The Dominican Republic of Congo is a country in Africa that is going through a civil war, fought between the Tutsis and the Hutus; one of the deadliest comflicts in Africa. DR Congo is very big in size (as big as Western Europe) and has many natural resources, but has failed to use them for the benifit of the people, and therefore has hardly any roads or railways and has a poor health and education system.
This Tutsi-dominated country is being attacked by Hutu millatia; a result of conflicts between the Tutsis and Hutus for generations. These millatias rape, mutilate and even kill civillians like savages. One of their victims is Chance Tombola whose parents were killed and sisters taken away by the millatias. According to Orphaned, Raped and Ignored, two months later the same millatia burst into her aunts house where Chance had moved. They shot her uncle and then sliced his belly so that the intestines fell out, and then cut his heart. Then six men began to rape her aunt, Jeanne Birengenyi, in front of Chance and the other children. Chance claims that one man raped her too.
Chance and her family are one of numerous families that have been raped, mutillated and killed. These devasting scenes happen in front of all the children in the house and have a traumatic effect on their lives, if they are left alive. In many cases the women contract sexually transmitted diseases. These women are rejected by their husbands and many also have difficulty marrying.
This war was driven by warlords, greed for minerals and ethnic tensions. Even though the war was officially declared over in 2003, East Congo is still unstable and lies in ruins. The UN and other peacekeeping organzations have been unable to stop the Hutu millatia's genocide in the east. More than 5.4 million people have been killed in this conflict since the beginning of the civil war in 1998. This war has been very brutal and devastiting for the innocent civillians, who have been victims of the Hutu millatia. This war is as devastating as the earthquake in haiti or the 9/11 bombings but has failed to gain simmilar popularity. I think this war should be recognized worldwide and international forces should come together and end this war, once and for all.
For more informaiton regarding the civil war in East Congo, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/opinion/31kristof.html?scp=1&sq=Kristof&st=nyt or http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3075537.stm
No comments:
Post a Comment