“I had heard.known.cared. I had even reacted and raged. But when these boys told me of the whistleblowers, the horror grew feet and walked within me.“

– Sean D Carasso, founder of Falling Whistles.

OK, team (yes, I’ve designated you all – ye’ the awesome blog.rant.thought-readers – a team…I hope you don’t mind, I’ll print up some team sweatshirts), I generally try to keep content on here fun, whimsical, light. I don’t want this blog to become a personal soapbox from which I can yell until my voice goes hoarse. However, every now and then, I come across something that strikes me so forcefully, that I can’t ignore the feet stampeding within me.

So, bear with me for a moment, won’t you?

There’s a war going on in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR). Did you know? I’ve found in the past few days that I’ve been mulling over this that many people aren’t fully aware. Some know that it is an unstable region full of conflict, but few understand the scope. I myself didn’t know the facts until recently.

Here’s what I’ve found so far:

• 6 million have died since war began in Aug. 1998.
• It is the deadliest conflict since World War II
• Children are 19% of the population, but account for 47% of the deaths
• 1.5 million people are refugees or displaced within the DCR
• Roughly 45,000 continue to die each month
• The majority have died from non-violent causes such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition – easily treated in normal circumstances

(source: GlobalIssues.org)

The motivations for this conflict, as with any, are complicated and convoluted, political and involving control over natural resources. It began long ago with colonialism, and continued through the Cold War to this point.  To be honest, I keep re-reading a bunch of material in an effort to keep it all straight.

Because of the fragility sustained through the relentless upheaval, citizens of the DRC cannot be properly cared for or protected, and often the weakest of the population suffer the most.

Step in Sean Carasso.

A few years back, Carasso was in Africa  handing out shoes to protect kids’ feet through TOMS Shoes. While there, he visited the DRC and  met five young boys, none over the age of 15. They had escaped two of the rebel armies and were now in the custody of the National Army. This didn’t improve their situation much as corruption is prevalent among all soldiers, regardless of where they place their allegiance.

In an effort to help these boys, Carasso and his companion contacted the UN and took steps to free them from their new captors. In doing so, they learned their individual stories.

All had been kidnapped and forced into fighting as child-soldiers.

“...some boys not big enough to hold a gun were given merely a whistle and put on the front lines of battle. Their sole duty was to make enough noise to scare the enemy and then to receive – with their bodies – the first round of bullets,” Carasso wrote in a journal entry.

After freeing these five, Carasso would eventually return home and upon his arrival be handed the seemingly odd gift of a whistle from a close friend.

“Hanging just over my heart this tiny tool kept the Falling Whistles story alive. Everywhere we went, people asked what it was. That’s when we saw – their weapon could be our voice.“

Since then, Carasso and a group of like-minded companions started the Falling Whistles nonprofit. They sell whistles like the one Carasso received, so we all can be reminded of this continuing tragedy and share the kids’ stories. All of the proceeds from selling whistles goes to rehabilitate these children and help gain peace in the DRC. (For more information on how exactly they achieve this, click here.)

Upon reading this story of the Falling Whistles, I was horrified. How do people block their humanity to such an extent that they can commit these crimes against children? How is it possible that such atrocities can go on without the world stepping up and crying for an end to the madness? I wanted to yell at people to pay attention.

We live in a time when information – almost any information we can imagine – is at our disposal. But because of this vast access, we become ultra selective, and people, events, matters that should be a concern to all of us, fall from our collective awareness.

The Congolese people need us to be aware, as do the voiceless around the world. We can’t allow ourselves to be desensitized to violence and hardship just because we’re being hit by it on all sides, from the television, newspaper, radio and internet.

So (and here comes the soapbox part, fair warning), I urge you to learn. Check out the Falling Whistles web site, buy a whistle, read up on the history of the DRC, or, keep your efforts closer to home and simply volunteer somewhere in your community.

Be aware.

Step outside your own little sphere.

Listen to the stories of others.

Seek knowledge. I really do believe that this is so important. It’s only with knowledge that we can hope to understand and make a positive difference.

Thank you for reading through this rather long post. You’re all much appreciated.

Team sweatshirts will be forthcoming.

(Note: I was having a devil of a time taking a self-portrait last night illustrating said whistle while upon a person. So yes, this is my solution – camera face! And yes, that is a shower curtain hanging behind me. Just keeping it real for you.)