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letz-smoke-zaza · 3 months

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What is happening in Congo ?

I. INTRODUCTION

Today, it’s been 64 years since the Democratic Republic of Congo is officially an independent country. Yet, Congo, a country that I cherish is going through multiple crises, and particularly a genocide since long time ago.

If you didn’t know it yet, this genocide is orchestrated by Rwanda and Uganda’s governments and militaries, but also congolese militias, composed of rebels named the M23 but funded and sold weapons to notably by European countries. This is happening since near 30 years.

I feel compelled to talk about it since what is happening isn’t talked about enough in mainstream medias. Yes, it is true these last months a lot of people have learned about it and even celebrities expressed their support for the inhabitants of Kivu (the region targeted by the genocide), but fewer people really know what it is about and how destructive it is.

First, how did it happen ?

If you have to know one thing it is certainly that since D.R.C.’s liberation from the kingdom of Belgium the 30th of June 1960, after Lumumba fought for his people’s freedom, he became the prime minister, then was betrayed by his comrades, and finally murdered, since these times, Congolese people almost always been living in between civilians crises, wars, and genocide.

Lumumba before his execution. ⬆️

To simplify, in 1971, Mobutu succeeded a coup d'état and the Democratic Republic of Congo officially became ‘Zaïre’ under Mobutu’s dictatorship. However, Mobutu was kicked out after the first war of D.R.C., opposing the Zaïre and Allies led by Mobutu, and AFLD (The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo) led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila and his Allies including Uganda and Rwanda.

To understand the origins of the congolese genocide, we have to acknowledge what happened in Rwanda later after the events I just spoke about. Between the 7th April of 1994 and 15th July of 1994, which, in the time span of 3 months, only 3 months and 10 days, 800,000 millions of civilians died. Primarily members of the minority ethnic group Tutsis but also moderate Hutus and Twa were killed by armed Hutu militias. This genocide was supported by Rwanda’s government and still in these days is considered as the bloodiest one in a short time span.

« Although the origins of the mass killing were initially blamed on the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana (whom the Hutu falsely claimed had been murdered by Tutsis), the conflict’s actual origins can be traced to decades prior.

During Belgian rule, the colonial government instituted a separation of Hutus and Tutsis, favoring the Tutsis and placing them in greater leadership roles within the country. The systematic divide led to tremendous resentment in the years that followed, culminating in unresolved tension that provoked the Hutus to steal, rape, and kill for basic human rights. » source : What Was the Biggest Genocide in Human History

The connection with D.R.C. ?

The fact over 2,000,000 Rwandan fled the country during or immediately after the genocide, in the people who emigrated were members of the Hutu ethnicity, some of them being genociders. They took refuge in Nord-Kivu, in D.R.C. , at the border of Rwanda. They were scared because at that time Tutsi gained the power over the country and Hutus feared they would take their revenge, that is why they left Rwanda.

Nord-Kivu on a map. ⬆️

« The Congo-Kinshasa government agreed to repatriate Hutus involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide if Rwanda agreed to remove its forces from the Kivus, the land Rwanda has controlled since 1998.

Furthermore, the resource-rich nature of the DRC also makes the area prone to conflict, further placing the Hutus at risk. One can not be optimistic, therefore, in the near-term prospects of DRC Hutus to live in relative peace and security. » Assessment for Hutus in the Dem. Rep. of the Congo

Then, happened the second war of D.R.C. from 1998 to 2003, which killed from 183,000 to 4 or 4,5 millions of people due to starvation and illnesses.

« According to the Kigali government, the Hutu refugee camps formed after the genocide fell under the control of the Interahamwe Hutu militias, to which many genocides belonged, and helped by the Hutu members of the former Rwandan army, they planned to regain power by force.

