The Congo: What media Ignores

By Hadicha Abduvalieva, ha154@uakron.edu

For centuries, the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been repeatedly exploited and abused. Pre colonial congo was under the control of various rich kings who excessively taxed and worked the Congolese or else were sold to slavery. During Belgian colonialism from 1908 to 1960, the Congolese suffered at the greedy hands of a European powerhouse that would extract resources at any costs. Millions were killed under this harsh, dehumanizing rule, and despite the region gaining independence in 1960, the ramifications are still present.

The political state of the Congo was and still is unstable. There grew a rise of inter tribal warfare after foreign powers left the nation’s government in uncertainty. Many militant groups formed to get control over the country; and to add to this state of unrest, the wars of neighboring countries spilled over to the DRC such as Rwanda’s. These conflicts have been going on for decades, but since early this year, there has been a strike of violence in the DRC. Due to many armed forces, there has been exceeding cases of sexual violence, massacres, and kidnappings. Millions have been displaced and are in need of humanitarian aid.

And due to the government’s instability, third parties are easily able to take advantage of the people and use cheap labor to steal the land’s wealth. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is considered the world’s richest country in terms of natural resources. It contains vast reserves of diamonds, gold, zinc, platinum, uranium, and cobalt, ending up as a great target for western nations such as the United States. So despite the country’s abundance in raw materials and riches, the majority of the Congolese live in extreme poverty.

One ore called coltan is used to create heat resisting powder and hold charges within electronic devices. Because of the high demand for this resource, the Congolese undergo harsh labor and exploitation to mine and extract coltan, often in dangerous conditions. The coltan mining reserves also violate many child labor laws. Over tens of thousands of vulnerable children are offered relatively low, yet enticing pay to create a cheap work force. These children end up leaving their education to provide for their families, face harassment while working, and are exposed to dangerous substances such as radon. Some laws were created to protect child rights, yet weren’t well regulated. Not only does coltan farming ruin the life of many Congolese, but also destroys and pollutes habitats and ecosystems with toxic materials.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, for centuries, has been prey to money hungry powers. And to this day, the people are being killed and are suffering from severe poverty, child labor, violence, and displacement. Yet, mainstream media fails to discuss this enough or expose the corrupt businesses who profit on the cost of others. As buyers, we need to pay more attention to the kinds of companies we purchase from and refrain from falling into consumerism. And as the younger generation who have access to so much information with just a few clicks, we have responsibility to spread awareness and talk about such conflicts as much as possible. What’s going on in the DRC is a silent genocide, but we shouldn’t be silent anymore.