Goma, May 3rd, 2021 (CPA).– Nationals of Beni region living in Goma city, grouped together in various associations, organized, on Saturday May 1st, an ecumenical worship not only to have a pious thought in memory of the victims of the killings but also to implore the hand of God in the pacification of the region spread over the city and the territory of Beni as well as the part of Kibali-Ituri.
The objective of this activity was to obtain mercy and divine intervention, to bring the nationals and friends of Beni region to sympathize and unite around the sentences and inflicted on the populations following the massacres and the forced mass displacements.
Sensitize the provincial, national and international communities to join with the sons and daughters of Beni in order to find a lasting solution to the precarious situation experienced in the region of Beni, seek international solidarity on the issue of Beni and consider reparation of damages for the pangs suffered are among the objectives of this ceremony marked by preaching, prayer and praise.
The various preachers have thus succeeded one another to invite divine force so that the killings of innocent civilians cease. The Muslim preacher took the opportunity to castigate the heinous acts committed in the name of God, recalling that Allah created human beings to love their fellows, hatred being banished.
Unity, mutual aid, forgiveness, freedom of worship and justice among humans are the cardinal values advocated by Islam, said the man of God for whom, “there is no reason for let man kill his fellow man in the name of God” as claimed by ADF jihadists who scour Beni region.
For his part, the revival church delegate emphasized the need to trust the Creator, the Omnipotent who succeeds where humans have failed. « We are called to raise our requests to the Lord, He alone who can heal the Congolese nation and Beni region », recommended the preacher.
In his closing remarks, the president of the non-profit association “Reflection group for the development of Beni” (GRBD), Norbert Mushenzi, in view of the enemy’s modus operandi, established a parallel between the massacres of Beni and the genocide. While basing the ultimate hope in the Lord, he expressed the wish that everything be done to ensure that the perpetrators of despicable acts in Beni region and Ituri respond to the competent judicial bodies.
A projection retracing the history of the massacres and their various implications on both national and local life as well as the testimonies of two direct survivors of the killings enabled the audience to assess the degree of atrocities that claimed the lives of more than seven thousand civilians, not counting Congolese and foreign soldiers.
Massive displacements of populations supported by host families, the destruction of the socio-economic fabric and the high rate of orphaned children dropping out of school are among others the consequences of the repeated killings in Beni region with an extension on the region called Kibali-Ituri in the neighboring province of Ituri.
In addition to ordinary citizens, the provincial elected of Beni as well as the agents of the public administration of Beni and elsewhere responded to this meeting sanctioned by the launch of a vast campaign to collect donations in favor of people forced to wander as a result of human wickedness. ACP /