News on Tuesday

From the Associated Press:  KIBATI, Congo (AP) — A cholera outbreak in a sprawling refugee camp has spread to eastern Congo's provincial capital of Goma, increasing fears of an epidemic amid a tense standoff between troops and rebels.  We studied the cholera epidemic in this very area a decade ago, when we were at Hopkins for our MPH degrees.  Massive congestion and crowding as people flee from war, drinking from contaminated surface water, hard volcanic soil that makes it difficult to dig latrines, and surrounding political instability cutting off aid:  all of that adds up to unbridles spread of cholera.  We've seen cholera before, it is gruesome.  This is bad news.

From BBC Radio, we heard Nkunda himself interviewed this morning, confident, aggressive, projecting his rebellion to sweep the country and anticipating the aid of political allies.  The reporter later commented on the well-equipped and disciplined troops, estimating their numbers in the thousands.  Then a government spokesperson said he would next see Nkunda in jail.  The chances of peace sound very remote.  We are not affected, yet, but listening with concern.

But both of these issues, cholera and rebellion, represent a society gone wrong, and not far away.  I am reminded of the response of the early Christians:  come Lord Jesus, come.  And struck that as we turn to corner towards Advent, the anticipation of the coming of the Messiah, it is just such evidence of the world gone amok that makes us strain our eyes . . . .