Source: A24 Media

The history of DRC has been one of war, terror and corruption. Ordinary citizens are poor, hungry and under-informed.

 

The government is unable to provide decent education or health services. Women, men and children live in fear with violence a part of their daily lives.

 

It is estimated that 48 women are raped every hour. Men too are not spared from this type of abuse. Margot Wallstrom, a senior official in the UN referred to the country as ‘the rape capital of the world.’ With the country due to face elections on the 28th November, one has to wonder if there is any hope for the people of Congo.

 

A24 Media seeks to highlight the plight of the citizens of Congo. To watch the video and see photos, please click on the links.

VIDEOS:
Rape in Congo:
Bukanga town has been named by the United Nations as the rape capital of the world. It is a place where 25 people are raped per day on average. Statistics show that 24% of men and 39% of women have been raped.

Congo refugees:
Kisoro in Western Uganda on the border with the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) has recently seen an influx of refugees due to the current conflict between the forces of rebel leader Laurant Nkunda and those of Congolese President Joseph Kabila.

Tears from Goma:
They are the women of despair, denigrated, tortured and almost forgotten. They are victims of horror, victims of fistula.

Shukuru finds his family:
Three young boys (two brothers and a friend) found in Béni get ready to be re-united with their families in Rutshuru. We follow Shukuru Ndagije who is going to be reunited with his aunt. Shukuru followed military men northward when conflict burst and found himself in Béni where International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) met him. And when a child named Gloria is reunited with her family, it is evident to see the faces of the family washed with glory as they embrace the little one with pouring love and emotion.

Transport tribulation:
As the rains in DRC become heavier, the transport sector comes to a near standstill with pot-holed roads and poor public service transport management; people are having to wait over two hours for buses that mostly do not show up.

Elephant butchering in DRC:
How many elephants are left in the D.R.Congo? This is the question most conservationists are asking as a combination of fast money and harsh economic times push ivory and elephant meat hunters in DRC to the bushes. Elephant butchering in the DRC has become commonplace and the sight of barrel chested poachers wielding machetes and marching towards the grasslands, marshes, and forests has become an everyday occurrence.

DRC Congo Bonobos:
The Democratic Republic of Congo holds the second largest rainforest basin in the World, covering around 1.6 million square Kilometers. However, human encroachment is reducing this area, threatening biodiversity, and entire species, tendency conservationists are fighting with more and more success.

Blood minerals:
Joseph Kabila won Congo’s last presidential election on promises of peace and prosperity. But today, eastern Congo remains a dangerous, lawless place. As elections loom again, a new initiative may help Congo’s leaders bring the restive region to heel.

IMAGES:
Children in DRC:
In the war-torn country of the Democratic Republic of Congo, children bear the brunt of constant conflict, disease and death, not only as victims; they are also forced participants in atrocities and egregious crimes that can and does inflict lifelong physical and psychological harm to them. The recruitment of child soldiers in the DRC has been on the increase and the central African nation is reported to have one of the world’s largest numbers of child soldiers.