tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post5140676382089447000..comments2023-12-29T08:17:26.212-08:00Comments on Rachel's Goma Web Log: "Are we going to Hell?"Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13053170860539726466noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-31745095115811433722010-04-26T10:53:10.081-07:002010-04-26T10:53:10.081-07:00You should, S!
I have to restrain myself too, fro...You should, S!<br /><br />I have to restrain myself too, from saying everything... At least I try to restrain myself...Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13053170860539726466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-8347143359797931352010-04-26T10:19:53.960-07:002010-04-26T10:19:53.960-07:00I wish many a times to have a blog like you,but al...I wish many a times to have a blog like you,but always stop short of it.off course I am not so good at writing long and artistic post like you,but may be when I am freed from regulations and rules,i will do that.As most of the activities and experiences come during discharge of official duties,one is constrained not to talk about it in public domainsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-70983520904674649512010-04-21T12:40:56.928-07:002010-04-21T12:40:56.928-07:00Hi S, thank you for your comment. I really apprec...Hi S, thank you for your comment. I really appreciate how much you clearly care for the people around you and believe in your job. I like having you as an internet friend :o)Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13053170860539726466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-63051956650457854872010-04-21T08:48:19.630-07:002010-04-21T08:48:19.630-07:00we are here only for a year and that seems eternit...we are here only for a year and that seems eternity.Being away from near and dear ones is difficult and more so in a foreign country.It really hurts to see children in tatters in villages in the interior.being involved in peace keeping exposes you to immense misery the people are going through here.Some times you want to help but hold back in fear of untruthful allegations by host of people.but i feel happy that our presence in interiors have helped in reviving the local economy ,children attending schools and normalcy returning to all these remote places.snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-18425067925338100942010-04-19T12:27:07.558-07:002010-04-19T12:27:07.558-07:00Fi -- Oh, thank you so much for posting that!!! Th...Fi -- Oh, thank you so much for posting that!!! That's lovely (and horrible), thanks. I don't remember reading it in the book, though I must have -- I'm so glad to read it now. I really valued your two comments today... I told my friends about them, too... :D <br /><br /><br />D -- As always, thank you very much for your comment. To be honest, I don't actually believe in hell at all, so I was speaking more metaphorically. I agree that martyring oneself is no good to anyone, but living in such luxury in someone else's homeland while a horrific war continues... sometimes I do question the ethicalness (ethicallity? what on earth is the word?!?!) of that. Not for long, because in the end I revert to my faith in the strength of my organization and colleagues... but sometimes. Thanks for commenting, though, and I appreciate your support! :)Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13053170860539726466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-33369263115646962802010-04-19T12:13:51.903-07:002010-04-19T12:13:51.903-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13053170860539726466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-35087888387271975412010-04-19T12:05:13.193-07:002010-04-19T12:05:13.193-07:001 - Is the requirement for not going to Hell that ...1 - Is the requirement for not going to Hell that we spend ALL our time and ALL our emotional resources and ALL of everything we have working on one problem (rape, poverty, violence, illiteracy, hunger....)? That's a pretty harsh line to draw. I chose my occupation (and I daresay you chose yours) in part so that the work I do every day would do more than earn some money (someday), but do some good. I can't do everything, but I can do something. That desire to do something is worth a lot, I think.<br /><br />2 - What kind of life do you want them to be able to live? Living that life yourself may not provide it for them, but denying yourself the life you want everyone to live may not either. (Ignoring the pizza at the conference table doesn't feed anyone in North Korea.)<br /><br />I believe God takes into account our knowledge, our abilities and circumstances, and what we could have done. I believe He also takes into account our weakness - weakness in the results we can't bring about, weakness in the fact that our capacity is lower than we think our immediate "potential" is, weakness in our frustration and ... yeah. <br /><br />Yes, the command is "be ye therefore perfect," but He isn't holding His breath because it is only through and with Him we can get closer. <br /><br />Besides, eternity isn't about getting a good grade on a test, but becoming a kind of person who would be happy to care and love and live the kind of life God has in store for us. I tend to feel that life involves enjoying Being Alive as well as service.