Democratic Republic Of Congo

[Tomasz Blazak]

All the media coverage of Gaza got me thinking. Why is it we allow our news outlets to control what we are outraged about? 2000 deaths in Gaza have caused international outcry, but the civil war in Congo which officially went on from 1997 until 2010 (and unofficially continues in reality) and claimed over FIVE MILLION LIVES is barely ever mentioned on the news (even going back 10years it wasn't)... Everyone has heard of the darfur massacre (approx 200,000 deaths if I recall correctly) but the Congo barely features in the collective memory of the world...

This is a nation that is the richest in natural resources in the world, but amongst the poorest financially. A nation which has been exploited since it was colonised and is still raped of its mineral wealth.

The reason most of you know nothing about the conflict there? Some of the minerals are vital components in luxury electronics (mobiles, laptops etc) and the war keeps prices for these cheap.

What a damning indictment of the world that we ignore the conflict with the biggest loss of life since WW2 just so we can continue exploiting the nation for cheap consumer goods. Sickening really.

 

[morty]

Having recently worked in Angola, and the DRC, I can confirm that the gulf between the rich and poor is unbelievable, both countries are extremely rich, especially from oil and gas, but still huge numbers live in wrinkly tin shacks.

The unfortunate fact is that Africa has been exploited by the rest of the world in every way, and the sadder fact is that nobody has a problem with this.