Who Devastated the Congo ?

Who Devastated The Congo?

By Danna Kiel

On Monday, August 8th an op-ed in the New York Times by David Aronson suggested that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act had devastated the Congo. Devastated?…Really ?…yeah…uh no!”  A close look at the country’s timeline from King Leopold to Kabila tells us the Congo has been “devastated”, plundered and "picked over" for much of its history. 

Along the new timeline that emerges to write the Congo’s story there is one mission: Independent Governance by the Congolese for the Congolese in the Congo and the safety and security for it to be so. 

President Barack Obama has said  two key things about Africa first , “"Across Africa, we have seen countless examples of people taking control of their destiny, and making change from the bottom up. ...Make no mistake: history is on the side of these brave Africans, and not with those who use coups or change Constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions. ...”

and second “As we provide this support, I have directed my administration to give greater attention to corruption in our Human Rights report. People everywhere should have the right to start a business or get an education without paying a bribe. We have a responsibility to support those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don't, and that is exactly what America will do. ...”

The current fever pitch of death and destruction across the Congo has only in the last half a decade sustained anybody’s attention long enough for something to be done. In 2006 then Senator Barack Obama co-sponsored PL 109-456 (the first “Obama Law” as it is referred to by the Congolese).  Public Law 109-456 is The Democratic Republic of Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act, which sets 15 policy goals for Kabila and the Congo, as well as, consequences for not meeting those goals.  

The second “Obama Law” for which Aronson (and many others) take aim is the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.  “How Congress Devastated the Congo” is the title of last Monday’s fire-starter.  Aronson points out that after talking to scores of artisanal miners who were making paltry incomes from digging raw ore from the mountainside the de facto embargo on Conflict Mineral mining that has emerged from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform has in fact “devastated the Congo”.

This op-ed and articles across the web (www.ricochet.org, www.atlasshrugs.com and the www.csmonitor.com) from April up to now suggest that the much needed laws to regulate mining practices out of the Congo’s Eastern region are not punishing the intended Warlords, but hurting the smaller mining cooperatives who depend on the uneven trade of their ore for survival.  Aronson’s op-ed sites Nyabibwe and Nzibira as regions where miners blame the second “Obama Law” (the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act) for their economic woes.  Hans Bader of www.atlasshrugs.com even entitled his piece “The “Obama Law” Devastates Impoverished People in the World’s Second Poorest Country The Congo”.  I believe "second poorest" speaks to the existing devastation.  Take a second...think about it!

Did anybody have this much to say when NOTHING was being done about the trade which fueled two invasions by Rwanda? Did anybody have this much to say as the blood of 8 million was shed across the country and concentrated in the Eastern region?  None of the articles or responses I’ve read thus far even count the dead, raped or kidnapped or the role that the mineral trade had in these killings, rapes or kidnappings. There is no doubt that discourse can fuel action, but a discourse without the full scope of events and causalities can misguide and mislead readers and potential advocates. 
 
Aronson posits that, “The Dodd-Frank law has had unintended and devastating consequences, as I saw first hand on a trip to eastern Congo this summer. The law has brought about a de facto embargo on the minerals mined in the region” which is because he says, “No one wants to be tarred with financing African warlords”

Well I hope no one does want to be “tarred” that is with the African Warlords who are the ones who have DEVASTATED the Congo…8 million dead and still counting, 300,000 plus women raped and thousands of children enslaved in the mob-run mines of the region are the realities of Conoglese life that we hope no one including President Obama and the U.S. Congress want to be “tarred” with.

He and other sites go on to suggest there is “confusion” around the intended regions, he even indicts the Enough Project.org ‘s campaign for this unintended “devastation” by inciting a movement against Conflict minerals.  See their response http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sasha-lezhnev/what-conflict-minerals-le_b_922566.html

The op-ed continues that after “32 years of misrule under the kleptocracy of Mobutu Sese Seko (when the country was known as Zaire) that it is now just beginning to emerge from over a decade of brutal war and internal strife.”  In this “jump to” in Congolese history timeline there is no mention of the fact that the 32 years of “misrule under the kleptocracy” of Mobutu Sese Seko ended in 1997.  The killing and raping fields of Goma and the Eastern Region, as well as, the invasion all the way into Kinshasa all began in 1998.  Rwanda invaded Congo for her Minerals and other natural resources.  Rwanda’s only natural exports are coffee, tea and bananas. The economy of Rwanda at times stands solidly on the re-distribution of Coltan stolen from the Congo.
 

While no one in the Geopolitical discussion of Congo disputes challenges brought to the Congo under Mobutu’s Rule (a rule supported and endorsed by the United States until the end of the Cold War); the people of the Congo agree what is taking place now would not have happened under Mobutu’s watch. I am also sure if you ask the 8 million murdered, the 300, 000 plus women brutally raped and thousands of boys kidnapped they might say the same.

As an advocate for the cause of independent governance by the Congolese people, I am only interested in a clear point of access for anyone willing to help.  I talk to anyone who will listen about Congo.  I must always be clear in what I tell them. As I have learned of the Congo’s past and present, I am inspired by the great possibilities of her future. These possibilities cannot be realized without the support and diligence of everyone already involved and those who could become involved.

Last week was a week of energetic debate set off by David Aronson’s clear and passionate op-ed.  Despite concerns about the narrow scope of the piece and the finger pointing, the roof may have finally been raised and the party may finally be in full swing.

What should you do ?

Start with www.friendsofthecongo.org …then go to www.congoinitiative.org then go to http://www.enoughproject.org then go to www.raisehopeforcongo.org just to name a few then “Google” the tags you see on these sites and take in as much information as your heart and head can hold.  Give time, resources and anything you can give to support the youth and the emerging leadership in the Congo.  I repeat...Our only mission is for Independent Governance by the Congolese for the Congolese in the Congo and the safety and security for it to be so.