Mbuti
Congolese Warlord Arrested in Paris
One of the first news stories published by this website—on December 26, 2004—was a review of some very disturbing news about horrible abuses suffered by the Mbuti people in the D.R. Congo. After 16 years of very limited action to foster justice for the thousands of Mbuti victims, officials announced last week that one of […]
The Mbuti and the Ebola Epidemic
As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds around the world, the Ebola epidemic in northeastern DR Congo appears to finally be winding down. A report dated March 25 on the website of Trócaire, the overseas development agency of the Irish Catholic church, provides information about the fight against Ebola and the ways the Mbuti are reacting to […]
Mbuti Help Manage the Okapi
The Okapi Conservation Project loaded a news story into its website recently describing the interrelationships between the okapis and the Mbuti people. They have shared their lives in the Ituri Forest for 40,000 years. The organization now recognizes that the Mbuti should have a special management relationship to the okapis, a species of forest giraffe. […]
World Okapi Day Coming Up
The Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) has declared Friday, October 18, as World Okapi Day and has asked fans of the rare mammal to help spread the word. The project is particularly focused on generating enthusiasm for protecting the animals among school children. A side benefit would be to foster awareness of the plight of the […]
Mbuti Struggle and Survive
According to the closing credits of a six-minute video posted to YouTube last week, the marvelous footage of an Mbuti community suffering from discrimination in the Eastern Congo was prepared by the Survival Media Agency. The beauty of the scenery—and of the Mbuti people themselves—recommends the production but it is worth summarizing its factual points […]
Mbuti Refugees
The Mbuti are suffering more than ever from rampaging armies, constant attacks on their villages, and incessant warfare in the forests of the northeastern DR Congo where they live. Or used to live. A news report posted on August 24 on the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees describes the depredations the […]
Mbuti Man Celebrated in a Virginia City
A month after extreme right racists demonstrated in Charlottesville their hatred for non-white people, another Virginia city proudly celebrated its history of accepting a persecuted African. On Saturday, September 16, the city of Lynchburg, 55 miles to the southwest of Charlottesville, unveiled a public marker to an Mbuti man. Lynchburg congratulated itself for providing sanctuary […]
The Mbuti Manage Marijuana
Many Mbuti in the eastern D.R. Congo, particularly those living north of Goma near the Virunga National Park, survive by growing and selling marijuana. Last week the National Geographic published on their website a lengthy piece on the story, complete with many interesting photographs. Twice a week, Nina Strochlic wrote, a group of Mbuti from […]
Mbuti Hardships on Idjwi
Mbuti living on Idjwi Island must cope with discrimination and hardships in their struggle to survive on the fringes of Bantu society. A Reuters feature last week described the conditions that they endure and the causes of their troubles. At 43 miles long and 131 square miles in area, Idjwi is the second largest island […]
Protect the Gorillas and Hassle the Mbuti
When the Mbuti trespass in the forests of the world famous Virunga National Park to forage or to hunt, park guards frequently treat them brutally. The Inter Press Service reported recently on the harsh treatment and the discrimination that the indigenous people of the northeastern D.R. Congo receive from the national park service. The Mbuti […]
