Killing in the Congo

250,000 women raped, mutilated, tortured
10 month old baby raped by 35 year old man
Almost 6 million dead...
Multinational Corporations plundering of Congo's gold, diamonds, coltan, cobalt and other natural resources.

Something must be done

At the beginning of May I attended a "Teach In" organized by the Toronto V-Day campaign. V-day was started by Eve Ensler of Vagina Monologue fame, and each year she shines a spotlight on women from different countries in the world that are suffering from violence, in-equality and hardship. This year the spotlight is on The Democratic Republic of Congo. I was fortunate enough to hear the voices of those working to publicize the atrocities taking place in the Congo and gain a deeping understanding of the origins of the violence.

This past friday I attended another lecture at U of T organized by "Friends of the Congo". There were four speakers, all deeply involved and one who had travelled to the Congo and shared her experiences.

I would like to share what I learned with you...it is so so so important that we educate ourselves outside of this bubble that we live in. Please read as much as you can and visit the links provided. Be AWARE, because another genocide is taking place in the world, with people dying everyday and it CAN be stopped.

The following are the notes that I took, many of which are not my own words, but those of the speakers...

Many would say that the Democratic Repulic of Congo is the heart of Africa. It has a population of 65 million people, is the size of Western Europe and has $24 trillion worth of natural resources. That is total to the GDP of the U.S. and the European Union. It has the largest agricultural capacity of any country in the world! Has the 2nd largest RAINFOREST in the world. The land of the Congo contains every mineral on the periodic table.

As a result there is a resource war taking place, involving many Western nations, including CANADA. Minerals like Coltan are used to make electronics in the Western world. Multinational corporations are providing war lords with weapons to control the mines and seize resourceful land in order to maintain control over manufacturing cheap electronics. Soldiers are coming in from other countries like Uganda and Rwanda to seize control of land. This has resulted in so many people being displaced and killed. The Congo is being destabilized by using women as weapons of war. Women are being raped systematically, not just by one man, but by many. Raped infront of their children, their children getting raped, and not with intercourse, with knives, and guns and foreign objects.

One of the speakers actually showed us pictures of the vagina's of some of the women who had been raped. We saw a 22 year old woman who had been raped by 5 men, a 53 year old woman who have been raped by 7 men. A 6 week old baby, a 10 month old baby and a 6 year old child.

UNBELIEVABLE.

There have been 10 Canadian companies implicated in a UN report of the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and other forms of Wealth in the Congo.

I invite you to do your own research as this is just a brief introduction to the issue. The Congo has a long history of imperialistic rule, which has played a huge part in the state of the country today.

There is no certified Coltan coming from the Congo ( certified meaning it has been obtained fairly)
Everytime you use your laptop (I am writing on one right now) play a video game, or answer your cell phone, think that there was a Congolese woman who was raped in order to supply you with that luxury.

Foreign countries need to be held accountable for thier company's actions. They should not be allowed to exploit the lack of good governance in the DRC.
Check your investment portfolio to find out what companies you are invested in- specific Canadian companies involved, I will post the names once I get them from the organizers.
Become a "friend of the congo"
Pressure political leaders to practice aggressive diplomacy.

Things that can be done- Spread the word. It is ridiculous that Susan Boyle gets so much media coverage and hardly anything is being said about the 5.4 million that have died and are still being killed in Congo.