NOTICE

By Simeon Nkola Matamba


Hello dear readers!

Your sustained interest in reading my blogs is to me a great privilege. Hence I deemed important to let you know that articles will not be posted from this blog anymore. However, you will find them on the new blog (Click here) I have created to improve work quality as well as delivery. Feel free to read, comment, and share. Thanks for your support. I love you

DR CONGO: VAVA TAMPA WRITES

by Simeon Nkola Matamba (Follow on Twitter)

One of the big questions that we as congolese have been asking ourselves is: why isn't our crisis being broadcasted? Unlike tragedies and strife in Ukraine, Gaza, Syria or even frequent gun shootings in the US that get large scale media coverage, the "Congo Crisis" is not a priority as it does not benefit from enough coverage and airtime on mainstream media channels. Nevertheless, it is one of the saddest tragedies in contemporary history. In 2012 congolese nationals demonstrated in the UK outside BBC premises to make their voice heard. They pointed that years of wars and painful stories were being swept under the carpets in prominent media houses. It has not changed since.

To tackle the issue of the lack of coverage concerning the Congo's ongoing crisis-a war that was started in 1998 and claimed the lives of at least 6,000,000 people, equating the jewish genocide by Hitler-many countrymen are taking the initiative to speak out. Capitalizing on the social media revolution, they finally emerge to raise awareness and spread the word. Not only about the dead, but they also showcase war crimes and atrocities the living are forced to undergo, such as rape.

One of them is Vava Tampa (Twitter: @VavaTampa), a congolese part time activist  based in the UK. He has had the privillege to pen down articles for CNN, Forbes and theguardian, in which he raises issues around war in Congo and explores avenues to solve the crisis.

Vava Tampa is the founder of "Save the Congo!, a campaign to bring about a Congo at peace with itself".

Vava Tampa adresses the fact that the Congo humanitarian crisis being the most tragic one deserves "extensive media coverage".

He mentions the use of rape as a weapon of war perpetrated by gangs fighting in Congo. Those gangs aim at accessing and controlling valuable natural resources to provide them for sale on the international market.

He emphasizes on Rwanda's complicity but also regrets a tepid leadership from congolese authorities.

He advocates for diplomatic efforts from the US in terms of level of influence and amount of political leverage. As a mediator, the US can help curb and put an end to violence through the comitment of Rwanda and Congo in the pursuit of the establishment of a long lasting-peace in the region.

The perspective of creating an international criminal court for crimes commited in the DRC is one of the many solutions he advances. It will serve hamper and stop the air of impunity, the oxygen that emboldens individuals with dark motives as they think they can always get away after quenching their inhumane and barbaric thirsts.

The questions that we have been asking ourselves concerning media coverage of the crisis can find an answer if many of us become proactive like Vava. To the voice of many waters the world will not be able to turn a deaf hear. Like the power of strong waves our actions following our words can offer the perspective of attaining peace. Choosing to play our respective little roles in the revolution is the only way any fair minded person can follow.


                   

To my african brother and sister, the young generation, the actor of tomorrow

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter)


Dear:

Undertaking to pen down what I have in mind and send it to you is not an easy exercise. I know you have a busy schedule but I dare hope you will consider this. I could have sent this via email, post office or fax, but I judged that pinning these words on the internet's wings would be easier and faster.

Despite being born of the same mother, I unfortunately came to hear of you only years later. And though I haven't seen your face yet, at least I keep learning about you, hearing your voice and feeling your strength, perceiving your courage and comitment for the common cause of our great family.

Many decades ago, the seeds were sowed for freedom and liberty. They germinated in a harvest whose firstfruits were pleasant to eat. But today, the fruits of the land are waxing bitter. Looking northwards or westwards for a better livelihood tends to become the rule. Our family suffers, poverty, unemployment, internal conflicts and what the heart doesn't delight in. The inheritance bequeathed to us is deteriorating.

I am writing to you after realizing that the onus for the future is on our shoulders. This future is foreseeable and does not lay at the end of the 22nd century.

Predictions show that Africa's population is set to double by 2050 to reach 2.4 billion.

Those are children meant to come out of our loins. The responsibility to care for them will transcend the "close family" ambit and require dynamism to adapt to the rythm of change and provide for the needs of our growing family.

The rise of human population entails de facto a rise of human needs and wants.

Adaptation and adjustment of strategies for the future is unavoidable except if we chose to embrace chaos. Our generation's role in coming years is determinant.

The compulsion to plan is awakening and our individual roles to contribute for synergy can't be downplayed. Not only in the political sphere, but mostly individually, every hand will be needed for a push. In this I mean that each one must find a place in the global vision for a better future.

I know we have had some hard times, but I believe that whatever we might have to go through must never be given the littlest opportunity to impede our movement for days and years ahead. So far, we have shown amazing resilience to such a way that living and evolving in extreme conditions is not only seen as a shame but has rather become a bragging right in some respects.

What reinforces my belief for change as a result of our concerted effort is your potential and your talents. In various fields such as art, science, music, sport, etc..your radiant energy has crossed the compound and illuminated the neighborhood with other continents desiring your limitless capabilities. With little exposure to the outer world and few opportunities, you have been able to achieve greatness.

The only hope left for a father whose dream is unfinished is to see sons  and daughters take over and perpetuate the cherished ideal of peace, independence, and  economic stability. The reward for a mother who gave all for her children's life is to be taken care of, granted rest, praise and dignity.

We can make it if we wake up and say: "Let Us Rise  And Build".


                                 

FOOTBALL IS THE OPIUM OF THE PEOPLE!

by Simeon Nkola Matamba (Follow on Twitter)

                     Karl Marx(1818-1883)

The man behind "religion is the opium of the people", Karl Marx, is not present to see how various entertainments now fit his description. The slogan that lowers the belief that religion is real and rational is very popular and still gets endorsements. Religion is identified to a drug relieving pain and creating fantasies for a short moment during which worries of life are on the wane as perceptions of the unseen are reinforced through spiritual exercising.

Today, more than religion, entairtenments fits Marx's view the best. The excitement around the ongoing World Cup competition is an example. From many countries around the world, hundreds of thousands of fans run to Brazil to support their team with songs, dances, shoutings and praises to exhaustion.

Those who can't travel connect to the event as games are broadcasted on TV. Every team has devoted worshipers and a talented priest in the forefront of the game. Argentina's Messi, Brazil's Neymar, or Portugal's Ronaldo are all charismatic figures worshipped by ecstatic supporters.

Last week when France beat Switzerland, on my Twitter timeline, the french whom I often see rant about their president and the disastrous economic situation were jubilating over their national team's performance. A wave of positivism and french pride was perceivable, as if de Gaulle had come back from the dead.

The amount of satisfaction people draw from football is amazing. When crises bash the people, football is one of the many exhaust pipes to let off pressure. More than letting of pressure, hardcore football fanatics with an extreme love for the game transcend in admiration and display emotions labelled as ridiculous only when manifested by churchgoers.

Marx's "religion is the opium people" is the opium of religion's opponents in that it makes them think repeating it parrot fashion will have an impact on religion. And football is the opium of the masses, with an increased support as its industry expands.