The heart of Africa
Located in the continent of Africa, The Congo covers 341,500 square kilometers of land and 500 square kilometers of water, making it the 64th largest nation in the world with a total area of 342,000 square kilometers.
The Congo became an independent state in 1960, after gaining its sovereignty from France. The population of The Congo is 4,125,916 (2010) and the nation has a density of 12 people per square kilometer.
The currency of The Congo is the CFA Franc BEAC (XAF). As well, the people of The Congo are refered to as Congolese.
The Congo became an independent state in 1960, after gaining its sovereignty from France. The population of The Congo is 4,125,916 (2010) and the nation has a density of 12 people per square kilometer.
The currency of The Congo is the CFA Franc BEAC (XAF). As well, the people of The Congo are refered to as Congolese.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo was settled and was discovered by Semliki harpoon at Katakana. The Congo was then known as the Congo free state from 1885-1908 and it was privately controlled by Leopold II of Belgium. Under his ruling the Congo free state became most infamous for international scandals of the turn of the 20th century. British Consul Roger Casement led to the arrest and punishment officials who had been responsible for killing during rubber-collecting expedition in 1903. There was one Belgian national for causing the shooting of at least 122 Congolese Natives Even though it isnt completely sure Roger Casements report estimated 10 million people. What caused such a high death rate was war, starvation, reduction of births, and tropical diseases.
Between 1908-1960 a lot has occurred, King Leopold II of Belgium formally relinquished control of the Congo Free states. It was then renamed Belgian Congo and was put under administration of the Belgian government. The Belgian Rule was based on something called colonial trinity of state, missionary, and private company interest. The Congo then began to be a wage labor country. The Congo's rich natural resources , including uranium. Uranium was used by US nuclear program during World War II was Congolese. This led to interest from both the Soviet union and United States when the Cold War developed.
The Congo Crisis 1960-1965 -Many riots occurred in Leopoldville and Stanleyville due to the demand of independence. The Belgians and Congolese political leaders sat down in Brussels and at the end of the conference by May 22 1960 independence was granted. When they were given independence they were now named "Republic of the Congo". Then when Mobutu was elected president he changed the country's official name to Zaire in 1966. The country was still unfortunately an unstable country
Between 1908-1960 a lot has occurred, King Leopold II of Belgium formally relinquished control of the Congo Free states. It was then renamed Belgian Congo and was put under administration of the Belgian government. The Belgian Rule was based on something called colonial trinity of state, missionary, and private company interest. The Congo then began to be a wage labor country. The Congo's rich natural resources , including uranium. Uranium was used by US nuclear program during World War II was Congolese. This led to interest from both the Soviet union and United States when the Cold War developed.
The Congo Crisis 1960-1965 -Many riots occurred in Leopoldville and Stanleyville due to the demand of independence. The Belgians and Congolese political leaders sat down in Brussels and at the end of the conference by May 22 1960 independence was granted. When they were given independence they were now named "Republic of the Congo". Then when Mobutu was elected president he changed the country's official name to Zaire in 1966. The country was still unfortunately an unstable country
Literature
I want to emphasize how hard it was to find these authors but also how heartbreaking it is knowing that the Congo doesn't have that much literature. Alain Mbanckou is French citizen but now lives in the USA. One of his books are called Broken glass and it talks about the people of West Africa with satire. In 2o1o he was awarded the "Chavalier de la Legion d'Honneur". In January 2013 he published an autobiography talking about his return to the Republic of Congo. He explains that he hasn't been to his home land in 23 years. The next author Sony Lab'oy Tansi and he was known to be a practitioner of the "New African Writing". He was also a leading left wing politician before he died. His first novel was called Life and a half and it talked about his response to the death of his close friend as a result of a military strife. His work was powerful because it helps show the suffering of Africans. This was unfortunately his only book due to dying of Aids at the age of 47. A week later his wife died of the same disease. The next author is emmanuel Dongala who was born in the Congo but eventually moved to the United States. His writing was mostly in french but they were in Journals like Le Monde and the New York Times. His writing tends to discuss the violence within his home country through the eyes of the traditions and myths of the Congo.
Rape as a weapon in the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is known as the “rape capital of the world”. According to John Holmes who is the secretary of humanitarian affairs for the United Nations, There have been tens of thousands of women raped within the past decade. It is even being called an “epidemic”. Because of the large amount of sexual assault the Congo is the worst place to be a woman. Rape in this environment is made to continue the stability of dominance.Wartime rape is nothing new to the Congo unfortunately but it has dramatically increased.We need to provide knowledge to grasp the bigger picture of different ways rape is legally defined. It is important as a society to gain a greaterunderstanding as to how sexual violence in conflict has continued to exist.
How Did this Happen??
