The Costliest War You Never Heard of
Black Press International.com, News Feature, William Reed, Posted: Nov 14, 2008
As many as five million people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A quarter million have perished in Darfur, western Sudan. Both are abominations, but only Darfur rates coverage in American media and subsequent concern by the public action. Genocide has been occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been occurring for years, and it's time concerned people asked "why has out attention been directed elsewhere?"
The DRC war is the widest interstate war in modern African history, yet western media has ignored the brutal conflicts to decry regime-change targets in Sudan and Zimbabwe. Formerly called Zaire, the DRC is the third largest country in Africa. Located in Central Africa, the Congo's eastern area hosts the world's deadliest conflict since World War II.
Quiet as kept, the DRC conflicts involve numerous foreign players, some within the immediate region, and some from Western and Asian capitals. Yet, it is unheard of among most Americans that rely on establishment-oriented forces to shape their perspectives. The DRC conflicts illustrate how the mainstream media skews information it presents us on Africa are skewed. Our perspectives on who is who and what is what among Africa are based on selective agendas of media, governments, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and lobby groups. One or two of scores of ongoing conflicts throughout the world are 'chosen' to be the subject of intense scrutiny and selective indignation – very rarely on the basis of scale or the level of humanitarian emergency.
As illustrated in the Sudan and Zimbabwe situations, the West's selective consciousness only complicates things for Africans and peaceful resolution of their conflicts. Overlapping convulsions of ethnic and state-sponsored massacre have been occurring in the DRC since 1994 without a word of reproach from Washington. Americans boast "righteous indignation" claming "genocide is occurring" in Darfur. Yet, an ongoing holocaust with a human death toll approaching that of the Nazi's annihilation of Jews in World War II has been unfolding without a whiff of complaint.
Before Darfur needed "saving" by the West, the DRC was suffering back-to-back wars 1996 to 2002 that embroiled eight African nations. Congo is the richest country in the world for gold, diamonds, coltan and cassiterite. Eastern Congo's vast mineral wealth has fueled hatreds left over from the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which half a million Tutsis were slaughtered. More than a million Hutu extremists fled to Congo where they regrouped in brutal militia that continues conflicts in Congo.
More than you know, the war in Congo is about you. A UN investigation says it is a war led by "armies of business" to seize the metals that make our 21st-century society zing and bling. The silence in the West about Congo is because of conveniences we wish to maintain.
Currently the West is in the pocket of Rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, an ethnic Tutsi and former general that quit the DRC army, claiming the government of President Joseph Kabila was not doing enough to protect minority Tutsis from Hutu extremists. Nkunda and his 6,000 force militia are based in Nkunda based forces in resource-laden North Kivu, an eastern DRC province dominated by anti-Rwandan militias.
Sadly, the situation does not lend itself to a "good guy" or "bad guy" upon whom the West can direct its indignation. The rhythm of the war is one in which DRC government troops loot and terrorize civilian populations, and when the rebels take areas they do the same. But, the situation requires immediate attention. In past weeks in strife-riven Kivu province 100,000 people were driven from their homes, 60 percent of whom are children.
So, when you pick your cell phone be aware of your involvement in this horrific war. North Kivu's key mineral resources include coltan. Nkunda funds his war by running illegal mining operations for coltan – the main mineral used in cell phones and computer chips. Now that you know the horror occurring for Congo's civilians, are you willing to throw your cell phone aside to help establish peace so Congo's children can return home and go back to schools?
Related Articles:
What the World Owes Congo
Rwanda Report Accuses France of Hand in Genocide
What Next for Zimbabwe?
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User Comments
Rick on Nov 15, 2008 at 08:18:41 said:
We have to look deeper than the minerals and ore that are mined from DR Congo's land. Sustainable mining is possible, and it can be done without killing gorillas-contrary to media reports. And, yes, the mineral wealth of DRC is a huge motivator and fuels much of the evil that takes place though it’s the players involved that need to be stopped.
Extremists entered the former Zaire after the Rwandan genocide and they have caused grief to its people ever since. Outside interests, whether it is other country’s governments or foreign mining operations would still have the opportunity to do business after the perpetrators are removed. As has been the case for years, international pressure put upon DRC's neighbor(s) and a new approach for the UN, is the only way this fighting will stop. Political willpower can stop this conflict. The many sides involved are not going to come together on their own-period.
We will not stop technological advances and the world is not going to give up their electronic devices tomorrow. Sustainable mining without the violence is the future.
The strings that control much of the fighting are being pulled from outside of DRC. That's the bottom line. So, until those strings are cut, the fighting will continue.
Dave Donelson on Nov 15, 2008 at 03:20:43 said:
A thoughtful and spot-on post. One of the most frequently-asked questions I get at my appearances and readings of Heart of Diamonds, my novel of the Congo, is why American media ignore this horrific story. In addition to the very valid reasons you've explored, I believe the media have great difficulty because the story doesn't have a simple "good buy-bad guy" story line. There are no heroes in Congo today. It's tough to make a 20-second sound bite out of the plethora of militias, armies, and glorified gangs terrorizing the nation.
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