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CONGO-MAROY Oct-10-2008 (410 words) With photos. xxxi
Archbishop appeals to U.S. to help end violence in eastern Congo
By Regina Linskey
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Archbishop Francois Maroy Rusengo of Bukavu, Congo, expressed hope that Americans would listen to his story about the ongoing violence in eastern Congo.
Referring to the U.S. congressional representatives he met in October, Archbishop Maroy told Catholic News Service: "I hope they understand the gravity (of the situation). They promised they will see how they can help, and I am going to pray" that they do.
"The world is so silenced it is like we are not even humans," he said.
Archbishop Maroy spoke to CNS in Washington Oct. 9 before he spoke about the poverty and violence in eastern Congo and the Great Lakes region of Africa to representatives of U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations working in Congo.
The archbishop also met with U.S. church representatives and asked them for help rebuilding "houses, schools, hospitals and convents that were destroyed" in the Archdiocese of Bukavu. The archdiocese needs help in "reconstructing the people themselves," he added.
Bukavu's proximity to Rwanda and the region's mineral wealth have contributed to the ongoing violence in the region. The 1994 ethnic genocide of Tutsis by Hutus in Rwanda spilled over and, since then, Rwandan rebels and Tutsi militants have been fighting the Congolese army, despite a cease-fire signed in January.
"We potentially had a very wealthy country," the archbishop said, but the country's "wealth was plundered during the war."
Today, social, political and economic infrastructures do not function, he said.
As a church leader, Archbishop Maroy said all he can do is denounce the violence and try to give people hope by providing them with education and health care through the church's network of hospitals, clinics and schools.
When asked about Americans' lack of understanding and knowledge of eastern Congo, Archbishop Maroy said he was "not only frustrated but also angry."
With people dying daily -- even as he was speaking, he said, "How can you be insensitive?"
An earthquake hit the region in February, and Archbishop Maroy said he appealed for humanitarian assistance while he was in the U.S. in April.
The U.S. officials "promised but gave nothing" because the death toll from the quake was not large enough.
"I was wondering if aid was for people who died or people who survived," he said.
Archbishop Maroy told CNS although he is not following American politics he hopes the next "administration will be for peace in the region."
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