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