DRC: Teen Girl's Rape/Murder Latest Chapter in M23 Nightmare

After five minutes I heard that girl crying. Some minutes after, that soldier came with that girl and another soldier with a gun went with her.

Though long gone from this place now, this is where my contact was living in the jungle of the DRC.

(SACRAMENTO, CA) - I have written before about my contact in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) whose life has been spent running from M23 rebels. They control the area where this individual lives. All family murdered by M23, this contact reveals the despair that is resulting from the unending military assaults and the rebel group's desire to force young men and boys into the military, while turning young women and girls into sex slaves.

The United States is not doing enough to prevent the harm facing people like this contact of mine in the DRC, and believe me I have contacted numerous agencies and many not even listed or mentioned here, and none follow through or seem to care, at least so far. That is a harsh assessment and I know there are good people in the ranks of the U.S. government and other agencies that could help.

Here is the dialog between this contact and myself that started in the beginning of September. Note the fear and sadness in this person's words...

Sept 1 2012: I was reading information about DRC where I am living now. Personally I let you know that this m23 soldiers had already killed my father, my mother and my two brothers. I'm the only child who remains in my family. What makes the situation worse is that I'm jobless, orphan, refugee, despondent about life and afraid to be killed by the same m23. Would you try to find for me a resolution? Do please send me your website. I would like to be receiving other information about DRC and Rwanda. Thank you

Tim King: I will try to think of ideas, if I protect your identity, would you want to begin by telling your story? Perhaps that could raise the interest of an agency that could help you get out of there and over here. I look forward to hearing back from you, thank you.

Sept 7 2012: Dear Sir, I am writing to remind you that I am still and will stay in contact with you. You are the only one I trust in nowadays as no one to care about my case. I wil be happier if I get out of this DRC where my parents and my two brothers were killed by this m23. Soon I may also be killed as yesterday they killed a friend of mine. I am telling you the truth. This m23 will kill me if I stay near them. Thank you sir.

Tim King: I am very interested in helping you, I am in contact with the US State Department and tomorrow morning, I will call their African Affairs Division and try to learn whether or not there are programs that can allow one to seek refugee status. The best thing would be to get you to the US. I know many people here working on similar projects, I will contact more people and see what we can get going. I would love to see you get out of there.

Sept 12 2012: Dear Sir, this is XXXX XXXXX sending this mail from the Congo. As you can see, I am extremely interested in the news you are giving about this country and Rwanda. As I told you, this m23 killed my two parents and my two brothers. I am also in danger. What can I do?

Tim King: I just left a message with the right people in the US state dept, it is the envoy for Sudan. I had to leave a message but we are getting somewhere, I hope to bring you information that will help!

Sept 12 2012: I am really very happy to hear it from you. You are really the very last solution to my problems as I am on the point of dying. I will also be grateful as you rescue me from dying. Thank you once more for this dear Sir.

Tim King: I just left a message with the right people in the US state dept, it is the envoy for Sudan. I had to leave a message but we are getting somewhere, I hope to bring you information that will help!

Sept 12 2012: The time this m23 killed my parents and my two brothers, they also burnt our house and this could not allow me to stay home. Right now I am living at my friend's home because we are changing places every time. Unfortunately we are not secured where we are and we cannot know how to move from this place.

Sept 13 2012: Dear Sir, I am glad you are doing your best to see whether you can solve my problem. Do please share my information with those people as they are also interested. I am ready to answer whatever question they may ask me or respect whatever obligation they will give me. Did they let you know the day they may wish to talk to me? I am really despondent about my future. I am looking forward to reading from you.

Tim King: OK, this is Strother Murray, she is with the U.S. State Dept. and works specifically on issues regarding the area where you are and the M23 situation. Strother, XXXXX XXXXX has had all family members eliminated by the disputed rebel force and is currently threatened each day, - home was burned also. I greatly appreciate your sharing information with XXXXX and helping develop a plan for exit if possible. It has been suggested that I contact UNHCR and FYI I have not done that, but I can, so please let me know if there is any possible way I can help. I am quite sure that I could help locate a place in the US for XXXXX to relocate to.

Sept 16 2012: Dear sir, I am still in a need of a help about my case because the situation is getting worse and worse. Is there any answer you got from somewhere that can help me? The friend I am living with had also another friend who was forced on Friday to be an m23 soldier. We both fear to be forced to do the same or even to be killed. If something went well, I would like to be informed. I am looking forward to getting the answer from you.

