Cultures of Resistance

The Cultures of Resistance team has filmed conflicts around the world in an effort to build support for ending these everyday tragedies. The ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has plagued the country for nearly 15 consecutive years, is a situation about which we are particularly concerned. CoR is proud to support the efforts of Friends of the Congo (FOTC), which is working to raise awareness and build international solidarity with the Congolese people.

CoR director Iara Lee recently wrote a piece for her Huffington Post blog about our complicity in the violence in the Congo:

Whether it is racism, cowardice, or some combination of the two (they are not mutually exclusive) it has come to pass that what is happening in central Africa is somehow OK to accept, or even worse, to ignore here in the west as something distant and abstract. But the fact is that this is not an abstraction but a blunt reality for so many fellow human beings--and we, and in this I include myself, are complicit and in many ways responsible for what is happening in the Congo.

Click here to read more.

Cultures of Resistance Director Iara Lee spent several weeks in the DRC/Congo, during which she created five short films documenting the struggles of the Congolese people. Click here to view them now.

A Long History of the Resource Curse

The Congolese people have long suffered from the exploitation of their natural resources. In 1885, it became a possession of King Leopold II of Belgium, who used its people and mineral wealth for his personal profit, killing an estimated 10 million people in the process. The exploitation and violence under Leopold continued to haunt the country into its independence. The Friends of the Congo report that during one of Africa's most notorious dictatorships, Mobutu Sese Sekou amassed a US $4 billion personal fortune through controlling the country's gold, diamonds, and numerous other natural resources.

Following the end of Mobutu's rule in 1997, the struggle to control the country's resources escalated as it was plunged into two wars after invasions by Uganda and Rwanda. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) estimates that over 5.6 million people have died in the Congo as a result of these wars—making it the deadliest conflict since the Second World War—and hundreds of thousands of women have been systematically raped as a tool of war. In 2003, democratic rule was once again established in the Congo; however, it continues to be plagued by violence, corruption, and exploitation.

The Global North's Complicity

The exploitation of Congo's natural resources plays a central role in the ongoing violence. Armed groups battle over mineral-rich areas, killing civilians and raping women in the process. Innocent civilians are forced to work in unsafe mines or help smuggle gold and tin into neighboring countries at the risk of being hijacked or murdered by rival groups. Human Rights Watch reports that, in the northeastern region, where the most violence has occurred, "between January and September 2009 over 1,300 civilians were slaughtered, the majority of them women, children, and the elderly; thousands of civilians were abducted and pressed into forced labor; and more than 900,000 people fled for their lives."

North American and European corporations have long been deeply involved in this conflict. Many of the resources commonly found in the Congo are central to manufacturing the cell phones and mp3 players that we use each day. Though these foreign corporations' complicity continues to go under-reported, civil society groups have had some success in bring attention to the issue. The most recent proof of this came in a provision in the U.S. financial reform law that requires any publicly traded company in the U.S. that buys these minerals from the Congo or its neighbors to report on how they were acquired. Companies that are funding armed groups must then publicly declare what, if any, action they are taking to withdraw their support for the ongoing violence.

While this is a step in the right direction, it falls terribly short of what is needed. The law only requires public disclosure, leaving it up to consumers to educate themselves about different companies' conduct. It also fails to spell out any way of monitoring these reports to confirm their legitimacy. We must demand stronger legislation that makes it possible to prosecute companies contributing to this bloodshed. And until such laws are passed, we must take up targeted boycotts against companies that are profiting from the murder and rape of the Congolese people.

Take Action

Friends of the Congo recommends the following ways for you to get involved and act in solidarity with the people of the Congo:

• Participating in Break the Silence Congo Week. The purpose of the Break the Silence Congo Week is to raise awareness about the devastating situation in the Congo and to mobilize support on behalf of the people of the Congo. In its first year, in 2008, people from over 35 countries and 150 universities carried out coordinated demonstrations to draw attention to the violence in the DRC. Friends of the Congo can help you join this international movement and organize an event in your community that will coincide with actions by groups across the world. FOTC provides program materials, appropriate speakers, and advice based on their previous experience. Click here to find out more.
• Advocating for the implementation and enforcement of section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, which requires U.S. corporations to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when they are knowingly engaged in the conflict minerals trade. Click here to urge your local elected officials to enforce this law and to guarantee that the U.S. is no longer complicit in the suffering of the Congolese peoples. For those of you in the United Kingdom, consider supporting Global Witness, which has brought the British government to court for not reporting companies profiting from the conflict, which would make them in violation of UN sanctions.
• Joining the Friends of the Congo. You can stay informed of any upcoming events or campaigns that will take place in your area. Also, membership fees have enabled Friends of the Congo to organize delegations of international journalists to the Congo, support health clinics for victims of sexual violence, and sponsor young Congolese Hip Hop artists to teach social justice to their peers.