I particularly enjoyed this one. Props to my people. =p I even tried it on Google and it does indeed give “terrified of chinese people” as a predicted result.. in fact, with 303,000 results for that search! hahaaa.
I went to watch a documentary called The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo as part of the Calgary Justice Film Festival. It’s telling, it’s overwhelming, it’s uncomfortable, yes. But it needs to be said. I need to know about it rather than being conveniently ignorant to its reality.
Since the late 90’s, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has experienced a political upheaval spurring on civil wars which have taken the lives of over 4 million people– making it the deadliest conflict since WWII. In the midst of this, rape and sexual violence against women and children have skyrocketed to unimaginable rates as it has become a dominate weapon of war.
Winner of the Sundance Special Jury Prize in Documentary and the inspiration for a 2008 U.N. Resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war, this extraordinary film, shot in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), shatters the silence that surrounds the use of sexual violence as a weapon of conflict. Many tens of thousands of women and girls have been systematically kidnapped, raped, mutilated and tortured by soldiers from both foreign militias and the Congolese army.
A survivor of gang rape herself, Emmy Award®-winning filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson travels through the DRC to understand what is happening and why…this film features interviews with activists, peacekeepers, physicians, and even—chillingly—the indifferent rapists who are soldiers of the Congolese Army. Harrowing moments of the film come as dozens of survivors recount their stories with an honesty and immediacy that is pulverizing in its intimacy and detail, but this powerful film also provides inspiring examples of resiliency, resistance, courage and grace.
How do i even identify with stories like these? How do i ask God for the restoration of lives without being trite about it? What words can be said to petition for powerful redemptive work on behalf of these people and this nation? I don’t know. I don’t understand.
But I’m grateful for Lisa F. Jackson’s work. I encourage people to do a simple google search of the DRC and become more aware of the situation there.
So, what can be done? How can I help? How do I respond?
- The film’s website is quite good and extensive, especially in suggestions on actions to take. Become more educated and aware via their Reading List. I found this list of various organizations who are helping to be extremely helpful; you can donate to many of them.
- Amnesty International on the DRC
There is a bright glimmer of hope and healing that Jackson especially highlights in her documentary about the work of a small hospital. Hundreds of women receive surgeries to repair such things as vaginal mutilation, the destruction of the bladder, rectum, intestines, and so forth. Their website greatly encouraged me: Panzi Hospital of Bukavu.
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. – Hebrews 11:24-27
Moses chose to be known as a slave rather than to enjoy being in Pharaoh’s royal court. Some speculation: I wonder how much Moses must have struggled with turning away from everything he knew and away from people I’m sure he loved for the sake of following God first and foremost. I wonder how rejected, angered, saddened, and disappointed his adoptive mother must have felt and how much it pained Moses to have her feel that way. The woman who raised him since he was a baby, the rest of the royal court who likely grew to genuinely love him, too… I wonder if they felt a deep sense of betrayal and I wonder if Moses wept over their lack of understanding in his difficult but adamant choice to leave. I wonder how much wrestling Moses had to do with God before he could declare his highest allegiance to Him. And I wonder how much grace God must have given him to follow through.
I wonder if Moses felt the way I feel as I struggle, too. I wonder if I’m able to make the tough relational decisions that’s facing me for the sake of Christ. And if I don’t, I wonder if I will ever be able to leave the kind of legacy of faith that Moses did.
Well, I’m going to wish Jason and Molly a hearty “good luck” rather than a “congratulations.” There’s lots that can be said about Parts 1 and 2 of “After the Final Rose” but I’ll touch on just a few things, specifically from Part 1 that aired on Monday. I watched Part 1 in a room with 10 women so as you can imagine, there was A LOT of commentating happening. Gasping, gagging, frustrated anger, hesitant laughter birthed from disgust, you know, the usual.
Poor Melissa. I think she articulated herself and the situation very well! Jason kept pulling things out of his butt trying to explain himself but nobody was buying it. For those of you who have no clue what happened.. basically, Jason proposed and got engaged to Melissa in the finale but 3 months later, he went back on his “commitment” and wanted to be with Molly instead– who he dismissed during the last episode.
Jason said multiple times, “But I can’t control my head” and “I wish i could control what i was feeling.” (~3:25 and 3:35) Jason! Ugh. The ‘follow your heart’ philosophy crap is just a disguise to excuse responsibility. But even more telling was the following dialogue that ensued:
Jason: I don’t regret anything that happened between us, i know you do.
Melissa: I do. Why did you put a ring on my finger?
Jason: Because on that day, in that experience, I wanted to give us everything. (~4:20)
That’s nicely convenient for you, Jason, that you don’t regret anything. It’s incredulous that you actually said, “Because on that day, in that experience…” Note to self: don’t get engaged on a whim because “on that day, in that experience,” you thought it was a good idea. Leave that kind of gut decision-making for your day to day Starbuck choices.
More than anything else though, there was something Melissa said to Jason that actually hurt my heart and i felt so sympathetic for her. “To me, getting engaged and finding that person is a once in a lifetime thing and you took that from me. You took it.” (~4:45)
Melissa, you should have sold your engagement ring instead of giving it back to him. Best wishes to you, I hope your heart will be okay.