<br /><br />For what it's worth.Derrill Watsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08996812965100062495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-2833038331802601932010-04-19T11:37:58.112-07:002010-04-19T11:37:58.112-07:00Oh Dear. This is what happens when I dash off comm...Oh Dear. This is what happens when I dash off comments without thinking. I meant to say Christine Oryema Lalobo, not really sure how I did that, I'm well ashamed :) Coincidentally the poem's also reprinted in Sverker Finnstrom's book, so you may have read it already. Here it is anyway...<br /><br />Crowded in camps<br />Herded like cows<br />In a huge kraal <br />Cramped all together<br />In a foreign fashion<br />Not of their choice<br /><br />The Lutum people<br />Have no gardens<br />Have no granaries<br />Eat from charity<br />Handed out by white men <br />In deep silence<br /><br />The Lutum people<br />Are weary and tired<br /><br />And you're right, there is unlikely to be any one 'local' position on ex-pat life, I think all anyone can do is be open to all the diverse messy contradictory stories there are in a place. The DRC is not one thing, and even during a war people still live and fall in love and have parties, and in this line of work time is often short but while you're there you become part of it.<br />good luck, fi :)Fiona Shanahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02090240261216245798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-24730198395739576192010-04-19T11:36:50.680-07:002010-04-19T11:36:50.680-07:00Oh Dear. This is what happens when I dash off comm...Oh Dear. This is what happens when I dash off comments without thinking. I meant to say Christine Oryema Lalobo, not really sure how I did that, I'm well ashamed :) Coincidentally the poem's also reprinted in Sverker Finnstrom's book, so you may have read it already. Here it is anyway...<br /><br />Crowded in camps<br />Herded like cows<br />In a huge kraal <br />Cramped all together<br />In a foreign fashion<br />Not of their choice<br /><br />The Lutum people<br />Have no gardens<br />Have no granaries<br />Eat from charity<br />Handed out by white men <br />In deep silence<br /><br />The Lutum people<br />Are weary and tired<br /><br />And you're right, there is unlikely to be any one 'local' position on ex-pat life, I think all anyone can do is be open to all the diverse messy contradictory stories there are in a place. The DRC is not one thing, and even during a war people still live and fall in love and have parties, and in this line of work time is often short but while you're there you become part of it.<br />good luck, fi :)Fiona Shanahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02090240261216245798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-23209860129325741422010-04-19T06:03:39.264-07:002010-04-19T06:03:39.264-07:00Hi, Fi? Do you know where I can find a copy of th...Hi, Fi? Do you know where I can find a copy of that poem? Google-searching isn't turning up anything, other than a few of her articles & her Mango Tree poem in Sverker Finnstrom's wonderful book...Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13053170860539726466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-64203645529683018282010-04-19T05:55:01.145-07:002010-04-19T05:55:01.145-07:00Hi! Thank you so much for the comment and for it&...Hi! Thank you so much for the comment and for it's being a kind & thoughtful response. I'm going to go look up Caroline Lamwaka's poem --<br /><br />And I really like your idea about my talking further with Congolese colleagues about how ex-pats are seen -- and even how they themselves are seen by their neighbors, working as they do for an international aid organization... I talked a little about it with some people when I first arrived, but that was before I had my own life and experiences, and you're right, it's a fascinating conversation to revisit...<br /><br />:o) ThanksRachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13053170860539726466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881089327837191443.post-81735409375804793412010-04-19T04:47:20.589-07:002010-04-19T04:47:20.589-07:00Right.
What I like about your writing is your wil...Right. <br />What I like about your writing is your willingness to engage with these questions.. although they aren't always comfortable. Having a local life, friends and the odd weekend away makes people better aid workers, I think. Northern Ugandan friends told me how loneliness and overwork made expats irritable and cold, how at the height of the conflict UN and INGO staff would give handouts in IDP camps without talking to people or looking at them. Caroline Lamwaka wrote a poem about it - 'the lutum people.' What seems to be more difficult in the DRC is that the social life is sometimes ex-pat only (I may have this wrong) which creates this disconnect between what people are there to do, and how they live, outside of work. I'm not sure what you can do about this seeing as the security is so restrictive, but maybe talking to your Congolese colleagues or friends about how they see expat aid workers might help you move forward with it. I've always thought that being miserable in a warzone is a bit self-indulgent, and I like the way you see the beauty and resilience in people and your surroundings, and don't martyr yourself.. don't feel guilty for any of that. <br />Cheers, fiFiona Shanahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02090240261216245798noreply@blogger.com