DRC - While the World Doesn't Pay Attention

It's a normal day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Hundreds of thousands (if not over a million) of civilians are homeless.  Why? Because war rages in villages and cities especially in the eastern part of the Congo. People are starving, a generation has never experienced peace, people die of highly preventable diseases such as cholera and other communicable diseases.  What does the world community do? Is the world community outraged? Is the world community speaking out? Not at all!

Sure, you may hear a voice here, and a voice there, but there is no unified condemnation that these innocent people have the right to live in peace.  The belligerents in the war claim they are fighting FOR these civilians. I have to ask, if you are fighting for someone, why are you taking the battle to them?

Then comes the sexual violence. And let me be clear - all sides of this conflict has guilt.  The "warriors" fighting "for the people" are now "raping" for the people? I don't get it either. It's sick. It's wrong. It's inexcusable. Of course, the world community would condemn this, right? Again, just lone voices speak out. The world still carries on.

So, who are these "warriors?" First of all, in Eastern Tradition, a warrior is a noble person who fights for self defense only. The purpose of fighting is not to destroy the enemy. The purpose is to neutralize attacks from the enemy. There are no warriors in the conflict in the DRC. There are only thugs. There are only greedy, bloodthirsty, murderous, thugs.

These thugs are hard to name. They change daily. Of course, there is the Army of the DRC (the FARDC). This is a highly undisciplined army. They are largely unpaid or highly underpaid for their service. Often soldiers from the army will defect to one of the militia groups.  There is also the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda - in English). The FDLR is made up of those who fled Rwanda, the neighbor of the DRC, after the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. The FDLR contains those who were genocidaires (those who committed genocide) as well as those they have since recruited for

their cause.  Currently, they are allied with the Congolese Army (FARDC). Will this union be permanent? Who can say? If patterns are a sign of the future, nothing in
the DRC is permanent. Also allied with the FARDC is MONUSCO (the United Nations Fighting Force in the Congo). Oh, so we have the UN on the side of the people of the Congo. Things must be getting better, right? Wrong! MONUSCO (a French Acronym) began as a peace keeping force and failed miserably, but now they are a fighting force. This same group is also guilty of having members who have committed sexual violence to innocent civilians.

Who are these thugs fighting? Well, today they are fighting the M23 militia.  So, they must be the "good guys," right? Wrong! They are just like the same groups above. While they claim to have a "noble cause" in their insistence in competent governance in the DRC (something that is completely lacking under the leadership of President Joseph Kabila), M23 still terrorizes the innocent civilians.  Members of M23 also rape innocent civilians.  Members of M23 today may also be members of the Congolese army tomorrow, and vice versa.

What is also disturbing is that the DRC's neighbor, Rwanda, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, provides support to M23. What support? Arms, ammunition, intelligence, training, etc. The world community knows this. This fact has been reported not once but twice to the United Nations. And again, the world has ignored those reports. Why? Because the world community puts the value of money over the value of humans. The world puts the value of power over the value of life.

That is the same reason Kagame can get away with all of his crimes and walk away politically unscathed. One of Kagame's advisors is Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. If Tony Blair says it's ok, then it must be so...right? Well, he convinced enough people to follow George W. Bush into war in Iraq based on faulty evidence and lies. Why shouldn't he lie now? The West cannot be wrong, can they...or should I say, "we," since I'm an American? We do have more money than the other nations. And money makes you right in this world. The West says Kagame is right, therefore he is. But he's not!

Is Kagame right when he threatens President Kikwete of Tanzania by saying he's going to wait for him and "hit" him? Is Kagame right when a small group of elderly Catholic protestors are arrested for inciting a riot when no riot (nor signs of a riot) occurred? Is Kagame right for keeping someone like his political rival Victore Ingabire imprisoned for "thought crimes?" What is a "though crime?" Is he a mind reader? I'd hate if he were my president and could read my mind! Is Kagame right when he says that all Hutus should apologize to all Tutsis for the 1994 Genocide (which evidence points to the very real possibility that Kagame, a Tutsi, started the Genocide which killed mostly his own tribe so he could come in as "hero")?  To further question, is Kagame right to demand that apology when he, himself, said there are no longer Hutus nor Tutsis, but only Rwandans? How can one non-existent group apologize to another non-existent group? Yeah, I don't get the logic either.

Why does the world ignore all of this? Because the DRC has what we want. The DRC has minerals that make up much of our technology. With war going on in the DRC, we can get our cell phones and computers cheaper than if the people there lived in peace and made a livable wage. To the world, money is more important than life. To people like Kagame, power is more important than people. This is idolatry. Plain and simple, this is idolatry. The value of "things" is more important than the value of people.

So, what should be done? First of all, the news media should report this! To even know this, I've had to "dig deep." The news outlets that do report on this are few and far between. Second of all, if these groups really do care about the people, they will either take their grievances and negotiate as long as it takes - lock themselves in a room and don't come out until an agreement is reached. They would let the people go to their homes and live. They would put their weapons down and talk no matter how much hatred is in their hearts. But, I don't think caring about civilians is their real care. Their care is power and money. Third, the world community needs to hold all of these groups and Kagame accountable. Their assets should be frozen. Kagame should not receive military aid from the world community. He should be named in the condemnation of his activities. Fourth, the United Nations should be a REAL peace keeping force with real rules of engagement. I do not advocate violence. I advocate protection of civilians. In November when M23 took over the Congolese city of Goma, MONUSCO stood by and watched. They gave lame excuses about the safety of the people, but in the end, they didn't do their job.  There are pictures of M23 walking within feet of MONUSCO tanks and armed soldiers.

Finally, what will happen with this article? Well, there are is a possibility of several responses. It may be completely ignored and I will receive no comments. Someone in Paul Kagame's "fan club" will say that I have no business being in their affairs. A Rwandan diplomat will find one tiny point that is either not clear or I may have inaccurate, and in his mind discredits the entire piece and will act like a broken record on that one point. A Rwandan Military Commander will "order" me to stay out of Rwandan issues. I may be called racist. I may be accused of genocide ideology or genocide denial (something I don't understand because I do NOT advocate violence of any kind, nor do I deny the Rwandan genocide). I may be told to take care of American issues, but again, these people don't know what I do outside of my blog posts, nor is it their business. Someone may call me naive (if they are kind). I may be told that I don't know what I'm talking about.

Fear not - I'm used to this. I don't write for my own fame. I do this to bring attention to those who are suffering. Attack my character if you must. But, there is nothing in here that is untrue.