Think of someone close to you: your mother, your father, a close friend. Maybe you have younger siblings, a nephew or a niece. What makes that person different from someone struggling to survive in another part of the world, one like the Democratic Republic of Congo? There are countless places of misery and suffering, but I want to bring your attention to DRC because I think it is one of the worst places a person could live. Agree with me or disagree with me — this is what’s going on whatever side you find yourself on.
The deadliest war since World War II ravaged DRC between 1998 and 2003, and other conflicts have since terrorized different regions of the country. To date, more than 5.4 million people have been killed since conflicts began, while more than 1.3 million people have been displaced. Attempts to end violence have manifested themselves in different peace deals and cease fires, but have failed as rebel groups continue to devastate the country, especially in the Eastern provinces.
Civilians are often the direct targets of violence and exploitation. When rebel groups raid villages, they take any resources they can find and then enslave the members of the community they don’t kill to carry the heavy loads of goods. If the carriers cannot keep up with the rebels as they all march from place to place, they are brutally beaten and killed. Some villagers find themselves coerced into working in hazardous mines, where they face death through the whim of their captors, mudslides, rock collapses and exhaustion — all for less than a few dollars a day.
Women especially bear witness with their minds and bodies to these atrocities. More than 250,000 women have been raped each year in the DRC, which is proof that rape as a weapon of war has become completely institutionalized. If that raw number is not enough to show the complete chaos and impunity that plagues DRC, the breakdown comes out to 685 women raped per day, and 28 per hour. Oftentimes, more than one perpetrator carries out the rape. This occurs along with the other unimaginable and inhuman practices that take place. Thousands of children have been abducted to become soldiers or sex slaves, while countless villages and refugee camps have been raided and razed.
Conflicts have come about through ethnic hatred and grappling for control of Congo’s rich resources. Rwandan and Burundian ethnic groups have had a history of political and violent tension in Congo, and with the surge of refugees from the Rwandan genocide, conditions have been further strained. An overarching theme in past clashes, and especially now, is centered on conflict minerals.
DRC has been an object of exploitation for its resources in tin, tungsten, gold and a mineral called coltan. The country is home to 80 percent of the world’s supply of coltan. Rebel groups look to get rich off the resources, and the perpetuation of violence and instability only makes exploitation easier. There are some reports that even the Congolese government allows the promotion of violence so members of the higher class and administration can benefit from illegal smuggling, which is estimated to earn close to $1 million a day.
Now is where some of you ask me why any of this matters.
The plight of the Congo matters because every one of us is helping to bring about unspeakable violence to people like us, children like our children, mothers like our mothers, friends like our friends. We must no longer be ignorant in our role as consumers.
Remember when I said that the DRC has 80 percent of the world’s coltan? You may not know what coltan is, but I guarantee you use it every day. Coltan is in our cell phones, our computers, cameras, Xboxes and countless other electronics that sustain our society. Along with the demand for gold and the other minerals that the DRC is rich with, it is easy to see how struggles over resources are the roots of many conflicts. That means that our demand for coltan (possibly the greatest resource) increases as we want newer laptops, flashier and multi-purpose phones, and exciting gadgets. This desire directly inspires brutal and devastating violence.
I’m not asking us to trash all of our technology and return to the Stone Age, but I am asking you to be aware and acknowledge what went into the production of the electronics that you can’t live without. Are they conflict free? If you think they should be, there are several things you can do:
You can join the Virginia Tech chapter of STAND, which focuses on issues like this. You can also look up places in the DRC that help civilians who have been attacked, such as the Panzi and Heal Africa hospitals. They are always in need of support. If you follow politics (or even if you don’t), you can urge your legislators to co-sponsor and support the Conflict Minerals Trade Act: H.R. 4128, and S. 891.
Whether you do any of these things or not is up to you, just consider the lives of those in conflict areas like DRC. They are not so different from us, and yet they are subject to horrors we cannot even imagine.