To really understand the reason for using rape as a weapon we must understand where this conflict came from and why it’s in the Congo in the first place. This epidemic has started since the DRC achieved independence from Belgium in the 1960. Much of the issues in the country
today is due to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The Rwanda genocide was from April to July in 1994 and 800,000 people were killed and most of them were Tutsi. The main question is usually how did this occur? On April 6,1994, a plane was shot down and the Habyarimana and Burduni’s president were in that plane. There were some that had blamed Tutsis extremist. Not even a few hours after the plane crash, the presidential guard together with members of the Rwandan armed forces and Hutu militias decided to set up roadblocks and barricades and began to slaughter Tutsis and moderate Hutus. When the Rwandan genocide ended, the militias fled into the Congo when the Tutsi’s took control of the government. Whenthis occurred the militia groups used Hutu refugee camps in Eastern Congo as bases for their ongoing attacks in Rwanda. Years later, Kabila cut relations with his Rwanda supporter which also caused some conflict. In 2001 President Kabila was assassinated which led for his son Joseph to be the next leader. Joseph eventually switched some policies that his father made.within the year, the United Nations deployed a peacekeeping mission into the country which is also called “The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Throughout the years even when the peace agreements were signed and the international peacekeeping groups did everything they could to intervene, fighting continued in DRC. The main group that continued to fight was led by General Nkunda. Nkunda reason to continue to fight was to “protect the Tutsi ethnic group in the Congo from Hutu extremist who also fled from the country after the genocide”. Unfortunately, even the largest UN peacemaking mission in 2008 failed to protect the cities committed by the rebel’s groups and the government troops, and the hometown militias. According to BBC what makes it so hard to handle this whole issue is
that there are so many various of groups so it’s harder to track back where everything isoriginated. And even though The Congo managed to arrest the rebel leader in 2009, the population still lives under threats of being attacked.
today is due to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The Rwanda genocide was from April to July in 1994 and 800,000 people were killed and most of them were Tutsi. The main question is usually how did this occur? On April 6,1994, a plane was shot down and the Habyarimana and Burduni’s president were in that plane. There were some that had blamed Tutsis extremist. Not even a few hours after the plane crash, the presidential guard together with members of the Rwandan armed forces and Hutu militias decided to set up roadblocks and barricades and began to slaughter Tutsis and moderate Hutus. When the Rwandan genocide ended, the militias fled into the Congo when the Tutsi’s took control of the government. Whenthis occurred the militia groups used Hutu refugee camps in Eastern Congo as bases for their ongoing attacks in Rwanda. Years later, Kabila cut relations with his Rwanda supporter which also caused some conflict. In 2001 President Kabila was assassinated which led for his son Joseph to be the next leader. Joseph eventually switched some policies that his father made.within the year, the United Nations deployed a peacekeeping mission into the country which is also called “The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Throughout the years even when the peace agreements were signed and the international peacekeeping groups did everything they could to intervene, fighting continued in DRC. The main group that continued to fight was led by General Nkunda. Nkunda reason to continue to fight was to “protect the Tutsi ethnic group in the Congo from Hutu extremist who also fled from the country after the genocide”. Unfortunately, even the largest UN peacemaking mission in 2008 failed to protect the cities committed by the rebel’s groups and the government troops, and the hometown militias. According to BBC what makes it so hard to handle this whole issue is
that there are so many various of groups so it’s harder to track back where everything isoriginated. And even though The Congo managed to arrest the rebel leader in 2009, the population still lives under threats of being attacked.
The Greatest Silence Documentary
"A lot of people in the West consider it too complicated, and it's not complicated. It's a resource war. It's a holocaust in slow motion."
The documentary, the greatest silence it is filmed by a rape victim in America. It shows the damage of rape as a war weapon. She interviews rape victims who aren’t even 1 years old and they aren’t even expected to live that long. She even manages to interview a 89 year old woman who was brutally raped. She also interviews the rapists as well. These militia men have raped an average of 4 to 28 women. Their theory as to why they rape women is that it provides them a “magic potion” and the only way to receive that potion is if they have sex with women. According to these men it helps them win the war. Most of these men also make sure that the women are already healthy by looking at them. In the whole documentary, there was only one “special victims” officer. The funding is so bad that she must pay for her own taxi fare. There is only one hospital for these victims. Not only is there only one hospital, but in this hospital, there is only one doctor. So, there is only one man who is trying to reconstruct these women’s reproductive systems and their bladders.
