In the late afternoon of Wednesday, June 26, I dragged a bench out to the middle of the path in front of our gate and a couple of friends joined me.
We sat and listened to nearby automatic gunfire, greeted and encouraged fleeing neighbors, and waited to see if the rebels were heading our direction. We were also waiting on Miles and our co-worker Lazare.
A lot of people gathered at our house that afternoon. The people in the photo who are standing are in front of our gate. The people in the foreground are fleeing; most went up the “mountain” in the background. That night we had an extra six people sleeping at our house, two of our staff and their children, as well as a group of six Americans who we were hosting from Tuesday until Thursday. In their own words, Wednesday was pretty frightening for the visiting group even though some had previously traveled to conflict areas, but none had ever experienced anything like this. They said the lack of a vehicle to flee in made a difference, but what especially got to them was seeing frightened people fleeing with their possessions on their heads and backs, and with a ton of kids in tow.
Were we happy in this photo? Not for the situation, but we were happy to be together. Behind us was the direction people were fleeing.
The fighting on Wednesday was miles south of us, but you could clearly hear the booms of the mortar fire. Automatic weapon gunfire began very nearby toward the very end of the day. We later found out that the cause of the gunfire was a drunk soldier who fired his gun, which in turn spooked other soldiers into thinking they were being attacked, so they fired their guns as well. The “gun battle” was intermittent but quite long. We had no idea at that moment, but without knowing I joked that it was a drunk soldier; sadly, soldiers here are frequently drunk. The worst part was the gunfire had separated all of us from Miles and Lazare, who had taken our motorcycle to visit with officials in “The Center.” The Center is our non-town town, kind of a shantytown that has grown up around the local government office and the UN base. Miles and Lazare were getting ready to ride our motorcycle straight into the path of the eventual random gunfire just as it erupted, but Miles was able to instead speed over to the UN base, where they took refuge until the shooting died down. Miles said he could hear bullets whizzing overhead a few times while they were at the base.
Things chilled on Thursday, then ramped up again on Friday in a village west of us. The huge Friday market broke up early as people hurried back to their homes to grab their children and belongings to then flee once again. Friday’s attack was a surprise to the inhabitants of that village; two brothers that work with us had to run home to help evacuate their brothers and sisters after their dad called them. This village is one that Miles and I have visited often as we work there with a teacher who runs an afterschool program for high school students; Miles was going to teach a Basic Electricity course there this summer. The village is five miles away from us, or about a 15-minute motorcycle ride on a really bad path.
Rebels had been attacking different villages every few days, and in-between people would hear rumors of rebel attacks, so there’s been a lot of movement of people fleeing back and forth. The army flew in maybe 15 plane loads of soldiers on Saturday, and more planes came in on Sunday but we’re not sure if those planes had soldiers or just supplies. We met many of the MSF (Médecins Sans Frontieres\Doctors Without Borders) staff that came to help as there have been plenty of shot up rebels, soldiers, as well as locals who have tried to fight off the rebels. If we were to guess, we would think that maybe another 150-200 soldiers arrived on Saturday, which is not so many considering that the bad guys attack each village with double that amount, and a significant amount of soldiers are needed to keep “The Center” and the “airport” secure.
Some background on why things are such a mess here. Beginning with the original outbreak of violence that eventually pushed Miles and family out of the house and onto the UN base back in May, it seems that a commander who was leading the army was actually working with the rebels, giving away supplies and ammunition, as well as vital info such a troop movements. Plus… there was an insider within the UN (most likely an African in a supporting role) that was helping get information to the rebels, and/or keeping information away from the UN. We do not know if anyone is actually in custody. The army commander went to the UN base and asked for sanctuary because he feared for his life once he was discovered as a traitor. This was all discovered around that fateful Wednesday, so this is likely one reason the rebels’ attacks were not more easily repelled. A new commander of the army was put in place as of Wednesday, but he has an uphill battle on his hands in overcoming the advantage given to the rebels due to the help of the traitors. Why did those guys, as well as another I can’t mention, do what they did? It could be politics or tribalism, but most likely money, as none of them make much, nor are they paid with any regularity.
We’re not going anywhere at this moment unless we hear or see that the bad guys are breathing down our necks, but we do have small bags packed and planned escape routes. Emilee says she is much better packed this time around. We feel safe and secure, and we’re surrounded and blessed with many friends here. We are also in good relationship with the local government officials, as well as the leadership of the UN Peacekeeping force, all of whom are sincerely interested in our wellbeing. Communication is sketchy at best, but we will do our best to keep you abreast of this situation, and we’ll try to finally post some of the numerous positive activities that are happening day in and day out here in Minembwe. Many thanks for your continued prayers!
Somehow!
Michael