Globalization: The Problem, Not the Solution.

Globalization has brought both benefits and harm to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Through globalization, technology and medical supplies have been able to reach the country. Many deaths have been prevented and some people have been able to live longer and healthier lives. However, it has also negatively affected the DRC. Globalization had caused the violent war within the country and now continues to fuel the conflict.
Though the war involves several countries within Africa, the main sources of the war came from outside of the continent. “In many ways, this war in the DRC was a war over mineral resources used in the global economy. The DRC has valuable deposits of diamonds, coltan, copper, tin, and cassiterite.” ( http://www.globalministries.org ) Major corporations who needed these natural resources have competed to gain access to valuable deposits within the DRC. For example, coltan can be refined into a material which is found in technological devices. Some of these technological devices include cell phones, laptops, and computer chips. Despite the fact that these companies never take part in the war themselves, they indirectly influence the conflict because its outcome may benefit them. They were basically responsible for the entire war.
Globalization has further fueled the war through technology. None of the firearms that were used in conflict were actually made in the countries involved in the war. Through globalization, these killing machines have been able to be imported into Africa from the more developed areas of the world like North America and Europe. As a result, more than 2.5 million people have died from being shot by these very weapons. Globalization has also provided armies in the DRC with global communication devices. With this technology, troops are able to communicate over vast distances. Consequently, the war and violence spread throughout the country and caused the war to last much longer.
The effects of globalization through the war have been horrifying. “Preventable diseases, such as measles, whooping cough, bubonic plague, cholera, malaria, and worms, increased.” (http://www.globalministries.org) Thousands have been unable to easily access medical supplies or drinkable water. The scarcity of safe drinking water has led to an extremely high rate of waterborne diseases. Ironically, the DRC holds one of the largest rivers in the world in terms of volume. Rape has also been used as a weapon of war. Sadly, it isn’t uncommon for women to be raped and mutilated in the DRC. Some are even taken from their homes and are forced into human trafficking. They are transported all over the world to be used as sex slaves. It is because of this that the country is now regarded as the “Rape Capital of the World”.
Though seen as a solution to the current issues within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, globalization initially caused the problems and now continues to fuel the fire it created. The current state of the DRC is due to the advancement of technology, transportation, and the world economy.
-AJ DELGS

Congo - Education

With all the turmoil occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is not farfetched to say that children as a whole are neglected. Education in the Congo is a problem that is continuously rising for children. As a result of financial deficits in the country and individual family’s, children are forced to be pulled from educational programs and forced to engage themselves in other work. According to an article, 150 million dollars are donated to education assistance, which is 5% of all aid attributed to the Congo. This breaks down to 2 dollars being issued to each individual student to help be sent to school. When compared to other countries, children in Afghan countries receive 19 dollars. This margin is drastic and aid to the Congo needs to be reevaluated.
In addition to fiscal problem in the Congo being the reason for children not attending school, Indigenous children are neglected and exiled from being taught. However, in recent years with the assistance of UNICEF and the Christian church, charities and fundraiser are being founded to help these exiled children receive the education they deserve. Christian missionaries come to the Congo and help teach these children and with help thirteen new churches have been established for these children.
The primary reason for education being so crucial to children is to help them become literate and especially keep them out of the turmoil occurring in the country around them. Being in school would provide a form of safety for the children and keep them preoccupied from the continuous war occurring in their own backyard. In my opinion if more children were enrolled in educational programs, they would be kept away from violence more than they are now. In addition to this I believe that the children would gain a basic education that will help them to become successful in life and lead to them to have an even brighter future then what is in store for them initially. Without an education one cannot go to far in life and having the basics down will provide a significant amount for the children of the Congo. The Congo need all the financial aid it can to put its children through school and it is up to people like us to make that difference and help out in any possible way
article used : http://www.theirc.org/news/primary-education-all-out-reach-congo%E2%80%99s-children-7381

Please watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lkwMNL_ESE

The Interactive Radio For Justice: The Heroes of the Congolese People

For many of the Congolese people, the situation in their region seems grim. In natural resource abundant Ituri, more than 50,000 people have been killed since 1999. It is easy to see how the common person can lose hope and give up; but, there is a group of people dedicated to keeping the Congo filled with hope for a better future.

