As diplomatic American officials attempt to ease tensions between Israel and Hamas as well as intervene in other countries in an effort to end strife; I often wonder why more is not done to help the people in other parts of the world. People, who are victims of war and for years, have lived in constant uncertainty and despair about their future.
For years, I have often written about the continuous war and rape that has been occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For years, through the pages of the Recorder my staff and I have tried to raise awareness about the ills that country faces.
Sometimes it seems like we are the only media interested.
Which actually leads me to a couple of questions: Why aren’t more media talking about the immense immoral, inhumane and outright wrong treatment people in the Congo are subjected to? Why haven’t America and other stronger countries of the world gotten more involved?
Is it because there is no “value” in the Congo worthy of intervention? The United States and other entities intervene in other countries, generally because there is some sort of vested interest, be it oil, food or some other profitable entity. Right now there is none. While it sounds harsh, it is a reality. Country A generally helps Country B if there is a benefit to Country A. Intervention is generally established when there is a resource-oriented benefit, including money. It certainly doesn’t excuse the maltreatment that I feel the Congo gets from other parts of the world, but it does offer a modicum of insight.
While I understand that the millions in the Congo have suffered immensely and even died over the last 12 years, it was the words of Vava Tampa, founder of Save the Congo that painted an even clearer picture for me.
In a recent blog, Tampa wrote, “The wars in that country have claimed nearly the same number of lives as having a 9/11 every single day for 360 days, the genocide that struck Rwanda in 1994, the ethnic cleansing that overwhelmed Bosnia in the mid-1990s, the genocide that took place in Darfur, the number of people killed in the great tsunami that struck Asia in 2004, and the number of people who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki – all combined and then doubled.”
The wars in the Democratic Congo have claimed more lives than all of the aforementioned instances … and then double that number. If Tampa’s example doesn’t give you a true account of the devastation that country is enduring, I am not sure you are human and capable of producing emotions.
So why should America care?
Well, I care for a multitude of reasons. One reason is simply because people are suffering and they need help. Everyday, thousands of Congolese are recruited as child soldiers, killed, severely mutilated or raped by militia groups. As a matter of fact, Congo is often referred to as “the rape capital of the world.” So I care because people are hurting and they are in desperate need of assistance.
I also care because I have a dear friend who is a native of the Congo. He and his wife have two beautiful and smart children. I would love if their children could one day visit the Congo to see firsthand where their parents were born, but because of the turmoil, I would hope that the Congo was a safer, more stable place before such a visit occurred.
America in general should care because we are considered leaders of the world. We are known for our compassion and tolerance as well as our ability to right wrongs and intervene during challenging times. So rather than pose the question “Why should America care,” I should actually be asking “Why should America not care?”
This week, Amnesty International issued a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration urging the government to “step up its influence at the United Nations and directly with the Congolese government to help protect civilians and supply needed food, water, medicine and shelter.”
At Recorder press time, the Obama administration had yet to respond. It will be interesting to see if the United States ramps up its support for this humanitarian effort or if the issue will be ignored.
You can email comments to Shannon Williams at shannonw@indyrecorder.com.
