Possible Solutions

1. Making Campuses Conflict-Free

The Conflict-Free Campus Initiative is a nation-wide campaign to build the consumer voice for conflict-free electronics – cell phones, laptops, and other devices that do not finance war in eastern Congo.  It calls for the influence of student leadership and activism to convince university officials and stakeholders to commit to measures  that pressure electronics companies to take responsibility for the minerals in their supply chains, which have been contributing to the ongoing war in Congo. Universities are also a large client for most electronics companies and represent a large portion of the buyers' market for consumer electronics. By raising a big voice as consumers, we can actually bring about a shift in corporate and government policy and help bring peace to Congo. 

2. End the Violence Against Women

 The United States along with the United Nations, European Union, and African Union must promote efforts to start a strong peace process by stepping up diplomacy and demobilize armed groups. They need to also fund programs that provide protection for these women, which will help to end sexual violence. One major step that needs to be taken is to pass the International Violence Against Women Act. 

3. Support Better Livelihoods for Miners

Impoverished Congolese miners and their families are often entirely dependent on their meager income from mining, and they currently have few reliable economic alternatives to lift them out of this severe poverty. International investment should be stepped up in agricultural development initiatives and providing accessible education for these miners to enable them to pursue other ways of making money. 

Kevin Griffith- A Peace Corps Volunteer and Law Student's Opinion on the Coltan War

Kevin Griffith was in the Peace Crops for two years in Uzbekastan, Russia, and Indonesia. He returned to New York where he educated high school drop outs with a Holy Cross Mission group. He then went to India where he worked with a non profit organization that helped build an orphanage for children victims of the tsunami. After studying a law case in Amsterdam for a year, he is now attending Case Western Reserve as a law student.
When I asked him what his opinions were regarding the war in the Congo, he gave me 3 possible solutions/advice for the situation.

1.  A removal of the weapons from the DRC would effectively reduce the violence and crime in the country. This would especially aid in the dealing with Rwandan Hutu rebels in both North and South Kivu. 


2. There should be a security system reform in the DRC, with a new focus on capacity and accountability. The government should be held accountable- if the police are corrupt or steal land from the local citizen, then the courts or military or some system must be able to punish the police. 


3. A better focus on political engagement to improve the government through increased economic transparency, taxes, local elections (decentralisation) , and continuing efforts in trying to sustain stable regional relations. 

Conservationist View and Feminist View

There are many different points of view regarding the demoralizing and atrocious circumstances of the  war in the DRC. One perspective surrounding this issue is the conservationist view. The Congo has many important ecological aspects: The Congo River, which is a lifeline in a land of no roads or railways, tropical rain forests, which play an essential role in regulating the earth's climate, and finally, important animal populations of gorillas and elephants. The war in the DRC has caused conservationists in Africa to raise a major concern for the environment of the Congo. 

Aerial shot of a rain forest in the Congo. 

Rain forests have suffered this war greatly. Congolese people have cut down trees to sell or to make into furniture, flooring, and doors to make money. The trees that fall are worth millions of dollars on the international market and are essential to maintaining the planet's climate. 

Forests that gorillas call home happen to be one of the strategically important regions for rebels fighting government troops from the DRC. Wildlife rangers protecting the gorillas have been forced to flee to nearby towns, leaving the gorillas vulnerable to heavy gunfire and shelling. However, as of May 2010, the WIldlife Conservation Society has established a national park, a community-managed reserve, and various logging concessions that are essential to maintaining the populations of not only gorillas, but elephants and chimpanzees as well. Also, a "shoot to kill" policy against poachers has been adapted by conservationists to protect these endangered species. They vow to shoot any poacher who comes near the animals. Some conservationists even believe that the protection of endangered species is more important than the protection of human life. 

Endangered animals in the Congo River Basin.

The cruelty of this situation is that the Congo is a country abundant and flowing with many natural resources. Due to the war, the country is swallowed in immense poverty, and the resources are not being used to their ultimate advantage. The conservationists are trying to change this by protecting the rivers, forests, and animals.

At least 300 gorillas are killed each year for bushmeat in the Congo.

Another perspective regarding the circumstances of the Congo is the feminist view. Women have been, and still are, physically and emotionally violated through rape and torture. They are kidnapped while working in the fields usually by a village raid, which involves two to five armed men. They are then taken from the village to the forest where they are held captive and are gang raped for days to months. In some villages, two-thirds of the women have thought to have been raped, and an alarming 33% of all the women raped in the DRC have been girls ages 5-14. With the increase of HIV and AIDS at a shocking rate, along with other STDs, something must be done about this issue.

Feminists everywhere are trying to help this ongoing issue. The group "Women for Women International" provides programs for the victims that allow them to heal from their trauma by being with counselors and other victimized women. The program helps to rebuild these women's lives by teaching them to become literate and helping them to develop simple skills in order to invest into small businesses. A recent documentary,  The Greatest SIlence: Rape in the Congo, has helped to rase awareness regarding this issue. 

Women for Women International supports women in war-torn regions with financial and emotional aid, job-skills training, rights education and small business assistance so they can rebuild their lives. 

Introduction to the "Coltan War"

       In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there has been a four year war over coltan, a heat-resistant mineral ore widely used in cell phones, laptops, and play stations. Eighty percent of the world's coltan reserves are in DRC.        There are many problems regarding this issue.The conflict is over many natural resources such as diamonds, tin, copper, gold, but mostly coltan sought by foreign corporations. The price of coltan is expensive (per kilo is equal to 400 US dollars), and the huge coltan profits are fueling the war. These profits are allowing a large amount of people, including government officials, rebels, and foreigners to get as much money as possible. Farmers are forced to join coltan-mining because they have been thrown off their land. About one third of Congo's children quit school to dig for coltan.  There are very poorly conditioned rebel camps which contribute to diesease, starvations, and crime. Also, gorillas are now endangered in this area because they are being killed to make more land for mining. These problems are increasing everyday and seem unsolvalbe.

       A possible solution to this crisis is to publicize this issue. Many people are not aware of this devastation in Congo, and perhaps money can be placed in Congo to develop its infastructure and industry.