A Very Brief
History:
Plain and simply stated, the people of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) do not know what living in peace is like. Since at
least the 1880’s there has been an onslaught of invaders who have brought war
to this nation. Couple the
invasions with inept leadership and you have what is today’s DRC.
The DRC’s neighbors will be quick to pin all the blame on
the DRC alone. This is a bold face lie! I point you to the “UN Mapping Report
of Human Rights Abuses” as well as the “Group of Experts Report” which
implicates Rwanda and Uganda for supporting the M23 militia for destabilizing
and killing inside the DRC borders.
The DRC does have inadequate leadership. This is not all the
fault of the people of the DRC. Foreign intervention has caused this leadership
to exist. The United States in its fear of communism installed brutal dictator
Joseph Desire Mobutu in 1965 and maintained him because of his support for the
US. The United States maintained this brutal dictator despite the Congolese
peoples’ attempts to overthrow him for over 30 years. The reason? Greed.
Finally, in 1997, Mobutu was overthrown, and another pawn of
the Western powers – the United States and the United Kingdom – Laurent Kabila
was installed after an invasion by Rwanda and Uganda. Together these two
African nations put into place a leader they thought would be sympathetic to
their own selfish interests. This time, the US and UK stood idly by allowing
this to happen, believing that their interests were being met as Mobutu had
gone “rogue,” not playing directly into the hands of the US.
In 1998, Rwanda and Uganda invaded the DRC for the second
time. This invasion was ignored and tacitly supported by the United States and
the United Kingdom as approximately 6 Million Congolese died. Obviously all of
these people were not soldiers. The majority were civilians, and they died of
war injuries, starvation, exposure, and preventable diseases because of poor
health conditions during wartime. In this invasion, Rwanda and Uganda installed
Laurent Kabila as the next Congolese “puppet” leader.
In what is an open secret, Laurent Kabila was assassinated
by those forces that installed him, and he was replaced by his son, Joseph
Kabila who “rules” to this day. The younger Kabila is a mystery to the world
and to the Congolese for his lack of emotion for his own nation and his
detachment from the everyday issues facing his own people.
Congo’s Importance
to the World Economy:
The DRC is one of the richest nations in the world in terms
of mineral riches. The DRC is rich in diamonds, gold, copper,
cobalt, uranium, timber, iron, tin, tungsten, and coltan. Coltan is a mineral
that is used in state of the art electronic equipment from cell phones to computers.
Those in power simply do not want stability in the Congo because with stability
will come higher prices for these minerals. Peace could come tomorrow, but with
peace comes higher prices as the Congolese people would gain their dignity that
they deserve and begin to build the infrastructure of a nation.
Instead of wanting peace, the powers that be
want the DRC to be destabilized. This way, the world can have cheap access to
“blood diamonds” – minerals that are exploited at the peril of innocent Congolese.
Why Congo Matters:
Even with the minerals, I refuse to say that
the DRC matters because of its minerals. I will not say that any nation is of
value for what it can produce so that others can use. The Congo matters because
of the sacredness of the humans who live there. The Congolese people are just
that – people – human beings. They
are not animals – They are not tools for our exploitation. They have hopes and
dreams just as any other human on this planet.
The Congo matters because the people of the
Congo matter. We should look to the Congo as a cautionary tale for what could
be. We should look to the Congo and see our brothers and sisters. Find just the
right politicians or corporate exploiters, and what happens in the Congo could
happen anywhere. Anyone reading this could be the next Congolese person.
Even saying that, we shouldn’t only care
about the DRC because “it could be us.” We should care because it is they who
experience the horrors! They are victims of exploitation beyond what I can even
describe. My own United States government both looks on and does and says
nothing and covertly supports those who do exploit by supplying arms, and
legalizing corrupt business practices.
We should care about the Congolese because the same Creator who made us
made them. In fact, I should say, the same Creator made all of us. Life is
sacred, and in the DRC, it is being willfully treated as expendable.
What to Do:
The first thing is to stop saying we can’t do
anything! Yes, governments are larger than any 1 of us and even larger than any
group of us. Corporations who exploit are bigger too. But, if we let that scare
us, then we become part of the problem. There are many things we can do.
Engage in advocacy! When you challenge the
powers that be and rattle the right cages, you will get the lions to roar. That
means you’ve hit the right nerve! Confront the aggressors directly and don’t be
afraid! Be armed only with the truth. Learn the facts and don’t back down.
More war is not the answer. More war is the
problem. Pray for peace. But let your prayers also include the question, “and
let me be an instrument of Your peace.” Be an instrument of God’s peace. For
all of us that will mean something different.
Most importantly – Do not forget the reason
we care – We don’t care for self-indulgence and self-promotion. We don’t care
because of material gain. We care because our brothers and sisters are hurting!
All cited statistical and factual information can be found at friendsofthecongo.org
No comments:
Post a Comment