According to other actors, the presence of Rwandan troops in the DRC was motivated by the project to plunder mining resources in the region. This is confirmed by a UN report requested by the Security Council which indicates, from the interviews conducted by the expert group, that the Rwandan army remained mainly to obtain goods. The report also describes the strategy of the armed groups present in the area to plunder resources from the subsoil for their benefit, in a context of massacres and rape. » source : Deuxième guerre du Congo

Players of the DRC team, during semi-final of the CAN. ⬆️

II. GENOCIDE

As I said it before, genocide been going on for 26-27 years to be exact. Kivu is mainly targeted for its ressources of Coltan, Cobalt, Diamonds and Gold since the M23 and Rwandan military took control of the mines we named "blood mines" because of the deaths they cause. It had been estimated more than 40,000 children are forced to work in mines in Nord-Kivu.

Coltan and Cobalt are both materials used in computers, phones, most electronics devices in general. Both have in common to be materials mined in Nord-Kivu in unethical ways, it’s literally slavery, workers aren’t paid and are forced to work for the militias and Rwanda. Which later on sell these ressources to the whole world and steal Congolese’s ressources. Yet, talking about natural ressources D.R.C. is one of, if not the first, richest country in the whole world. And if Nord-Kivu is so coveted by entreprises AND countries in commercial interests, it’s because this place holds 70% of world’s Cobalt, as for Coltan it’s about 60%. That is also why medias and other countries’ presidents are silent. They know that if they speak up, they will lose partnerships with Rwanda, Uganda and rebels… when you grasp that fact, you are able to understand why violation of human rights, war crimes, child work, sexual crimes, literally slavery is condoned by the whole world. You can finally understand why the world try to silence congolese people : it’s easier to act as if their struggles didn’t exist and exploit them rather than helping them out, that is how cruel the world is.

Let’s not forget about rebels and soldiers who actively terrorize inhabitants, steal them, torture them for fun and influct painful deaths to them. They train children and give them weapons to help them, children, they don’t even know better! Women, children and men are trying to escape their own villages in the Northeast region of D.R.C. to go somewhere else. Millions of displaced people are in makeshift displacement camps, particularly in Goma. Around 600,000 congolese can be found in there, living in unsanitary conditions and earning money mainly through donations and local organizations.

The 3rd of May, at least five rockets exploded in the southwest of the capital of North Kivu (Goma), killing at least 18 people, 32 were injured, including 27 seriously, most of them were women and children. Congolese people struggle to escape these places, struggle to get access to food, struggle to access water and fill their vital needs since mainly militias of rebels and Rwandan soldiers run the zones with weapons and threaten to kill, kidnap, torture and rape anyone who wouldn’t listen to their orders or do something that displease them.

III. SEXUAL VIOLENCES

(TW : that can be very disturbing or triggering for some people to read this, as said in the title, I’m going to talk about sexual assaults, rape and a slight mention of necrophilia(?).)

Let’s not forget about the sexual violence who occur in Nord-Kivu, like in every wars and genocides, soldiers and rebels take advantage of vulnerable situations and poverty to rape women. Women and girls are coerced into doing sex work to ensure their income, buy food and shelters from the same rebels who abuse them. We estimated 48 women get raped by HOURS (source). During two weeks of April 2011, more than 670 victims (more like 1152) of sexual violence were taken care of in the East of D.R.C.

« The vast majority of victims are women and more than half of them say they were attacked by armed men. This happens most of the time "during their travels outside the sites of displaced persons, in search of firewood and food," says the medical organization. » source : RDC autour de Goma, "48 victimes de violences sexuelles par jour"

For feminist organizations, these are feminicides, nothing else other than that. Women and children are especially targeted. White feminists would never talk about what happen to congolese women daily, nor palestinians women. We want women to be free, the violence they go through is not a war weapon that should be used. Wars shouldn’t happen at all. They shouldn’t feel unsafe and dehumanized when they’re going through hardships in their own countries, they shouldn’t feel like they are left out and damned to go through this without any support.

« Most attacks are related to living conditions in the camps. Displaced women find themselves without money, without resources, they are forced to go into the bush to find something to eat or earn a small income » deplores Daddy Ngeve, a midwife, doctors Without Borders.

