DR Congo: A Nation Bleeding, Yet Still Exploited?

UN PEACE KEEPERS IN D.R.C INEFECTIVE

The ravaging war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the past years, have left the country bleeding from inside out. And the sad thing is that nothing or nobody seems to be equipped with the right tools to end this savage war and heal the population once for all. But who is to blame?

In 10 years nearly 5 million people have died, including around 400, 000 who were shot dead. It is no wonder Brian Wood of Amnesty International said: “The level of the death toll in Congo is like having a September 11 each day.”

Just a few weeks ago it was reported how more than half a million people fled their homes from Goma, in Eastern Congo, due to a surge which was said to have been started with gun fires by a bunch of rebels who wanted to take over the country. Their leader, Laurent Nkunda, a Congolese who is originally from Rwanda, is using his harmful remote control to a mess up a government which is trying to recover from 30 years of slavery under a deceased dictator, Mobutu, the former president.

All over the world news streams highlighted reports detailing the level of misery these innocent people were going through during the war outbreak. How appalling. To think that rebels stoop so low to get their way in by destroying lives, leaving burning homes behind them, causing the little ones to go hungry because their parents couldn’t take enough food to sustain them for days on the run? It goes beyond words.

On the other hand, rumour has it that some Western countries have always had their eyes on the wealth of developing countries in Africa, thus they supply rebels with sophisticated weapons enjoying their mineral products in the process. What is known officially is that the neighbouring countries such as Rwanda and Uganda are triggering the war for a reason or another. However, it is believed that a group of experts sent by the UN are carrying out investigations to find out who finances the needless war in Congo, and the truth is yet to be uncovered and exposed.

Still it is true that D.R.C is said to be one of the richest country when it comes to valuing its minerals resources. These include diamond, gold, silver, coltan (a source of tantalum for the capacitors used in electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptop computers) and copper etc. Could these be a good enough reason why this poorly governed country is likely to be exploited? According to the man who has been closely following weapons’ trafficking in eastern Congo, Brian Wood, of Amnesty International “the real cause of the ethnic war is the need to control the minerals’ wealth.”

In the meantime, what about the civilians caught up in the politic of this war? Fair enough the United Nations (UN) are diligent when it comes to mandating military forces to attend a place in crisis. For goodness sake, what are they doing for this exhausted nation? We know that they are called UN Peace Keepers. Apparently their job is to only be present in places of trouble but they have no power. This means they have no right or order to prevent killings of any sort from happening. So what’s the point? Their presence in DRC has proven to be ineffective so far. They might as well pack their bags and go home.