Lexis Galloway
Journal Staff
There is a new weapon of terror for the people of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Rape.
Like many stories of war we hear year after year – many less shocking and more of daily occurrence – the conflict and humanitarian crisis in the Congo, also called “the forgotten crisis,” is no exception.
The United Nations recently released a report of horrific, unjustified attacks of a gang rape that affected at least 200 women by war rebels in the country. I would say the word outrage is an understatement. The fact that U.N. Peacekeepers were stationed up the road when this attack was taking place is appalling, not to mention the fact that very little progress has come out of the Congo since war started there more than 10 years ago.
Women of all ages were beaten, brutalized and sexually assaulted for three days while nothing was done to stop it. What is being called a severe embarrassment for the United Nations mission to keep the peace, in my opinion, is rightly entitled. It is unbelievable that the world’s most powerful organization is unable to protect the people who have absolutely nothing to do with the terror and corruption committed in their country.
What is more devastating about this new report is that it has been happening to Congolese women for years. Women who often have nowhere else to go, many of whom contract HIV/AIDS due to the rapes, are left stripped of everything. Rebel groups who have been integrated to help calm the violence in the eastern Congo may have in fact provoked the sexual attacks – further proving the lack of achievement, despite many years of effort and money.
It is a travesty that situations like this are still occurring, even after all the extensive devotion to the largest peacekeeping effort in the world. Rape is, and has always been, an effective way to break people down and terrorize women. And that’s exactly what is being done.
Something like this would never be able to happen in the US or Europe, so why does it happen in Africa? I am no expert on this war, but I know it is a dire situation over there and I can’t understand why. If all this effort is being put into a war that “officially” ended nearly seven years ago, why are people still dying and women are still being violated?
The ineffectiveness of the peacekeeping troops and U.N. officials is absurd, and although the Congo has put stricter laws into effect against rape and human rights, this recent report is proof enough that the measures taken are still not efficient.
It is possible to stop this, especially with the power of foreign relations and countries that want to see an end to this forgotten war. There is not one solution, but a series of many steps that must be taken to stop the brutal attacks and rape of innocent women. The women of the Congo and their basic human rights should be protected, even if the ongoing fighting cannot be stopped immediately.
