Crisis in Congo.

There are several crises around the world causing a stir in society, reactions include rage, protests and petitions. There seems to be a strange method in how they are covered though, especially in the West. Some crises are covered because they involve Western soldiers, take Iraq and Afghanistan for example. Some crises are covered because of the sort of impact they can have on the daily lives of individuals across the world, like the fight for oil by rebel groups in Nigeria. Other crises have gone for so long that it is impossible to ignore them, we can cite the sorry cases of Zimbabwe, and the Dafur region of Sudan.
Although it may be rather futile to argue that one crisis should receive more attention than another, I believe it is important that certain conflicts should receive attention simply because of the scale and impact they have on individuals. With all due respect to all individuals who have lost their lives in any conflict that is.
In central Africa lies arguably Africa's richest country, the Republique democratique du Congo, known in English as the Democratic Republic of Congo. This French speaking country formerly known as Zaire is a massive 905,351 square miles; has a population of 62 million and a nominal GDP per ca pita of US$119. Among its mineral resources are diamonds, gold, copper, and cobalt. The country grows coffee, sugar, tea, bananas and other fruits. The DR Congo is blessed with unmatched resources, but looking at its people you would never guess it.
The country has staged what some has been called Africa's first world war. 7 nations have been involved in this fight over prestige, power, influence and wealth. There have been fight s over basic resources like water and more lucrative resources like gold mines.
African nations have struggled to transition from colonialism to independence for various reasons. Dictators usually emerge, to "restore" order. In 1960 the Belgians left what was then known as Zaire after 75 years of plunder, infamously with King Leopold's initially making the giant country a personal possession. Patrice Lumumba was the initial leader, but he was soon gone, a Cold war ally to the west Mobutu Sese Seko was helped into power. At the time of the Cold war both sides sought allies on every part of the globe. It was not that important how they governed their own people, rather their choosing a side was more important. Mobutu received weapons, and aid. Like any dictator given free reign he went ahead to repress his own people, enriched himself and his cronies while ensuring he could never be overthrown. Congolese people were seeing similar suffering to the colonial times, only this time the oppressor had a black face.




Mobutu survived 3 decades until 1997 when he was overthrown by Laurent Kabila, leaving his country drowning in US$12 billion debt. Kabila was aided by fellow African countries Angola, Burundi, Eritrea and Uganda. The fall of Mobutu was not the end of the conflict. The African world war had just begun. Since 1998 5.4 million have died, the deadliest conflict since World War II. This is not common knowledge. Many have died from preventable diseases like malaria, pneumonia and malnutrition caused by the conflict. Children have accounted for 47% of the deaths. Both sides make use of child soldiers.
There are no reliable statistics but it is widely believed that thousands of children have been involved in the conflict. Too young to vote, but old enough to carry a gun. These kind of harrowing details should be enough to cause international outrage but it seems the chaos is aiding some foreign nations and multinationals. Some links are direct, others indirect. Concessions and contracts are cheaper in this conflict zone than in more stable places simply because of the risk involved. Is it fair to say that these companies would rather have the conflict.
The rebels in this conflict include, Congolese, Congolese Tutsis, Rwandan, Ugandan and Burundian troops. They mostly inhabit the Eastern side of the country, at one point controlling a third of the county. Some rebels swept in after the genocide in Rwanda ended, periodically launching attacks on their home country. The Rwandan government using this as their reason to justify their involvement in this conflict.
It is alleged that Ugandan involvement was for the benefit of individuals, similarly Robert Mugabe sent 11,000 troops(a third of his army) in exchange for some mines in the DR Congo.
The conflict has seen the use of crude tactics such as rape, forced labor, corruption, displacement (1.5 million), ethnic rivalry and cold blooded murder.
There have been attempts at talks, with the United nations leading the way. The UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo(MONUC) was formed in 1999 to support a ceasefire signed in Lusaka, Zambia. There have been arms embargoes on Eastern Congo, which have been ineffective in such a vast area. It is estimated that 45,000 die every month, surely the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Not enough is being done. While at the helm of the United Nations Kofi Anan asked for more peacekeepers, costing a billion dollars there was resistance from the US most notably because this mission has been seen as too expensive. So many lives lost, due to a lethargic international machine that has played a part in creating the current turmoil. A peace deal was signed in 2003, but the threat of all out war remains and scuffles still break out, especially in the East even with the largest UN peace-keeping mission in history present
In July 2006 the country held its first ever elections, with Joseph Kabila securing victory. The country may not be in as much turmoil as several years ago but the threat of violence remains, large parts of the country are like the wild west and we could see the same cycle of violence that occurred in 1998. The DR Congo shows the snail pace international diplomacy can move at. This is all at the expense of thousands of lives. Those in positions of influence need to do better.