« There are girls, some of whom are minors, who work in houses of tolerance. They receive between 500 and 2 000 francs [17 to 67 euro cents - editor’s note], » alarms Yvette Shakira, a lawyer at Dynamique des femmes juristes (DFJ), an organization committed to the protection of women.

A lot of congolese women see sex work as their only way out from extreme poverty and I would even say death. They see prostitution as their only way to pay food, water, get access to the most basic healthcare, shelters for themselves, their children and their families. They often get STDs like HIV from lack of protections, serious health issues and deaths through rapes…

What is even sadder is that these women are rejected by their own family, which comfort them into keeping the silence and not telling their relatives about what happened to them.

« "In 9/10 cases, the husband leaves his wife and leaves her in charge of the children. This pushes women to hide the rapes they have suffered", admits Yvette Shakira. "If it happens to his mother, his sister, the man defends them, if it happens to his daughter he takes the lead and asks for justice, but when it happens to his wife, he denies her instead of protecting her." »

source : RDC : à l’ombre du conflit, les femmes en proie à une hausse des viols.

Manyotisi, 32, holds her 6-month-old son, Merveil. He was conceived during a group rape while she was looking for food. She already has two children, but decided to keep Merveil. “He is innocent. I love him,” she said. ⬆️

« In North Kivu, 76% of the victims received by MSF were raped by armed men, the others having been assaulted by civilians. » source : RDC : à l’ombre du conflit, les femmes en proie à une hausse des viols

youtube

Testimony of Fatouma, a victim of rape as a weapon of war in the DRC (in French without English subtitles) ⬆️

translation : "They forced me to rape my mother’s c0rpse, to eat her flesh in the presence of my children." - Desiré Goyabaki, M23 survivor. ⬆️

IV. HOW TO HELP ?

If you want to help Congo, first, being aware, as I said, that Coltan and Cobalt are both materials used for electronics devices is a good start. I know in such a society it’s impossible to get rid of them, but if you are ready to change something - at least in your own habits to reduce the consequences - then there’s advices :

- you could stop buying VAPES, those are bad for health anyway and, on top of that, requires Coltan, which is mined by children. To me, that doesn’t worth buying e-cigarettes, even less at humans lives cost.

- avoid electronic cars, it also requires cobalt and on top of that those cars’ batteries are as bad for environment as average cars, except it does pollute in another way.

- for computers, phones, TVs etc. try to keep them as long as you can. It will save you money and you don’t need the newest phones or the newest electronics devices. If yours work fine, then keep them and you will be able to pay yourself other things instead. Refurbished devices are also a really good idea to save money AND be able to buy new things.

- Make donations if you can and if you got enough money. Obviously, if you struggle for your own needs, it’s only fair to privilege your own life. But if you have some money here and then and are sure about where the money is going to, then you can do this.

- Finally, spread awareness. I’m not telling you to give all the details of D.R.C. history to your relatives. But if you have some friends, siblings, parents, talk to them about what happen. The more people know, the more people are invested. That’s a small thing, but it could change everything.

V. CONCLUSION

I am feeling powerless when I see how live congolese people in Kivu, but most of the matters I mentioned concern the whole country, or at least, big parts of it, ESPECIALLY for sexual abuse.

The president does nothing, because like in many African countries if not almost all, they are corrupt and pushed by greed not to do anything for their countries and the security of their inhabitants, but it’s much bigger, reflecting on the impact of past colonialism and neo-colonialism, how European countries, USA and most generally world powers step on African, Asian, Middle Eastern countries and care so little about what happen there even when it’s serious and cost millions of lives. That is why after multiple transgressions of human’s rights, they never spoke up about it as it should be spoken about by the whole world’s medias.

I took a lot of time to write this. But I rushed the end to post this EXACTLY on the 30th June. Don’t hesitate to tell me if there is (serious) typos or ask me if you think I need to add context and historical informations and I’ll try to do so.

