WAR IN CONGO

The war in Congo is killing almost 45000 people every month (The Guardian, 22/01/2008) .The war has so far killed more than 3 million people. It is the deadliest conflict in human history since World War 2. However we live in a world which does not care about it, because it is blacks who are killing each other. As a matter of fact the conflict in Darfur- do not get me wrong, the killings there are unacceptable- attracts much more media attention. But it is different, because some Arabian tribes are killing Black Africans tribes. Furthermore the underground is full of oil.
There are also lot of natural resources in Congo; unfortunately one can extract the resources in a war zone without problems. The sites are secure with very well armed guards. As I watched a report on CNN international the other day, the government or its representatives on the ground are corrupted. Of course the companies which extract the minerals pay some taxes but not what they should pay. Besides the workers are underpay and work in conditions close to that of their ancestors 100 years ago. I can’t imagine what is like being injured in those mines in a remote area in Congo. They have no access to modern hospitals. And even if some infirmaries or hospitals exist they do not have the money to pay the treatments. The world is not really involved because it is a very complex situation. But by the way involvement does not mean solutions at the end. Look at the Israelian-Palestinian conflict. People get involved but no results so far.
So the situation is much more complex in Congo. It has to do with colonisation, bad governance, corruption, and natural resources. We can also include different ethnic groups who hate each other, and a huge market for weapons smugglers. They play an explosive role in the conflict. The truth is we are all guilty at some point of this. As a matter of fact some of the minerals which are extracted in Congo are being used in electronic components. And do not forget the environment, the warriors in this area are also animal smugglers and they are decimating species such as elephants. They killed them with bazookas. How funny is that?
But I am optimistic. The Congo is independent since the sixties. Some countries or continents like Europe were in war for centuries. People seem sometimes to forget their own bloody and violent history, especially in Europe. That is not a reason of course to do nothing to stop this stupid war.