Nouvelles Approches and the Kahuzi-Biega National Park
Remaining true to its willingness to help the Congolese National Parks
in these difficult times, Nouvelles Approches a.s.b.l. (association
sans but lucratif) made contact with the Parc National de Kahuzi-Biega-GTZ
project "Integrated Conservation in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park"
in December 1999. We wanted to take advantage of our president's numerous
trips to Bukavu to make ourselves useful. When he came back from his first
stay in Kivu, Jean-François Segers, our president, told us about
his encounter with Carlos Schuler from the GTZ (Gesellschaft für
technische Zusammenarbeit - developmental aid organisation of the
German government), who was suffering from feelings of despair, abandonment
and lack of understanding. Carlos Schuler had lived through daily gorilla
slaughters. He started sounding the alarm at the beginning of the war
in 1996, but no one seemed to listen.
Enquiring about the way we could help, Carlos Schuler answered by presenting
his most immediate problem to Jean-François Segers. The authorities
of the park, using and abusing diplomacy and persuasion, had managed to
convince the poacher bands to stop their animal slaughters in exchange
for a promise of amnesty and of their integration into the conservation
project. Nevertheless, money was lacking to give these new recruits some
equipment. The reconverted poachers, often pygmies, were not very demanding.
Boots, raincoats, clothes. So if we could ...
The following week, bundles of boots and clothes were ready to be sent.
The only problem that remained was to organize the transport. To our great
delight, our airline company DEMAVIA offered us the airfreight as a contribution
to our action.
I decided to join Jean-François Segers in his next trip. We met
Carlos Schuler the day following our arrival in Bukavu, and we planned
a visit to the gorillas. It should be pointed out that that tourists are
not allowed to visit Kahuzi-Biega for the moment because of the war. I
discovered the Tshivanga station, its personnel, its reconverted poachers,
and its houses under restoration.
A visit to the gorillas is an unforgettable experience. I was vaguely
anxious about confronting such powerful animals. How would we be greeted?
We progressed with difficulty in an entanglement of lianas that our trackers
cut with machetes to facilitate our progression. We suddenly heard a noise
ahead of us, and there appeared a dark shape, which disappeared immediately.
I hardly saw anything. I had just experienced the first intimidation charge
of the dominant male without even being aware of it.
Later, we had the opportunity to come near him, and I was finally able
to admire Mugaruka. His right hand is missing. He had preferred to tear
it off than remain a prisoner of the steel jaws that held him. He survived
probably thanks to the medicinal virtues of the plants he eats. When I
see him watching us without seeming to be doing so, I cannot help thinking
that this animal "knows" Man is responsible for his misery,
the same Man who is following him now. Why does he tolerate us? How could
I describe the feeling of shame that I was overcome by? Why do I consider
him as a being capable of thought? These questions, inspired by his look,
remain unanswered.
When we returned to Brussels a week later, we heard good news. Jo Thompson
from the Lukuru Wildlife Research Project, who had proposed that we collaborate
to help the Congolese parks, had achieved support from organisations in
various countries and had collected the first funds. Ian Redmond of Ape
Alliance had revealed a particularly dynamic partner in this operation.
We could now proceed to the next stage: supplying the park with articles
that were most urgently needed. The authorities of the park had given
us a list of such items.
We also came back from Kivu with an additional challenge: the printing
of a small magazine entitled le Gorille. The aim of this half-yearly
publication, which is distributed free of charge in the whole region,
is to explain to the Congolese populations the importance of nature conservation,
and the protection of gorillas. The first issue had a resounding impact,
but the publication of the second one was delayed for both technical and
financial reasons.
We proposed to take care of the printing, and to double the number of
copies. Once again Jo Thompson made use of her gift of persuasion, and
soon we received more funds from generous donors. In particular, I would
like to express my thanks to Diane Walters from IPPL and Eli Weiss for
their contribution. If the 20,000 copies of le Gorille 2 reach
everybody in Bukavu and the surrounding area, it is mainly thanks to these
donors.
We would also like to take the opportunity to announce that the following
items are on the way to Bukavu: bundles of clothes, rugs, boots, about
100 knapsacks, boxes of schoolbooks and material for children together
with a brand new computer, a scanner, and a printer. This time, the company
SIPEF that allocated us 5 m² in one of its containers, provided the
transport.
And it continues. Jean-François Segers travelled to Bukavu at the
end of April and took with him 5 GPS equipped with multiple memories.
And, last but not least, Ian Redmond made a trip to bring a Land Rover
for the park and gave it to the authorities in Bukavu.
However, it is not the time to sit back and become complacent. The first
step has been made, but the race is far from being won. In the Kahuzi-Biega
National Park gorillas are still being EATEN, the forest is being destroyed,
and some landowners still invade the lands of the park. So ...
Michel Hasson (translation: Caroline Storms)
Michel Hasson was born in Kalemie and spent more than 20 years in Central Africa. Now he is working as a dentist in Belgium and spends his free time as deputy manager of Nouvelles Approches to coordinate all the activities in Brussels.
Photo: Carlos Schuler
Distribution of equipment donated by the Relief
Mission