A Thousand Sisters (36 page)

I choke back tears. I don't know what they're singing, but it reminds me of the only Swahili song I know, the one sung to me in endless repetitions at the meeting with the Panzi group and again on the peninsula, when Hortense leaned over to me and said, “Do you hear that? They are singing your name. The song goes:
Hey, Lisa, stay with us! You are a child of Congo now
.”

I put down the camera as my sisters grab me by both hands. They pull me into the celebration. With tears in the corners of my eyes, I dance with them. Women doubled over in pain just a few moments ago are now beaming. Each one embraces me, pressing her forehead to mine.

I whisper to one of them, “
Furaha
.”

She whispers back, “
Furaha sana
.”

Joy. So much joy.

BY THE END
of 2008, we still haven't raised a million dollars. But we have sponsored more than a thousand Congolese sisters. These women are collectively raising more than five thousand children.

And, little thanks to me:

Journalists flocked to Congo to document the unrest, giving the conflict unprecedented media coverage.

Lisa F. Jackson's film
The Greatest Silence
won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The film aired on HBO and was screened around the world.

Eve Ensler announced that the 2009 V-Day campaign will benefit women in Congo.

Celebrities like Ben Affleck, Ashley Judd, Mia Farrow, Emile Hirsch, and Robin Wright spoke out about or traveled to Congo.

Senator Barack Obama, an original sponsor of the 2006 Congo bill, was elected President of the United States.

Even Kelly shook the white-girl angst and started work on her own Congo initiative.

More than 1,700 people participated in Run for Congo Women.

I spent the year in a one-woman, full-time Write for Congo Women.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum hosted the first national grassroots conference for Congo.

The Enough Project launched the Raise Hope for Congo Campaign.

And that, my friends, is a movement.

Banyamulenge:
A Tutsi-Congolese ethnic group (not a militia).

CNDP:
National Congress for the Defense of People (in French,
Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple
), a Tutsi-Congolese militia lead by General Laurent Nkunda.

FARDC:
The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or the Congolese Army (in French,
Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo
).

FDD:
Forces for the Defense of Democracy (in French,
Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie
), a Burundian militia.

IDP:
Internally Displaced Person. Someone who has been forced to leave his or her home. Similar to the term “refugee,” but IDPs have not crossed any international borders.

Interahamwe or FDLR:
Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (in French,
Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda
). A Rwandan Hutu militia linked to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Also known as the Interahamwe, “those who kill together.”

Kabila, Joseph:
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January 2001. Son of Laurent Kabila.

Kabila, Laurent:
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until January 2001, when he was assassinated.

Kagame, Paul
: President of Rwanda since 2000.

LRA:
The Lord's Resistance Army. Ugandan rebel group based in far north-eastern Congo.

Mai Mai
: A Congolese militia, or “local defense force,” known for its members' use of traditional African medicine. Translates to “Water Water” in Swahili.

Mobutu Sese Seko:
Dictatorial president of Congo (then known as Zaire) from 1967 to 1997.

MONUC:
United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (in French,
Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies
). United Nations peacekeeping force in Congo.

NGO:
Nongovernmental Organization. Nonprofit organization that is not affiliated with any government or political party. Many advance humanitarian causes.

Nkunda, Laurent:
Tutsi Congolese general who was head of the CNDP until 2009, when he was captured and arrested by Rwandan troops.

Rasta:
A militia comprised of former Interahamwe and Congolese.

RCD:
Rally for Congolese Democracy. Rwanda-backed militia that sparked the 1998 “RCD War,” and later morphed into a political party.

UN:
United Nations

UNHCR:
United Nations High Commission on Refugees.

HOW DO I BEGIN?
Thousands of people have been the lifeblood of this story. My deep appreciation goes out to everyone who has played a part, large or small. These acknowledgments just start to scratch the surface.

Very special thanks to my parents. To my mom, Ann Shannon, an unsung hero for women in the Congo. Run for Congo Women would not have happened without your undying support, unconditional love, dogged work, and lifelong lessons in compassion. And to my father, Stewart Shannon, who never failed to see the beauty underlying even the most terrifying places in the human spirit. Though you died before I could even pick Congo out on a map, you have nonetheless been my silent guide though all of it. What a rare treasure to have had a man of your depth and compassion as my father.

I extend my deep gratitude to Zainab Salbi for founding an organization with such heart and vision, for providing endless encouragement, for being my personal hero, and especially for being among the first in the world to serve Congolese women and to bring their stories to the world's attention. Deep gratitude also to Oprah Winfrey, Lisa Ling, and Liz Brody for telling the stories no one else would touch, and to Nancy Haught, Michelle Hamilton,
Jerome McDonnell, and Megan McMorris for their critically important early press coverage of Run for Congo Women.

Thank you to Alice Walker, for wise words at exactly the right moments, and to Lisa Jackson for being a mentor, a friend, and one of the first grassroots voices for Congo.

Thank you to every Run for Congo Women organizer past and present, including Geni Donnelly, Jen Parsons, Amy Hing, Gisela Ferrer, Monica Ianelli, Marya Garskof, Tracy Ronzio, Tracey Dennis, Lynda Hermsmeyer, Mary Jo Burkhart, Robin Potawsky, Ranny McKay, Stephanie Bond, Shannon Sansoterra, Susan and Laurie Rumker (I can't wait to see the woman you become!), Becca Loring, Jesse Cox, Kristine Lebow, Ariel Sherman-Cox, Francisca Thelin, Zan Tibbs, Christina Pagetti, Tonya Sargent, Sara Ryan, Holly Gerloff, Monica Hunsberger, Lynda Sacamano, Carrie Kehoe, Nita Evele, and Carrie Crawford. Thanks to Jerry and Kristianyi Jones and Emily Deschanel for their critical early and continued support.