By some estimates the war in the Congo
has claimed up to 6 million lives, making it the second deadliest war
of the last one hundred years after World War II. The conflict has
been referred to as the African World War because of the number
of African countries involved and the extend of western countries
outside influence. Still very few westerners are aware of the tragedy
of the situation in the Congo. The war in the Congo has been one of
unspeakable suffering for the civilian population. It has been a war
of mass killings and genocide, systematic rape and torture,
widespread enslavement and the extensive decimation of villages and
crops leading to pandemic starvation and disease.
On the surface the roots of the Congo
war are often attributed to ethnic tensions. Ethnic tensions and
hatred certainly drive and whip into frenzy the various armies and
guerrilla groups that perpetrate the violence. Behind the scenes
however much of the causes of the conflicts are directly related to
the Congos vast wealth of natural resources. The Congo is a
country of indescribable beauty. Its earth is a rich black volcanic
soil and its climate is mild and perfectly suited to agriculture.
More importantly, its hills and forests contain some of the worlds
largest deposits of timber, petroleum, diamonds, gold, silver, tin,
copper, zinc, cobalt and a little known mineral known as coltan which
is a vital components in every cell phone on the planet.
Indeed ever since under Belgian
colonization, the discovery of the vulcanization process of rubber lead to huge world wide demand for rubber, people have been dying in
the Congo by the millions. Today 1000-2000 thousand people continue
to die per day.
Soldiers outside a refugee camp
bodies of victims
This short video Crisis in the Congo: Uncovering the Truth explores the role of the Unites States and its allies, Rwanda and Uganda, have played in triggering the greatest humanitarian crisis at the dawn of the 21st century http://congojustice.org
Watch Crisis in the Congo.This short film explores the role of conflict minerals and the United States and its Allies Rwanda and Uganda in triggering the the greatest humanitarian crisis at the dawn of the 21 century.
Highly Recommended!
To Learn how your
cellphone, may be contributing to the bloodshed, view the one hour
documentary Blood Coltan (French title-The Blood in Our
Cellphones) press on the following link:Blood Coltan
To view a brief film Condition
Critical by Doctors Without Borders showing effects of this war on
the people of the Congo, press on the following link:
To learn more about the true story of the Rwandan Genocide and how it lead to the current war in the Congo, view the video lecture by Prof Allen Stam "Understanding the Rwandan Genocide"
Click on image to view video
For a good article from
the New York Times summarizing the history of the war in the Congo,
press on the following link:New York Times Article
The Hills belong to Them The need for international Action on the Congo's conflict mineral trade is a good document by Global Witness summarizing the war in the Congo, interplay of various rebel groups, UN assessment of the situation and role of conflict minerals.
