I know the math on the picture=1,000 words shtick, but these words on the refugee exodus in the Democratic Republic of Congo combined with these pictures is almost a novel I can't even fathom:
Along the red dirt roads looping in and out of the jungle, they trooped in their thousands. The women clutching infants to their chests and balancing rolled-up mattresses, blankets and pots on their heads. Any child old enough to walk carried a jerry can of water or dragged a sack of food.
The people who live in the Democratic Republic of Congo are once again under fire. Many who live in the perpetually war-torn nation have been driven from their homes more times than they can remember and sadly they're finding it's time to escape once more. Packing up any possessions they can manage they're fleeing in advance of the invading Tutsi rebels. The rebels are driving both the government forces, which outnumber them by more than 3 to 1 and the UN peacekeepers that are being met with anger and violence at their inadequate response.
To see the historic context, read more.
Nearly 30,000 refugees are fleeing into cities and towns bursting their resources. And as the fighting continues so does the human misery. "These people are in a very precarious situation," said Ms van Goor of MSF (Doctors Without Borders). "We're in the middle of the rainy season now and without proper water and sanitation, they're vulnerable to all sorts of diseases."
The conflict is in response to fear of a further genocide by the Hutus who were responsible for the murder of hundreds and thousands of Tutsis in 1994 in neighboring Rwanda. The Tutsi rebels claim that the Congolese government is not doing nearly enough to ensure their safety and are now taking matters into their own hands.
Coggles.com
Mishumo
2two
It doesn't help matters that the rest of the world is caught in economic issues and aid to overworked humanitarian agencies is drying up. There's always money for weapons and always someone to take political advantage of these situations.
1So it is important to care about economic issues!
I recommend reading, 'King Leopold's Ghost,' about the Belgian colonization of the Congo. They never had a chance, this is awful.
2i always wonder which organization gives the largest amount of peoples donations to the needy... would like to help, and waiting for the info on how to. ~~~i understand that there is a historical context, but no matter what, its very hard to comprehend how humans can do that to each other.
3I think Al Gore said once that never more a genocide will be tolerated. Sadly, here we have it again, and again, and again... I got a mail from Amnesty and apparently this situation has a lot to do with the fights for the control of a material called Coltan, a material used to make ipods, cell phones and computers, to name a few. I hope this time the UN and all the countries that abandoned the people there (or even collaborated in the Genocide) in 1994, don't do it again.
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