in the protection of Virunga National Park and the local communities:

“How extraordinary the courage of everybody involved with film, particularly the Congolese, comes across in the film. And the amount of personal danger people put themselves into to bring across this message, and to congratulate and thank you for doing that.”

Asked about organisations that support the rangers, Natasegara said:

“You can donate directly to the park. The website is www.virunga.org/donate.

 

 

“They have a specific fund for the widows of those rangers. You can contribute directly to their livelihood. That would be a great thing to do.”

Went to the @frontlineclub this evening to see a preview of @virungamovie about @gorillacd such an incredible and inspiring documentary

— Elisabeth Phillips (@elisabeth_CiC) May 15, 2014

Von Einsiedel concluded with the optimism he had witnessed:

“There’s amazing optimism on the ground . . . that this place can be better, and the potential it has – that’s the reason the rangers of the park are out there every day, risking their lives. Because of that hope. Of what they believe the Virunga can do to the region.”

“It’s not going to Margate,” warned von Einsiedel as he encouraged everyone to visit the gorillas:

“The security situation has improved dramatically. So much so that gorilla tourism is open again. So you can all go and visit the gorillas, and you’d all be doing a massively good thing because that’s putting money into the local economy. I’d say go. It’s not going to Margate [laughs] but it’s safe enough to do it.”

For more information on future screenings, and how you can get involved:

Visit. virungamovie.com
Follow. @virungamovie
Like. facebook.com/virungamovie
Donate. virunga.org/donate

The coming year could be a window of opportunity for the international community to tackle the violence and lawlessness that has claimed more than 5 million lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the past 15 years.

The panel: Kassim Kayira, Noëlla Coursaris Musunka, Jean-Roger Kaseki, Patrick Smith, Ben Shepherd.
Photograph: Richard Nield

This is the hope of Ben Shepherd, one of the speakers at Congo Dreams: Hopes and prospects for the future, a Frontline Club event held at Conway Hall in London in association with the Royal African Society on 13 February.

May be a window of opportunity to tackle issues in DRC – Ben Shepherd. @idreamofcongo #frontlineclub — Richard Nield (@Rnield01) February 13, 2013

An estimated 5.4 million people have died as a result of the conflict in the Congo since 1998, according to a study by the International Rescue Committee. But there is a glimmer of hope that the situation may improve if the right action is taken.

“There may by a chance in 2013 and beyond for things to evolve differently,” said Shepherd, associate fellow of the Africa programme at Chatham House.

Fighting continues to plague much of eastern DRC as rebel factions, sometimes supported by neighbouring countries, fight for control of land that is rich in mineral deposits. The weakness of the Congolese government and its security apparatus has led to the proliferation of an ‘alphabet soup’ of armed groups in the region, said Shepherd.

There’s an alphabet soup of armed organisations in eastern #Congo – Ben Shepherd @idreamofcongo #frontlineclub @congoconnect — Richard Nield (@Rnield01) February 13, 2013

But support for M23, one of the main rebel movements, has dwindled, and the exposure in 2012 of Rwanda’s involvement in supporting the movement will make it more difficult for it to find support from neighbouring countries.

“It’s hard to see where the M23 will go,” said Shepherd. “It’s hard to see the potential for it to relaunch itself. Now that there has been an acknowledgement of the cross-border involvement of Rwanda it will be hard to put the genie back in the bottle, and make it difficult for other countries to do the same.”

“We have to stop this cycle. People are tired of the suffering, they are tired of the rape, they are tired of the lack of development.”

With more than 6 million people dead in DRC we have had enough – Noella Coursaris Musunka, @idreamofcongo #frontlineclub — Richard Nield (@Rnield01) February 13, 2013

In 2010, a senior UN official described the DRC as the “rape capital of the world”, and it is a problem that has not gone away. One of a series of photographs exhibited at Conway Hall featured the broken glasses of a woman who had been attacked for the work she does with rape victims in the country.

The photograph is part of an exhibition organised by Congo Connect, an NGO campaigning against human rights abuses in eastern Congo, entitled I Dream of Congo, which runs from 16-23 February.

Maj Honorine Mungole.
Detail of picture by Dominic Nahr/Magnum – Bukavu, South Kivu, 2009

Lack of leadership
The help of the international community is essential to improving the situation in the DRC and to stopping the culture of impunity in the country, said Jean-Roger Kaseki, a human rights campaigner in the UK and in the Congo:

“The pattern of letting people who are responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and even genocide go free is a recipe for more militias to be created in the eastern DRC. Without the international community it will be difficult to stabilise the Congo.”

Jean-Roger Kaseki, human rights campaigner.
Photograph: Richard Nield

“There is a full graveyard of initiatives to watch the border between the DRC and Rwanda,” said Shepherd. “But they have different ideas as to the level of robustness – whether they are expected to fight or not.”

According to Shepherd, there has also been a lack of international leadership:

“The Congo has suffered from not having a country that has been prepared to co-ordinate, to take responsibility to do the work. Most countries are too frightened of how difficult it is and that they might get burned.”

Resource curse
The DRC is also suffering from a resource curse. It is rich in minerals, including coltan, a metallic ore that produces metals used in electronic products such as mobile phones. But these resources are being exploited by international investors with little benefit to the local population.

