Nearly six million people have died as a direct result of war in the Congo since 1996. 1,200 people die every day from treatable diseases, malnutrition and violence. There are 200,000 documented cases of sexual violence and rape against women and children. The Congolese people have suffered through the most brutal rule in modern history and there is a great silence surrounding this tragedy.

Friends of the Congo is working in solidarity with southern women singer/songwriters in an attempt to break the silence surrounding this humanitarian crisis.

We are asking artists such as you to consider donating a recording as a means of lending your voice to the women and children of the Congo who have no one to speak for them. Southern women have a special and unique perspective on strength in the face of adversity, and hope in the presence of despair, which would be especially valuable to this project. We also hope to contribute funds for a group of independent journalists to travel to Congo and document the root causes of this tragedy. Would you please consider contributing a song to the compilation?

It could be a song that has been released on a previous album, but which speaks to the message or intention of the compilation. Or, perhaps you have a live, an acoustic, or demo version of a released song you’d like to contribute? This might offer your fans a unique version of a song they love and may also bring greater attention to the compilation. In that regard, it might be possible to bring a mobile recording unit out to a show or sound check and capture impromptu moments or collaborations you wish to share. The suffering of the women in the Congo, particularly in the east of the country, has reached biblical proportions, and still the silence continues throughout the global community. Hundreds of thousands of women have been violently raped, mutilated and terrorized. Human Rights Watch is only one of many organizations that have documented this, but still, media in the United States has ignored this tragedy. Doctors Without Borders has consistently reported throughout the past decade that the conflict in the Congo is one of the top ten most underreported stories in the world.

Rape has become the main tool of violence against women and children and has pervaded the culture. This is an opportunity to help break the silence surrounding one of the great humanitarian tragedies of our lifetime.

Please consider helping us with this effort. All organizers are donating their time, so rest assured that everything will be directed to the successful release of a CD compilation and no money will go toward overhead, except for the physical mastering of the CD. We will raise these funds on our own. Friends of the Congo is a United States based 501 (c,3) and any artist can get a letter from us for the value of their in-kind contribution to FOC. We realize your work has monetary merit and want to recognize that as well.

Who are we?

We are Friends of Congo (www.friendsofthecongo.org), human rights investigator, Georgianne Nienaber who has worked in Congo. (Nienaber is also the publicist for NOLA musicians Susan Cowsill and Kim Carson), and Sonia Tetlow.

Thank you.
Maurice Carney
Georgianne Nienaber
Sonia Tetlow

Please respond to Georgianne Nienaber at nienaber@tds.net or Sonia Tetlow at sonicgrrl@mindspring.com

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