The Democratic Republic of the Congo

Other than in Kinshasa, travel throughout the country is hazardous and difficult, particularly in the east and northeast of the country. A shaky ceasefire has been in effect since mid-2003, but many regions are highly insecure, especially in the north and east. The district of Ituri is especially insecure. Entry from Uganda or Rwanda should not be attempted.

That is the warning viewers get when the click on the Lonely Planet website when trying to view information of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is a place of war, rape, murder and other violent acts that has been ignored for many years.

A number of major human rights groups have charged that some multinational corporations from rich nations have been profiting from the war and have developed "elite networks" of key political, military, and business elites to plunder the Congo's natural resources. These natural resources include water, diamonds, tin and copper.

Repeated military operations and violence, including rape and other forms of attacks on civilians, in areas rich in mineral resources is common and seems to happen frequently. There are reports of rape that blow ones mind. Sons forced to hold their mothers legs open so men can rip out her pubic hair and rape her, then forcing the son to do so as well.

Although this information may be new to some of you, it has happened for quite a while. Why has this gone unnoticed? Why don't we do something to help?

[edit on 25/1/05 by MacKiller]

We do nothing because no one cares about Africa. Africans are evidentally not worth one red cent and their blood is simply water under the bridge.

Personally I think the US wants to maintain a healthy distance so as to ensure the further murder and violence in the region.

Why? I don't know.

Originally posted by KrazyJethro
Personally I think the US wants to maintain a healthy distance so as to ensure the further murder and violence in the region.

Why? I don't know.

Why was the only country you mentioned the US?

Originally posted by ThatsJustWeird

Why was the only country you mentioned the US?

Because that is where I live, vote, and understand the most about the operation of the government.

I don't presume to know the motivations and culture of all nations unilaterally.

I work to improve America because this is my home, as others work within their native countries. There was no alterior motive.

I liked the country's old name better -- "Zaire." Just sounds more original.

Why do western countries like the U.S., the E.U., etc., keep their distance from Africa? Well, to be blunt, many of Africa's nations are one giant @#$%hole, and any attempts to help any number of African nations and their people have backfired in the west's face.

Disease, civil wars, wars with neighboring countries, corruption on a level almost considered fictional by western standards, local economics based on destruction instead of creation (such as the infamous "slash and burn" technique), terrorism & religious fanatacism (northern Africa faces the same problems with Islamic extremists that the greater Middle East does)... this all adds up to a complete catastrophe.

Rarely do all of humanity's evils all come together like that, like they've done in many African nations. Where do you even begin to reduce the catastrophe? Despite the overwhelming problems, the U.S. and many other nations have made great efforts to help different nations at different times in the past. Huge aid packages, food, clothing, & medical supplies donations, even U.N. Peacekeepers and U.S. military intervention -- all have been tried, more than once, but with few results. In fact, on many occasions the aid, food, clothing, and medical supplies have fallen into the hands of the people killing the civilians, not the civilians themselves, just making the situations worse.

In countries like Congo (Kinshasa), Libya and Nigeria, we have dictators. In Sudan, Chad, and Ethiopia, we have Islamic extremists attempting genocide on the Christians and those who practice traditional pagan African religions in the region. In countries like Somalia, Uganda, and Rwanda, we don't even have functioning governments -- these are no-man's-lands where rule is based on warlords conquering and ceceding territory on a regular basis, depending on which warlords are having a good week. Africa as a whole has always had a problem with disease and famine, and the above problems only make things even worse.

Even in countries attempting to do the right thing -- such as Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa, democratic countries who seek prosperity and a good standing in the international community -- life is tough. The problems from their @#$%hole neighbors oozes into their territory from time to time, creating additional problems for countries just barely able to meet needs as it is.

Despite our desires to help people, which are noble of course, sometimes you have to face the unfortunate fact that some people are beyond help until they begin helping themselves. This is true on an individual level, and a national level. Until some of these nations achieve some kind of stability, and good relations with their neighbors, there is little we can do to help them.

It pains me to see such things, because central & southern Africa especially has the potential to be a bunch of democratic, prosperous, beautiful countries that would be excellent members of "the western world." But I guess they have to get through their @#$%hole phase first, like the rest of the planet has. Maybe someday...

Praise to you for posting this. This is the subject I hold most dear. The shortest answer I can give is that the Congo is extremely rich in mineral resources, particularly cobalt, which is processed into coltan that is used in circuits in all our computers, VCRs, TVs, and particularly cell phones. The surrounding govenments of Uganda and particularly Rwanda invade the Congo, smuggle the minerals by using illegal laborers, and sell it dirt cheap on the black market.

Barrick Gold, a US mining company that signed a mining contract with the late president Laurent Kabila shortly after he took power via a coup in 96, sold land in the NW Kivus and Orientale provinces, where the most nefarous violence occurs today. The NW is constantly plagued by violence against civilians in this area in order to get them to flee the areas rich in minerals. This is usually perpetrated by RCD-Goma, a Rwanda proxy rebel faction. When the area is occupied by rebels, the Rwandan commanders cross the boarder and sell the mining land to several multinational mining corporations. Barrick is one of them, and George HW Bush is on the board of directors. Another mining company, American Mineral Fields Int., a partner with Barrick on many projects, has its HQ in Arkansas, many of which are proxy businesses owned by Bill Clinton.

In short, the US government won't intervene becuase a profit is to be made, and it is also a form of mass depopulation in line with Kissinger's disserations about the need to eliminate 3 billion people by 2012 (I believe, but will have to check on these figures) as well as the depopulation creed of the European Club of Rome. As asked above, no it isn't just the US. Rwanda, Uganda, France, Israel, and likely Lebanon is involved. Belgians play a limited role and seems confined to certain individuals and groups, not the government. If anyone would like to discuss this issue in more detail, or any other topic on the Great Lakes region of Africa, it would be my honor.

Every moral human being should know that in this region of Africa, children are taken forcibly from their homes and sent to boot camps to train them to fight. They are raped and beaten in the camps, and often times are forced to rape, kill, and canibalize(sp) their own friends and/or their family to prove their loyalty to the militia. There are over 33,000 child soldiers in the Congo alone, not to mention the thousands more created by the Lord's Resistance Army in the Gulu district of northern Uganda. Thousands of these traumatized children are in rehabilitation centers, mainly in Goma. Any donations to help these centers are truely great gifts. Visit Amnesty International's website and Humanrightswatch.org to learn more about the child soldiers. How would you feel if this happened to your family?



[edit on 25-1-2005 by Noob0832]

[edit on 25-1-2005 by Noob0832]