“The money is there, it’s just going to the wrong hands,” said Kassim Kayira, journalist and commentator at BBC Africa.

Kassim Kayira, BBC Africa.
Photograph: Richard Nield

“It is not clear that there’s any transparency in the deals being done to give access to Congo’s resources,” said Patrick Smith, editor of Africa Confidential, who chaired the debate.

“There’s an irony that we’re talking about the Congo’s lack of resources while they’re being used to push up the share price of one of the biggest companies in the world.”

Patrick Smith, Africa Confidential.
Photograph: Richard Nield 

Irony that DRC lacks resources while they’re being used to boost Glencore share price – Patrick Smith. @idreamofcongo #frontlineclub— Richard Nield (@Rnield01) February 13, 2013

The panel called for international intervention to help to strengthen the army and security forces, to clamp down on militias, and to put help put in place a stronger investment framework in the country.

But in the end, the solution to Congo’s problems must come from within, said Musunka:

“We have had all these outside forces for 15 years and they have failed. The solution has to come from Congo. You cannot impose solutions from outside. We need to empower our people.”

Watch the event here:

A round up of world news in the week ahead from journalist resource ForesightNews.

By Jasper Wenban-Smith, international editor of ForesightNews.

Monday 10 December

A bombastic week of international news kicks off Monday with the opening of the window for North Korea’s latest satellite launch attempt. The launch will have important implications, both domestic and international. Domestically, a successful launch would boost the credibility of Kim Jong-un; conversely, a second consecutive failure might have important implications in a country where power is so concentrated among a military elite. Whether successful or not, the launch will add to regional tensions and may even influence the outcome of South Korea’s presidential elections, due on 19th December.

The seemingly endless conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo will be the subject of consultations on Monday when the African Union’s Peace and Security Council meet to discuss the M23 rebel movement at the AU HQ in Addis Ababa.

Meanwhile, in New York, the UN’s Security Council holds what is expected to be one of the highlights of the Moroccan presidency of the SC. The country’s foreign minister Saad-Eddine al Othmani will chair a high-level meeting on security in the Sahel, likely to focus on Islamist militancy in the region, notably in Mali.

In the United States, as the fiscal cliff deadline draws ever closer, President Barack Obama – who has focused almost exclusively on this issue since his re-election in November – is due to travel on Monday to the Detroit area to deliver a speech pressing the case for an agreement to avert the crisis.

Lastly on Monday, key EU figures travel to Oslo to pick up their Nobel Peace Prize.

Tuesday 11 December

Tuesday is a bit quieter, former President of Cote D’Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo is due back in the International Criminal Court for a status hearing; Canada’s Central Bank Governor Mark Carney, who will head up the Bank of England from next July, delivers a speech in Toronto; and Russia and Georgia return to the negotiating table in Geneva for the latest round of UN-mediated talks.

Wednesday 12 December

On Wednesday, Morocco hosts a Friends of Syria meeting in Marrakech. Hillary Clinton has confirmed her attendance, making it likely a slew of other foreign ministers including Foreign Secretary William Hague and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will attend too.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his first State of the Union address since returning to the Presidency. There will be significant interest in how the former KGB man chooses to address the increased civil unrest in Russia.

IAEA officials are due in Tehran for their latest round of talks with Iranian officials on ‘outstanding issues’ related to the country’s nuclear programme. The visit follows an announcement by Robert Wood, US Ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog, of a March 2013 ‘deadline’ for Iran to alter its approach to negotiations or face action at the UN Security Council.

In European affairs, following their failure to reach an agreement on a long-term budget, EU leaders reconvene in Brussels on Wednesday for a two-day summit. Eurogroup finance ministers are due to meet on the sidelines to make a final determination on whether to release funds to Greece. One potential spanner in the works is that the IMF has insisted that Greece complete its debt buyback operation before funds are released. However, the schedule for the buyback operation, announced by Greece’s debt management agency on 3 December, does not foresee completion until 17 December.

Thursday 13 December

On Thursday, Tunisia’s main union the UGTT plans to hold a general strike. It coincides with a visit by Hillary Clinton to attend the final day of the Forum for the Future taking place in the country’s capital. All of this comes ahead of the second anniversary on Monday 17 December of Mohamed Bouaziz’s self-immolation.

Friday 14 December

Clinton travels on to Abu Dhabi, which on Friday hosts the third ministerial meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum.

Saturday 15 December

On Saturday, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has vowed to press ahead with controversial plans to hold a constitutional referendum, which is likely to result in further unrest.

A three-day conference on nuclear safety kicks off in Fukushima prefecture in Japan. Ministers are due to attend the opening day.

Sunday 16 December

Japan holds parliamentary elections on Sunday, in which Shinzo Abe and his right-leaning LDP are all but certain to regain control of the Shugiin, or lower house. They already control the upper house.

Following presidential elections earlier in the year, Venezuela holds gubernatorial elections on Sunday, with attention focused on whether defeated opposition candidate Henrique Capriles secures re-election as governor of Miranda province.

Finally, on Sunday, South Africa’s ANC opens its five-yearly policy conference. At which, despite widespread labour unrest following the Marikana mine massacre and a very public challenge from former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, Jacob Zuma is expected to be re-elected the party’s leader.

Some images courtesy of fotostory / Shutterstock.com.