Unmentioned Crisis in Africa

I am truly astonished at how easily society becomes drawn to the latest trivial headlines of Britney Spears' mental breakdowns or how certain Middle Eastern nations banned the celebration of Valentine's Day. Yet it is sad to see how we close our eyes to REAL world disasters like the on- going tragedies people in the African region continue to face.

When was the last time we read about the 5.4 million people who have died in the DR Congo  since 1998?

A recent report published by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) states,

The persisting humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is among the most complex, deadly and prolonged ever documented. The wars of 1996 and 1998 resulted in massive disruption to the social, political and economic fabric of the country.

Rape is used as a weapon of war in Congo. Armed groups rape to terrorize and control women and communities and to humiliate families. It's calculated and it's brutal.

"It was not uncommon to hear accounts of armed groups seizing young women from farms or water points and enslaving them and raping them for one to three months," says Sarah Mosely, who oversees IRC programs for rape survivors in eastern Congo." 

An article by the AFP also says,

Kenya, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo have all been in the grip of severe political unrest which has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes and left many women and children vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. 

"It seems there is a licence to rape when everything falls apart, in the sense that it becomes legitimate to do things that you otherwise never would do... "

I urge you to view the first video titled 5,400,000 to get a better visual understanding of the ongoing crisis men, women, and children cope with on a daily basis in the DR Congo.