Congo Rape Action Event - October 6th, 6 p.m. - To develop our action strategy for WILPF NY Metro's Project Congo.

The meeting will be held at the 1199 SEIU Union Hall, Bread and Roses Gallery, 310 W. 43rd St. (bet. 8th & 9th Aves.) Take the A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, B, D, F, V, N, Q, R, or W to 42nd Street. Come hear Bibiane Tshefu speak about the situation in Congo and see assorted clips from films about Congo, some of which are part of WILPF's NY Metro's Trudy Orris Film Series.

Background

Since its independence from Belgium in 1960, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the Congo) formerly known as Zaire, has been a hotbed of violence and conflict. Straddling the equator, the central African country has a tropical and humid climate. The Congo is surrounded by the countries of Angola, Zambia, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.

The Congo’s population, which is 56 million, comprises more than 200 ethnic groups. An estimated 65 percent of the population can read and write in French, the official language. The proportion of people who have entered primary school has decreased steadily since the wars began in 1993.

Rich mineral deposits, competing tribal groups, a brutal colonial legacy and vast stretches of forest have always made the nation ripe for foreign intervention and political chaos. The eastern Congo, where uncertain borders are remote from the capital of Kinshasa, has especially served as a haven and a battleground for Congolese insurgents and armed groups spilling over from wars in neighboring countries. The end of the Rwandan genocide sent thousands of Hutu militiamen, the interahamwe, responsible for the mass murder of Tutsis and moderate Hutus, fleeing to the Congolese forests, where they were pursued by the new Tutsi-dominated Rwandan army.

Their struggle became entangled with a long-running insurgency against the crumbling Mobutu regime and cross-border tensions with other nations, helping to fuel the First and Second Congo Wars. The latter, lasting from 1998 to 2003, involved six African nations and some 20 armed groups and led to the death of nearly 4 million people, earning it the epithet “Africa’s First World War.” Child soldiers, drugs, superstition and a virulent terrorizing of women characterized the fighting.

Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/guides/456900/456977/html/nn3page1...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3075537.stm.

WILPF is Building the Beloved Community by seeking to understand and address racism and discrimination in our society. Discussion about these issues is crucial to finding a viable solution. Add your voice and reason to the conversation.

WILPF is Challenging Corporate Power through education beginning with a six-week course developed by WILPF, which is being held across the world. A course will be held this summer. Call the WILPF New York Metro office to enroll.

WILPF is Disarming The War Economy by linking the effect of the for-profit war machine on our day-to-day lives. With the Raging Grannies and through song, art and satire we work to bring the immoral cost of the Iraq occupation home.