Still Nursing
I wrote earlier about last week’s LRA attack in Dungu. As I lounged in the back of Mama Koko’s compound, a round mud and thatch open-air gathering spot for the family, 20 or so brothers, uncles, cousins, babies, and new moms all gathered around in celebration of Koko’s homecoming, their long-lost relative who lives in America. I presumed we would have a casual, lighthearted reunion. But when we ate the home-cooked meal Koko’s sister made to welcome us, Koko’s elderly, frail uncle steered conversation towards the incident last year when he was seriously beaten by the LRA, prompting his move into town.The recent attacks were foremost on everyone’s mind. They wanted to talk about it.
Last week’s attack happened less than a mile from here. Mama Koko’s sprawling home compound is in a residential section of Dungu, scattered with cracked mud huts topped with thatched roofs that are propped up with crooked, polished wood posts. The family has started sleeping at home again after four nights on the ground in the courtyard of the UN compound following the attack (where they used to play tennis. Koko pointed it out as we passed through the center of this crumbling colonial town). The Congolese army set up a night watch right next to Mama Koko’s compound for a few nights, but they haven’t been back for several days now.
School had let out, so a few children went to do their daily chore of gathering water. As they stood at the community faucet collecting water in plastic jugs, they spotted men in long coats with guns. Lords Resistance Army (LRA). The children ran. The militia followed.
A young woman walked along the roadside with her one year old baby boy when she saw them. The LRA soldiers shot a man near her, fleeing with his 3 year old daughter in his arms. The bullet hit his arm, but nailed the child, passing straight through her stomach. (The father lived, but the little girl died in the hospital two days later.) When the young woman started to run, they shot her, hitting her butt, the bullet passed through, blowing apart the whole area between her legs. She collapsed to the ground, but but held her baby to her chest and dragged herself on her back to the bushes to hide. If she had had immediate medical treatment, she would likely be alive. But everyone who could have helped had run away, scrambling for safety.
In the morning, a neighbor saw a trail of blood mixed with road dust. Following it into the bushes, the neighbor found the young woman’s dead body, with her baby boy, alive, cradled in her lifeless arms.
The baby was still nursing.
I asked Koko’s family if they knew the young woman. Though their family has already suffered multiple losses in LRA attacks over the past two years, the answer was yes. Koko’s eyes widened, her jaw dropped when she heard the name.
It was her cousin Antoinette.
[...] child and mother came from one of Lisa’s blog posts in this recent trip to Congo. Titled Still Nursing, you will be forever changed by reading it, and empowered to stand in solidarity with your sisters [...]
Dearest Lisa,
Last night as baby Riya slept next to me, periodically nursing, I could not close my eyes as thoughts about Antoinette and her last hours, her baby and her family flooded me with a painful empathy.
Please tell dear KoKo and her family that they will not be forgotten. Thank you to you Lisa, again and again, for bringing the Congolese into our lives. And thank you to your Congolese friends who are keeping you safe and helping you bring their lives to us.
With love,
Sid
Dear Lisa,
It is quite early here in Chicago. I have been laying here awake for over 2 hours now. I can not stop thinking about Antoinette, Koko and this baby. I think of you too, as you continue to keep their stories alive.
I think how fortunate I am, once again, as Bella called out for me earlier because of a sore throat. How blessed I am that I walked just a few feet over to comfort her…how blessed she is that she could fall back to sleep in the safety and warmth of her own bed.
I lay here in tears.
Please know how much I, and many others, think about you. You are loved.
With deep gratitude,
Tracy
Dear Lisa –
Please send my love and warmest wishes to Koko and her family. They are in my thoughts and in my heart.
Please, stay safe.
Many hugs,
Monica
Dearest Lisa,
Just when I think I cannot possibly read anything more heartwrenching than the last thing I read about Congo, I read this update from you. Please tell Koko and her family that we love her and that our thoughts and prayers are with her. Please be careful. Much love, Robin