I don't know where to begin to write. I'm filled with joy, gratitude, sadness, anger and disgust. In the past two weeks, I've learned of valiant courage of one man and his dedication to protecting endangered Mountain Gorillas and their habitat. Only 700 mountain gorillas remain in the wild and none in captivity. I've also learned of a horrible massacre where at least 4 gorillas were killed execution style at close range. Paulin Ngobobo and the rangers who protect these wonderful animals from destruction put their lives on the line daily. In the past ten years more than 150 rangers have been killed in the line of duty. At great personal cost many of these brave men have not received a paycheck in months. They do it because it is the right thing to do. Putting himself in peril, Paulin has stood up to a corrupt mafia of charcoal merchants who have recently begun harvesting Virunga's forests to fuel a $30 million-a-year industry. Six months ago Paulin was flogged and beaten by government authorities. They burst in while he was lecturing villagers about the threat the charcoal industry posed to Virunga and the gorillas. A little over one month ago a female gorilla who was under his charge was murdered. This came just 2 days after Paulin posted a blog entry in which he accused the charcoal merchants of being complicit in the destruction of the gorillas' habitat. Paulin was again arrested on July 18th and must daily go to tribunal. Just two weeks ago, 4 gorillas were murdered execution style.
And now the happy part. In response to these horrible massacres, there has been an outpouring of help. Many people responded by spreading the word about this tragedy and by donating. As of today, $50,000 has been raised so that more rangers can be trained and in the field to protect the gorillas.
Paulin has had to relocate so he can attend the tribunals. He is now monitoring a different sector of D R Congo's park land. Please remember him in your prayers.
Here's what you can do to help.
Donate to WildlifeDirect. They are funding Congo's rangers 100%.
Spread the word, email your friends and family, write a blog. You may also post a bulletin to your MySpace friends. The html is located on my page for you to cut and paste.
If you're an Artist: At present I am working on putting together an ebay art auction to benefit the Mountain Gorillas and Wildlife Direct. Please email me if this would be something you'd be interested in participating in.
For More Info:
The Guardian Weekly Article About Paul Ngobobo
The picture above is of Ndeze one of the surviving family members. It was taken from Paul Ngobobo's blog.
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