This group, called The Interactive Radio for Justice (www.irfj.org) provides a medium with which the Congolese citezens can communicate with government authorities and vice versa. For example, in March, 2007, a question was raised by a Congolese woman concerned about the violent soldiers living in her town of Ituri. "Did soldiers need to continue living with civilians?" Within a week, the head of the Ituri military court announced that he would move the soldiers out of the town and put them into barracks of their own. Go to for more details.
Because of the Interactive Radio for Justice, the people can stop being afraid of being persecuted and actually voice their opinions to the government. Using the radio station as a way to speak anonymously, they are able to actually say what is on their minds. Even if the government does not agree with the people and does not do what they request, at least they are listening. The radio station creates awareness for the opinion of the common Congolese citezen. "Even people who perpetrate crimes here listen. And they will be scared. Because when they make trouble, they will know that the citizens know they are making trouble." -Bolemba Mambo, a farmer whose land was taken by the government.
To me, the people who run this radio program are the heroes of the Congolese people because they give the voice back to the Congolese people. When the government does something the people want because of the radio program, they can feel good about themselves because they are fixing the situation themselves. The Interactive Radio for Justice director, Wanda Hall, in an interview with The Voice, (an African news magazine in the netherlands) said, "My career has built around the concept that people have the right to create their own society; where individual voice is respected and the common good is decided through civic participation". In order to get this radio station off the ground, Wanda Hall and her team needed to first construct antennae in Ituri while being under fire by Congolese soldiers. Although being pressured, the team did not run away.
It is because of these brave people who risk their lives every time they put on a radio show that the Congolese people are able to get anything done. They force the powers that be to listen to what the people have to say. I admire the ingenuity of these people to find a safe way for Congolese citezens to voice their opinions and perhaps with a little help, they can create a Congo that satisfies all of its opposing forces.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0322/p20s01-woaf.html
www.irfj.org
Mark

Missionaries Pull Out in Time

The missionaries working in the Congo have been having a hard time spreading the faith when there are bullets flying over their heads. The Congo is in a constant state of turmoil because it is infested with violence. The Congo needs as much help as it can get, not only from missionaries but also doctors and teachers. “Everywhere in the Congo, Africans begged missionaries to stay on. In several areas, crowds kept evacuation planes from landing in order to forestall the departure of their doctors and teachers.” http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869676,00.html#ixzz0nC7Iw0U1. The state of the Congo gets so bad on a regular basis that some of the volunteers must evacuate immediately or they will die. The inhabitants obviously need the volunteer’s help the most when there is an emergency or a large act of destruction. The inhabitants prevent the volunteers from leaving any way they can. This is putting the volunteers’ lives in danger.

I believe that the missionaries are just as important as the other volunteers in the Congo, which include doctors and teachers. The doctors are there to save lives and help the injured but the missionaries are there to spread God’s message. If the missionaries do an outstanding job then peace and love will thrive in the Congo. The violence can be stopped through Christianity. The country is in a state of chaos and Christianity seems to provide hope to the Congolese. Christianity lets the suffering victims believe there is an after life. This means they have something to live for, something to keep them going in such a depressing state. Christianity also teaches morals and shows the Congolese how to act towards each other.

When the missionaries pull out in a state of emergency the Africans have to continue with Christianity so it can flourish. Reverend Glenn Murray, who is a missionary in the Congo, says "This whole thing will work out best for the church. It was very difficult to pull out and leave them, but now the Africans will have to take over the church themselves and accept responsibility, and perhaps they will develop it into even a more worthwhile thing than we could.” http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869676,00.html#ixzz0nC9N4NFM
The missionaries are important in the Congo since they teach them the fundamentals of Christianity which provide lessons on respect and righteous living. Although the missionaries are spreading the word of God it is up to the Congolese to interpret and apply these lessons to their lives, and maybe through this they can stop the violence.
FILIP

Religion vs Abuse of Women in the Congo

Due to the civil war, violence against women in the Congo has been worst than ever. Sexual violence throughout Congo is rampant and rebel groups, the armed forces, and national police are to blame. But does Christianity have any role to play in the atrocious acts? Christianity is the majority religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Eighty percent of the Congolese population is Christian.

Christian influence is to blame for these detrimental acts against women due to the fact that the uneducated inhabitants of the Congo may have misinterpreted the Church’s teachings. It is not that Christian missionaries educated the natives to act this way, but that rather than teaching the moral aspect of Christianity, the missionaries sought to expand the Church by influencing these vulnerable and impoverished people of the Congo. This must have led to misinterpretation of Christianity’s teachings by the Congolese people. Most of the natives of the Congo were tribal and barbaric when Christianity had arrived, so it is reasonable to say that the indigenous inhabitants may have been influenced negatively by the introduction of the religion. Numbers 31:17-18 states “Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.” I am not sure how the Catholic Church interprets this verse, but it seems exceptionally sexist. How can an uneducated inhabitant of the Congo hear of this verse and not be influenced to refer to the idea of committing crimes against women? It seems that it is the command of the Christian “God” to act in the repulsive manner. The connection of Christianity to the abuse of women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is evident. I believe religion must take some of the blame for actions of the effortlessly influenced populace of the Congo towards women. - Tim R