Thanks for reading all this 🫶🏽

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newstfionline · 1 month

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Monday, August 19, 2024

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India’s doctors strike in protest at rape and murder of colleague (Reuters) Hospitals and clinics across India turned away patients except for emergency cases on Saturday as medical professionals staged a 24-hour shutdown in protest over the rape and murder of a doctor this month in the eastern city of Kolkata. More than one million doctors were expected to join the strike, paralysing medical services across the world’s most populous nation. Hospitals said faculty staff from medical colleges had been pressed into service for emergency cases. The walk-out was the latest action in response to the killing of a 31-year old trainee doctor last week inside the medical college in Kolkata where she worked. The crime has triggered nationwide protests among medical workers and a public outpouring of anger over violence against women reminiscent of what followed the notorious gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi in 2012.

Inflation has come for one of Japan’s most beloved cheap eats: Ramen (Washington Post) Ramen is an affordable comfort dish in Japan, where a bowl of warm noodles in hearty broth rarely costs more than 1,000 yen, or about $6.80. It’s a quick and reliable meal during a work lunch break, for teenagers hungry after school and salarymen taking a late train home. But as Japan experiences inflation after decades of falling or stagnant prices, one of the country’s favorite cheap meals is taking a hit. Ramen shops are closing at a record pace this year, as owners face the dilemma of raising their prices beyond the “1,000-yen wall” to cope with rising costs or shutting down. As of July, 49 ramen shops filed for bankruptcy, on pace to set a record for most closures in a single year, according to Teikoku Databank, a corporate research company based in Tokyo. The cost of ingredients, labor and electricity making ramen has increased by 10 percent over three years, the company found.

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Israeli strikes in Gaza and Lebanon kill at least 25, officials say (Washington Post) Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon killed at least 25 civilians Saturday, according to Lebanese and Palestinian health authorities, as the United States and allies were racing to conclude delicate cease-fire negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Gaza strike early Saturday in the town of Zuweida killed at least 15 members of the Al-Ajlah family, according to a relative of the family. A spokesman for the Gaza civil defense said at least 17 members of the family had been killed. In southern Lebanon, a strike on what local officials said was a metal warehouse killed 10 people, including a Syrian woman and her two children, the health ministry said.

‘There Is No Childhood in Gaza’ (NYT) The war in Gaza had barely begun when 9-year-old Khaled Joudeh suffered an unimaginable loss. His mother, father, older brother and baby sister, along with dozens of other relatives, were all killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home. In the months that followed, Khaled tried to be brave, his uncle, Mohammad Faris, recalled. He would comfort his younger brother Tamer, who, like Khaled, had survived the Oct. 22 strike that killed their family. But Tamer, 7, was left badly injured with a broken back and a broken leg, and was in constant pain. “He would always quiet his brother when he cried,” Mr. Faris told The New York Times in a recent phone interview. “He would tell him: ‘Mama and Baba are in heaven. Mama and Baba would be sad if they knew we were crying because of them.’” At night, when the unrelenting Israeli airstrikes on Gaza would start up again, Khaled would wake up shaking and screaming himself, sometimes running to his uncle to seek comfort. It was a short and terrifying existence for the young brothers that ended when another airstrike hit the family home where they were sheltering on Jan. 9, killing Khaled, Tamer, their 2-year-old cousin, Nada, and three other relatives, according to two family members. “There is no childhood in Gaza,” Louise Wateridge, a spokeswoman for the main U.N. agency that aids Palestinians, UNRWA, wrote on social media last month.

The trash in Mali’s capital is piling up. Donkey carts are coming to help (AP) When handling the garbage of a city of over 3 million people and equipped with little more than a face mask and gloves, it helps to have a sense of humor. Yacouba Diallo decided to name the two donkeys that pull his cart after his cousins, Keita and Kanté. Hauling garbage in Mali’s capital, Bamako, can be otherwise grim. The city more than doubled its population in recent years and struggles to manage its waste. Piles of garbage dominate some streets. Residents are turning to donkey carts like Diallo’s for trash pickup. The carts can weave in and out of vehicle traffic and reach more places than trucks can, especially on bad roads. Diallo said he can make up to $166 a month. That kind of money is attractive to youth who come from Mali’s rural areas seeking employment in the West African nation with high unemployment.

#headlines #news

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