Understanding Rape
First, we need to start with how rape is described according to the International Criminal Court or ICC for short. Rape is considered a “crime against humanity” and it composed of 4 elements. The first component talks about the “perpetrators’ invasion of an individual’s body by conducting resulting in penetration. The penetration does not have to be done by a sexual organ, it can be done by an object or any other part of the body. The second component states “the invasion was committed by force, or threat of force or coercion”. This can be caused by several factors. Some of these factors are but not limited to detention, duress, violence, and psychological oppression, among others. The third and fourth elements explain that the sexual acts committed were done so “as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, and the perpetrator were aware of these intended motives”. These elements help us understand the legal understanding of rape but the key element of rape is that “its infused with gendered power dynamics”. It has been clear that rape is more about power versus sex. Wartime rape is a common reoccurrence in the Congo throughout the many conflicts it has dealt with but there are also different categories of rape committed by the military. The reason why wartime rape has increased so much is because it has shown the effectiveness as a weapon of war. These acts help “subdue, punish, or take the revenge upon entire communities”.In the Congo, there are four types of rape that occur. The types are individual rape, gang rape, rape in which victims are forced to rape each other, and rape involving objects being inserted into the victim’s genitals. Individual rape occurs to about 20% of the women in the Congo according to the UN. 79% of the women in the Congo are gang raped (UN). Interviews in the Congo showed that women have experienced raped by at least two men at the same time. Force rape is self-explanatory but usually militia men force family members to rape their mother, fathers, their daughters, or even sisters and brothers. 70% of women in the Congo have been tortured during their rape especially when they try to fight back. Militia men are known to mutilate their genitals by burning them or wounding them by machetes. Some women die because the attackers fire shots into them.Rape in the Congo not only destroys the women mentally but it destroys their way of life. The men in the Congo not only sexually assault them and give them the risk of the HIV, but they mutilate them and most of these women have something called fistula. The cause of Fistula is because these soldiers insert guns and sticks inside of these women. Because of this, they tear their vaginal walls and they sometimes destroy them so severely these women do not have bladders. Leading for women to unconsciously urinate all over themselves.
After researching about the Congo I was not only surprised but I was also very angry. I was more angry because none of what I learned is no where in the media. What I mentioned above is not what has happened in the past. This is going on right now while I type this. There are thousands of women who are not only being raped and tortured but they are dying. Yes there is some help being done but is that enough? The only down fall to what is going on is that it is so dangerous for people (especially a woman) to go in the Congo, that people don't want to risk going to the Congo to help. But you do not just have to go to the Congo in order to help. The first step would be to 1)educate yourself: If I did not choose this country I would not have any idea of the issues. The next and final step is help contribute some way. Maybe not in money because unfortunately with the Congo there is EXTREME corruption, so there is no guarantee that your money will go to that location. Find ways to donate clothes, water, etc. The Congo has had some improvement but it is still far away. These females can be your mom,daughter, sister, wife,etc. Imagine if they were scared to just walk outside because a milita man is waiting in the bushes to rape and mutilate them.
"Not All Heroes wear capes. Not all angels have wings"
I felt that it was appropriate to give this man his own section. His name is Dr. Denis Mukwege and he is the founder and medical director of the Panzi Hospital in Democratic Republic of the Congo. He founded this hospital in 1999. Since then he has helped take care of more than 50,000 women who were raped violently. He not only treats survivors, he provides them legal advice and psychological services for these patients. He has been an advocate for these women and has done everything he can to stop sexual violence. In October 2012 Dr. Mukewage and his family was attacked. This occurred after he talked about the 16 year old conflict and felt that the people should be brought to justice and prosecuted. Him and his family fled from the Congo. In 2013 he then came back to the hospital and continued his work to save lives.
"Ladies and gentlemen,
Women in Africa are carrying the family and the economy on their shoulders. If even a single woman is physically harmed and destroyed psychologically, the cycle of violence and poverty is perpetuated.
We cannot continue to neglect the rights of more than half the world’s population. We know that when women are healthy and educated, families, communities, and society as a whole flourishes.
It is time to act and put words into action. It is time to fill the gap between the law and its implementation. It is time to engage men and boys, with women and girls, in the struggle to end patriarchal discrimination and gender based abuses. It is time to draw a red line against rape as a weapon of war, as a weapon of oppression. It is time to unite and act together for our common humanity, towards freedom from want globally.
Finally, please allow me to share with you a message from my patients: they express the need for peace and democracy in the heart of Africa! Together, we must create an environment in which the social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights of women and girls can be fully enjoyed, and where they will fully be able to contribute to the betterment of our world, free from want and free from fear.
I trust we will prevail!"
Thank you.
Doctor Mukwege, MD, PhD
"Ladies and gentlemen,
Women in Africa are carrying the family and the economy on their shoulders. If even a single woman is physically harmed and destroyed psychologically, the cycle of violence and poverty is perpetuated.
We cannot continue to neglect the rights of more than half the world’s population. We know that when women are healthy and educated, families, communities, and society as a whole flourishes.
It is time to act and put words into action. It is time to fill the gap between the law and its implementation. It is time to engage men and boys, with women and girls, in the struggle to end patriarchal discrimination and gender based abuses. It is time to draw a red line against rape as a weapon of war, as a weapon of oppression. It is time to unite and act together for our common humanity, towards freedom from want globally.
Finally, please allow me to share with you a message from my patients: they express the need for peace and democracy in the heart of Africa! Together, we must create an environment in which the social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights of women and girls can be fully enjoyed, and where they will fully be able to contribute to the betterment of our world, free from want and free from fear.
I trust we will prevail!"
Thank you.
Doctor Mukwege, MD, PhD
How to Help?
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Rape as a weapon of War
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