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A few nights ago I heard particularly feverish drumming, chanting and singing late at night in my neighborhood. It was so tense and charged, my first thought was that it was not a church group – until I heard a familiar Lingala religious song in the mix. Today Jean pointed out the window showing me the soldiers geared up to be transported east. I suspect the music was coming from their ranks.

There are two things about their shipping out that sadden me. One, it reflects the recent increase in hostilities in the Kivus, farther east. The situation is not peaceful there and I don’t expect more violence to easily produce real peace. In short there are all kinds of domestic and international political and human dynamics involved that each give me pause for concern.

The second great sadness is that open conflict here seems to be interpreted by hungry, well armed, underpaid soldiers as a license to loot from civilians and this may be their primary objective in going to battle. They’ll torment the population out there – with impunity. People here tell me that this is what they expect as standard behavior in times of insecurity. Especially in Eastern DRC, when the battle starts to heat up people not only flee for fear of being caught between enemy lines. They flee because they know that attacks on civilians are politically and financially motivated and that they are probable targets. I’ve heard there are already 10,000 people who have left to Uganda. I’m praying for them as they try to survive away from their homes, land, and extended community. I’m also praying for those who stay behind and buckle down. I’m praying for those of us from safer parts of the world. To us these situations are strangely foreign and we have scant ability to genuinely empathize. Lastly I am praying for the soldiers and their leaders, that they will sense a calling to respect humanity.

There are no indications that hostilities will spread this way, Kisangani is calm and still far from the front. Similarly, the recently reported Ebola virus outbreak in the Kasai is very far from where I am. One reason Ebola is so horrifying is that it can attack victims very quickly and this means that outbreaks are usually contained quickly. While I am not in danger, I’m reminded to pray for the families who have lost loved ones in this rare outbreak.