The American Mission (41 page)

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T
his is a work of fiction. None of the main characters in the story are real, although I do think the world would be a better place if there were more Albert Ilungas in it and fewer Silwambas. What is not fiction, alas, is the immense suffering that has been inflicted on the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the last twenty years. The Rwandan genocide was the precipitating event that triggered the First Congo War (1996–1997). During and immediately after the genocide, more than a million people from Rwanda crossed into what was then Zaire as refugees. Among them were many of the perpetrators of the violence in Rwanda: the
genocidaires.
Rwandan forces crossed the border to battle
genocidaire
militia groups and the conflict widened, ultimately involving troops from half a dozen countries. The Congo is a baroque cathedral of violence.

The First Congo War was followed quickly by the Second Congo War, which began in 1998. By the time it ended (at least on paper) in 2003, more than five million people were dead, most of them from
disease and starvation. The official end of the war brought neither peace nor prosperity to the country, which had changed its name from Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997. Violence, hunger, and disease still claim an estimated 45,000 lives a month. Nearly three million people have died as a direct or indirect consequence of fighting and political unrest since the signing of the so-called Global and All-Inclusive Agreement on Transition in the DRC. A massive multibillion-dollar UN mission in Congo has done little to provide peace and security.

Cross-border trade in what came to be known as conflict minerals—including gold, diamonds, tungsten, and coltan—fueled the fighting in the Congo. The country's vast mineral wealth gave all of the parties to the violence, Congolese and foreign, both the motive and means to keep fighting. One recent study estimated that armed militia groups control more than half of the mines in the Congo's eastern region. The mines often rely on forced labor, with miners—including children—working shifts up to forty-eight hours long under dangerous conditions. The militiamen use casual violence and rape as tools to control the civilian population.

As of this writing, the DRC is once again under threat of a wider war. M23, a rebel group based in the eastern province of North Kivu, seized control of the city of Goma and its one million inhabitants. The M23 is a relatively new group, but the scenes of widespread fighting in the DRC's wild northeast are all too familiar.

This is necessarily a shorthand sketch of an incredibly complicated and deeply saddening situation. There are numerous resources available, however, for readers who would like to learn more about the DRC's tragic modern history—www.refugeesinternational.org and www.crisisgroup.org are good places to begin. For those who would like to take a deeper look at Congolese history, I recommend the incomparable
King Leopold's Ghost
by Adam Hochschild.

Readers looking to do something to help the people of Congo can
consider making contributions through one of the reputable international aid agencies operating in the country. Caritas, CARE, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Oxfam International are just four of the many organizations active in providing relief and development assistance to those in need. Ultimately, of course, the people of that beautiful but embattled country need more than aid. They need a chance.

A disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Department of
State.