Author Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness in 1899 to describe in fiction his experiences working on a riverboat on the Congo River. The savage practices he recorded took place not just among natives but often among Europeans traders as well. What he wrote was frightening and gruesome— including placing severed heads of enemies on fence posts all around a compound to scare off attacks.
Conrad succeeded in exposing the fact that not all savagery originates from darkest Africa. It comes from the human heart. The true heart of darkness is our selfish attitude of hoarding what we cannot keep anyway while refusing to respond to the cries of those who desperately need our help and compassion.
The good news is that you can help. Conscience International’s Medical Director, Dr. Gail Anderson, is on the ground in Goma in cooperation with the Heal Africa hospital. He is aiding programs of surgery and emergency medicine, with plans to provide an ambulance and other medical needs.
Today’s situation in Central Africa is not far from Conrad’s description. Few people in North America seem to be aware that following the 1994 Rwanda genocide seven nations have been constantly warring for control of the rich natural resources of the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo near Lake Kivu.
The First and Second Congo Wars (1996-2003) and subsequent conflicts over the past two decades have resulted in an estimated 6.4 million deaths, most from displacement and starvation. On our earlier visit to Goma, we learned that 30% of the women in Eastern Congo have been raped. The Third Congo war is underway today, with M-23 guerillas advancing on Goma, creating hundreds of thousands of new refugees.
Innocent mothers, fathers, and children are always the victims. They cry out for somebody to show compassion, to help them. One way you can help is to support our efforts in places where we have active surgical and medical teams on the ground—in Guatemala and Congo—with other surgical teams preparing to return to Ethiopia in May from Texas and California, plus ongoing relief and community development efforts we continue to sponsor in Ukraine and Bangladesh.
Thank you for continuing to demonstrate your active compassion,
James E. Jennings, PhD
President
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