Global Village
The democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly zaire)
by karen stiller
It is the third largest
country in Africa,
but it probably ranks
first in recent struggles, challenges and body
count. The Democratic
Republic of the Congo
(DRC), formerly known
as Zaire (among other
names), is home to one of
the largest humanitarian
crises in the world today.
The resource-rich country
is host to what is called
by some experts “Africa’s
world war.” That is be-
cause the death toll is so staggering.
Aid agencies and outside observers estimate that more than five million people have
died in the past 10 years in a war that pits
government forces, supported by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe against rebels backed by
Uganda and Rwanda. More than one million
people have been displaced because of it.
The United Nations is present in the
DRC in record-breaking numbers along
with countless aid groups (some of them
Christian and Canadian). Mission des Nations Unies en République Démocratique du
Congo (MONUC) in the eastern part of the
country is the largest UN peacekeeping force
in the world. There have been glimpses of
potential peace in the country, with two rebel
groups even declaring an end to the war as re-
Canadian Connections
• Canadians sponsor 21,625 children in the south and
west of the drC through world vision development
programs. wv has also been working in the conflict-plagued eastern region since 1993.
• Canadians Foodgrains Bank has four current proj-
cts in the drC, including delivery of seeds, tools
and 2,013 tonnes of emergency food (enough for
15,750 people).
See a more detailed version
of this article at
www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/
globalvillage
cently as January, but it
is an elusive and fragile
hope in a country with
a troubled history.
The DRC was colonized by Belgium in
the 19th century and
gained its independence
in 1960. Its colonial history includes a legacy of
brutal civil punishment
such as the severing of
hands for the smallest
infractions. A 2003 BBC
documentary called
Congo: White King,
etc., Red Rubber, Black Death (available at
amazon.ca) argues that King Leopold set – and
then exceeded – the standard for brutality in
colonization. Leopold made a fortune harvesting wild rubber, and his brutal reign is blamed
for the deaths of at least 10 million people. The
documentary includes this quote from a missionary who served during Leopold’s reign: “I
was so moved, Your Excellency, by the people’s
stories that I took the liberty of promising them
that in future you will only kill them for crimes
they commit.”
Observers of the country say that what
Leopold started, subsequent rulers have continued. After independence, the DRC almost
immediately faced an army mutiny that ended
in the death of its prime minister. Army chief
Joseph Mobutu seized power, renamed the
country Zaire and began his own reign of
terror. In 1997 Rwanda invaded Zaire to capture extremist Hutu militias who had fled
from their own country. Experts say that in
so doing they strengthened anti-Mobutu rebels who then overtook the capital Kinshasa,
made Laurent Kabila president and gave the
country its current name. A new period of
war and terror came along with a new name
and a new government, resulting in the ongoing civil war and the death toll that has
finally caught the world’s attention.
Karen Stiller is associate editor of Faith Today.
Just the facts
Full name: democratic republic of
the Congo
Population: 64.7 million (un,
2008)
Internet Users: 230,400
Capital: kinshasa
Area: 2. 34 million sq km (905,354
sq miles)
Major languages: french, lingala,
kiswahili, kikongo, Tshiluba
Major religions: Christianity, islam
Life expectancy: 45 years (men), 48
years (women) (un)
on our Knees
• Pray that the peace that has
seemed so elusive to the drC will
have a chance to grow strong.
• Pray that the Church in the DRC
will be a voice for reason, for calm,
for healing and for hope.
• Pray for the children who are
the most vulnerable to war and
displacement. an estimated
680,000 have been orphaned by
hiv and aids. Thousands have
been forced to fight. Malnutrition
is high.
• Pray for protection for girls and
women who suffer under one of
the highest rates of rape and sexual
abuse in the world. rape has been
called a weapon of war in the drC.
pray that god’s mercy and light will
shine through this terrible darkness.
• If you feel led to act, you can visit
www.amnesty.ca/take_action/
actions/ drc_rape_women.php for
instructions on how to write letters of protest to the drC government about the systematic rape of
women in that country. you can
also write Canadian government
leaders asking them to continue
their development assistance to
the drC.
