Who, What, Where and Why

I want to start this blog with full disclosure.  I am a strong believer that the only life experience I can ever truly know is my own.  I am not claiming to know what it is like to be a woman in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  That is not what this blog is about.  Through this blog, I am trying to create a greater understanding, appreciation and dialogue surrounding the challenges women in the DRC appear to be facing, as it is described in the literature.  The ultimate objective of this project is to honor the agency of Congolese women, and to substantiate a more compassionate and responsible connection to their well-being.

I am a native Californian with blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin-tone.  Why am I telling you this?   I am a well aware that I am not from the DRC, and friends who've been there have told me I'd stick out like a sore thumb.  I haven't spent time in the DRC and, in my lifetime, I have only  met a handful of native Congolese.  So you must be asking yourself--much like I asked myself--what business have I got authoring a blog entitled: 'On Strength and Courage: Women in the DRC.' 

I've been studying the DRC since the sophomore year of my undergraduate studies.  I recently came across a paper I wrote nearly ten years ago during that time.  It was on coltan extraction from the eastern provinces of the DRC, and I remember writing it with great conviction.  From that point on, the DRC became the focus of nearly every academic piece I've written, right up to my masters thesis.  I felt that everyone around me saw the protracted conflict in the DRC as some unsolvable enigma, something that had an inevitability about it.  I didn't see that, and I still don't.  I think, like many of the supposed 'insolvable' conflicts of our time, the situation is resulting from a complex web of interests and decisions, which must be untangled and worked through with clear and honest communication.  I also think that in addition to the sorrow that permeates the dialogue, there's a great deal of hope and resilience which often gets over-looked for the sake of flashy headlines.  The diverse range of experiences for women in the DRC deserve a platform to be heard, and that's what I hope to do with this blog.