To help:
Pray for peace in the Central African Republic. Send checks to Lutheran Disaster Response (write “CAR” confl ict” in memo line), 39330 Treasury Center, Chicago, IL 60694-9300; 800-638-3522;
www.elca.org/disaster.
tarian aid, which Lutherans and others are trying to provide. But the needs are great. A famine is developing. Human rights violations, including targeted killings, rapes, torture, arbitrary arrests and the recruitment of child soldiers, have been reported. T e U.N. estimates that about 935,000 people have
been forced from their homes. While some have found refuge in churches, others live in the bush and run when the confl ict nears. Fredd and his family are Christians. T ey were hid-
ing in the bush when a Muslim man warned them that the Séléka (a largely Muslim rebel alliance) had been told that those on the village’s east side were Christian, while those to the west were Muslim. “We decided to walk under the cover of darkness through the bush to the west side of town,” Fredd said. Hearing heavy gunfi re behind them, the family con-
tinued walking to the next village. “T e older children, including my 8-year-old daughter, all walked, while we carried the smaller ones,” Fredd said. T ey walked through the next day and night. By then
Fredd’s wife had a high fever. “We wrapped her in thick cloth, but she was still trembling very hard and com- plaining of cold,” he said. “We knew she had malaria.” Fredd began to worry. What if she died? Would he
have to leave her body behind? T e group placed her by a small fi re and prayed. Aſt er a couple of hours, she felt better and could walk again. “T is was a miracle,”he said. Twelve days later, the family fi nally came to a clinic
where she could be treated. Fredd is grateful: “Had it not been for the Muslim man … I might not be telling this story.” T e Séléka seized Bangui, CAR’s capital, in March,
overthrowing former president Francois Bozizé, who took power in a 2003 coup. T e group is now referred to as ex-Séléka rebels because the alliance has offi cially, but not actively or eff ectively, disbanded.
About CAR
Even before the surge of violence in December 2013, fi ghting has been ongoing since the March 2013 coup. Last year on Palm Sun-
day, three ELCA global mis- sion personnel serving in the Central African Republic were evacuated to Garoua
Boulai and Ngaoundéré, Cameroon. One mission- ary remains in Cameroon, working with the church there and waiting to return. The two others serve the church in Arusha, Tanzania. Despite its mineral resources, CAR is one of the world’s poorest
A mostly Christian alliance, known as the anti-
Balaka and formed in response to the Séléka, has also played a large role in the attacks. While both tend to be labeled by their religions, the fi ghting isn’t bound by the lines of religious war. T e confl ict is seen as a result of political power and economic grievances.
The ELCA ‘gave us rice’ Lutheran Disaster Response works with the Lutheran World Federation and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (EELRCA) to provide food and clothing to people who have been displaced within the country, and to build peace and reconcilia- tion between Muslim and Christian communities. In early February, despite security and personal
safety risks, the EELRCA and the main mosque in the Haoussa neighborhood of Bouar, CAR, distributed rice, vegetable oil and clothing to more than 10,000 people— more than half of whom were children. “Many people have lost everything,” said André
Golike, EELRCA president. Golike has heard people express their gratitude for
the ELCA’s assistance, thanks to a long-standing part- nership. “When you live and share in people’s lives, you know them and understand what they need,” he said. “Others give us soy, which is not something we eat very oſt en. Our partner (the ELCA) gave us rice. … T is is what we eat.” Working through the LWF, Lutheran Disaster
Response also provided psychosocial support, protec- tion, hygiene and sanitation materials, and other sup- plies. Such aid is diffi cult to deliver, however, due to the continuing violence and lack of security. Many refugees have made their way to LWF-run
refugee camps in surrounding countries. At Camp Dosseye in southern Chad (home to about 16,000 people, mainly refugees from CAR) the LWF works in partnership with the U.N. to build shelters and infrastructure, carry out vocational training and more.
countries. The U.N. Security Coun-
cil mandated a mission in CAR to protect civilians and restore state author- ity. But looting and attacks continue. It’s expected that the security situation will remain unpredictable in 2014.
Author bio: Brandsrud is pro- gram interpreter for Lutheran Disaster Response.
June 2014 39
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