Tim King: I am going to write an awareness piece about your situation as an appeal, I think it will help, I will not even state if you are male of female, just a basic quick story to gain support.

Sept 20 2012: Thanks and God bless you for that. I am online everyday. I am sure there is a star from God that led me to the place where you are. The result is that you really care about me. I really do not know how to express my joy.

Tim King: I am bringing the story about your situation back to the top of Salem-News.com, I will contact UNHCR tomorrow and make them do something, I really care about this, please keep writing until we get you out of there!

Sept 23 2012: Dear Sir, I am still alive in spite of being dehumanized days after days. However dear Sir, I am happy about the comforting effort you are making about my case. I am getting thinner and thinner due to conditions of life that we are imposed to live in including spending most of our nights in the bush, hunger, fear to be caught, lack of potable water etc. For the rest I wish you good job and God bless you.

Tim King: I'm working on it, contacted UNHCR again and brought the story to the very top again asking others to also contact UNHCR. I understand how terrible it is, but please keep trying, we will get attention to this, it is taking too long I know, but we are building pressure! Please be safe.

Sept 27 2012: Dear Sir, I am writing to ask for information about my country. Would you please tell me if the USA has any plan to help Congo get peace? Soldiers from m23 are still hunting us so that we may be their members after having made me an orphan. This is now the second month since I started spending my nights out in very bad conditions. Would you tell me another group of people I may explain my case to see if there can be a help? I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Tim King: I see the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Society (IRC) as one, the UN Relief Agency (UNHCR) as another and the U.S. State Dept as another. I have written to all three and am checking email from a few days ago right now looking for possible feedback, keep staying alive my friend, I am not forgetting you for even a moment, thanks!

Sept 29 2012: I am writing to inform you that something bad happened to me again. Yesterday a friend of mine left home to get for us something to eat but did not come back home. Today morning we were told that yesterday three soldiers went with him and actually we are to sure whether he is still alive. My sorrow and tears are beyond the limit and no one so far can care about all these cases. Why should my people be dying like flies everyday? Do I hope to survive in such a situation? Only God knows. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Tim King: I continue to worry about your situation and hope that an agency will work with me to get help to you, I have now contacted the Red Cross, I will let you know what I hear, stay alive my friend!

Sept 30 2012: I am very sad to inform you that a group of six soldiers have been hunting us yesterday according to what someone told us. This obliged us to flee from where we were living. This photo I send you is about the house we are living in now with all very bad conditions as you can see. I am XXXXXX XXXXX who always tells you about my life on gmail.

Tim King: My dear friend this makes me so sad to read, I will write a new story and send it out to everyone that I can, your friend might be OK, I hope so. What is taking place there is terrible but please keep being careful and stay alive yourself, I was thinking about you today; God bless you and hang in there.

October 1 2012: Thank you dear Sir for the sacrifice you are making about my case. The answer you gave me is still proving me that you are holding my hand, leading me and trying to relieve my pain and sorrow. May God bless you sir. I am lucky to have you as my friend

Nov 04 2012: Dear Sir, I am writing to tell you that I was about die on Friday night. Three soldiers came to our home, two with guns and one with a knife. They started asking me if I knew to use a gun and I refused.

Then they asked me to carry their heavy luggage on my head and so I did. What shocked me much is that they took a girl who was a teenager from our neighbor's house and went with her. After about 2 kilometers the one who had a knife went with that girl and asked the two others to stay with me.

After another kilometer they asked me if I knew Kinyarwanda and I refused. They asked me if I knew Swahili and I refused. Then they discussed in Kinyarwanda and allowed me to go home.

Today they tell me that the girl has died. What can I do Sir? We are no longer human but flies we can kill at any time.

I wanted to ask them to forgive the girl but the two who were with me asked me to shut up, one pointing his gun at me. When the second soldier came with the girl they allowed her to go home and then went with me.

After five minutes I heard that girl crying. Some minutes after, that soldier came with that girl and another soldier with a gun went with her.

Also see: Sep-19-2012 Help Save My Friend: a Tortured Orphan in the Democratic Republic of Congo

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Tim King has more than twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. Tim is Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. His background includes covering the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, and reporting from the Iraq war in 2008. Tim is a former U.S. Marine who follows stories of Marines and Marine Veterans; he's covered British Royal Marines and in Iraq, Tim embedded with the same unit he served with in the 1980's.

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