Thanks to the cooperation of the Euro-Arabic Foundation for Advanced Studies (Fundea), Caddy Adzuba has visited Spain, certain of the need for a ‘Loudspeaker for Silence’, the project that she set up which aims to raise awareness of the violence that women are being subjected to in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Caddy Adzuba, a journalist and law graduate, practices her profession for Radio Okapi, a United Nations Mission station in the Democratic Republic of Congo which broadcasts throughout the country. During her stay in Spain she is leading a campaign to raise awareness on the conflict in her country and has been in Madrid to collect an award granted to her in October by ‘El Club de las 25’, an association of women journalists.

*Pressenza*: What is the aim of your campaign in Spain?

*Caddy Adzuba*: The aim is to break the silence on a conflict that seems to have been forgotten. One of the consequences of this conflict is the huge amount of violence that women are being subjected to. It is a cause that has been completely forgotten and this neglect prevents solutions from being found. We have seized upon the fact that this year is the tenth anniversary of United Nations Resolution 1325, on protecting women and children during conflict, to embark on a campaign and demand that this resolution is upheld. It was an honour for me to be invited by the Euro-Arabic Foundation to undertake this campaign and mobilise civil society. In addition, this year Spain is presiding over the European Union and we want to take the opportunity to ask Europe to intervene in the situation that my country is going through.

A CHAMPION OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND PEACE

Caddy Adzuba’s professional career has been characterised by her commitment to the defence of human rights and building peace through her work as a journalist in one of the world’s most appalling conflicts. She is a member of the East Congo Women’s Media Association, which has lodged various appeals with the International Criminal Court and the United States Senate condemning the sexual violence that women are being subjected to in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has been at war since 1996 and where there have been an average of 40 cases of rape per day since the beginning of the conflict. Adzuba is also chairwoman of Afidep, an association that works with children in the development and promotion of human values, which has been operating in Bukabu since 2004.

At the end of September, the Congolese National Press Union reported to international press networks the threat received by Caddy Adzuba and two colleagues, also of the Bukavu area, Jolly Kamuntu of Radio Maendeleo and Delphine Namuto, who works with Adzuba at Radio Okapi. The telephone threat received by these journalists said: ‘You have a bad habit of interfering in what does not concern you to show that you are untouchable. Now, some of you will die so that you shut up. We’ve just been authorized to start with Kadi (Caddy Adzuba), then Kamuntu (Jolly Kamuntu), then Namuto: a bullet to the head.’

*Pressenza*: How is the life of a woman journalist in Congo and why, despite the enormous difficulties, do you keep fighting?

*Caddy Adzuba*: The life of women journalists in my country is not easy. This is, in part, due to tradition, customs and culture. It is a profoundly male-chauvinist society in which women have no rights, not even to express their opinions. The prohibitions include forbidding women from speaking in public. As a woman, becoming a journalist in this kind of society is very difficult. We have to work four times harder than men. At first they saw us as prostitutes. Thanks to the work we’ve done and the support we’ve received, we have gradually been accepted. The conflict has also added problems to this cultural factor. In Congo women are victims of sexual violence, but this kind of violence is a taboo there. A woman cannot report it because she will be rejected in society. Fortunately, as women journalists we are united against this situation; we support each other and work hard so that women can express themselves and we have made some breakthroughs. To continue the struggle I hope to receive the support of the international community and in particular Spanish society and women journalists. I also hope to take this further and ask the European Parliament to help by putting pressure on national governments to end the conflict. We need to make what is happening known and promote the UN resolutions on protecting women and children in conflict zones. This is my appeal to civil society, to women and to journalists: take action to pressurise the institutions that have the power to change things.

INFORMING AND MOBILISING THE PEOPLE

*Pressenza*: How was your experience in the talks you gave in Granada and Seville?

*Caddy Adzuba*: It was very good and I’m very happy that I was able to give them. My function is to inform people on what is happening in my country and to ask them to take action. 90 % of those who attend the talks have no idea what is happening in Congo and they were very surprised.

*Pressenza*: What is really happening in your country?

*Caddy Adzuba*: In Congo we are in a situation of conflict and great violence, caused by economic interests. My country is rich in minerals, raw materials, gold, diamonds and much more, and consequently there are groups that want to be in control. There is a struggle for control over raw materials that allow international trade, in which multinational corporations are involved. That’s where the conflict arises. And in this war there is killing, rape and atrocities against human rights, in particular those of women. Women’s bodies remain a battlefield for armed groups. War and the impunity of these crimes are leaving a terrible legacy. Cases of civilians raping women in peaceful areas are multiplying. Rape remains a weapon of war and a means to subjugate women in the Republic of Congo.

*(Translated by [Simon Bruni](http://www.simonbruni.com))*