UN Convoy Brings Aid to Congo Refugees

Tag : cassiterite
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view transcript DRC - Archives From the War - min [3 November 2008]
UN Convoy Brings Aid to Congo Refugees We highlight our full and powerful archive covering the Congo slast few years. Footage includes those left struggling in therefugee camps and the Rebels vs Army fight for the preciousmineral-rich lands.
Despite the agreed ceasefire, war continues to rage with widespreadkilling and raping. Our future is to die, states one 18 year old.The demand for minerals such as coltan and cassiterite also fuelsthe killings, where militias force locals to work at gunpoint interrible conditions. Once you get down more than 200 feet, the airflow stops altogether, explains one miner. Can peace ever returnhere?
Congo's Forgotten War - 07 min 10 sec
Every month, another 45,000 people are killed in the DRC, in a warthat was supposed to have ended five years ago. Congo remains oneof the worlds most dangerous and isolated places. We live likeapes. Our future is to die, states one 18 year old. Despite theagreed ceasefire, war is still raging here. At the Cheverie refugeecamp, 5,500 families share one tap. There is no toilet. Our lifehere is pitiful, laments one woman. Bands of militias roam thecountryside, killing civilians and burning down villages. Gang rapehas become the most common weapon of war. Sifi, 18, was kidnappedby rebel soldiers. Months of repeated rapes left her paralysed andincontinent. She became pregnant but her baby was stillborn. Andits not just young women who are at risk. Even toddlers andseptugenarians have been raped. Many of those who survive contractHIV or are ostracized by the community. When my husband realisedId been raped, he abandoned me, states Odette. He abandoned ourtwo children as well. The rebels prevent food supplies reachingrefugees, leading to acute malnutrition. Every month, more than20,000 children die from hunger or easily preventable diseases. Thewar in Eastern Congo has gone on for so long, few can rememberanything else. Every attempt to bring peace has failed. (Ref 3899) Congo's Curse - 14 min 37 sec
The militias, formed during Congos civil war, now control much ofthe countrys natural resources. The government faces a big problemdisarming them.The war may officially be over, but the militiasremain. Gold is the reason why every year, we have war andrebellions, states Ngabu Adirodu. It is still too dangerous foraid workers to travel without military escorts. The population istrapped between rival militias and the new army and many towns havebeen deserted. As one man states: We are as afraid of the army asthe militias. (Ref 3157) Congo's Tin Soldiers - 20 min 00 sec
The Wests demand for Cassiterite is fuelling the killings inCongo. Militias rely on slave labour to extract the ore, forcinglocals to work in sub-human conditions.Once you get down there,theres no air, describes one worker. The rocks often bury us andyou have to crawl through the tiny hole, using your fingers todig. Labourers like him often go unpaid. Theyre forced to work atgunpoint by militias operating outside the control of thegovernment. Different armed groups do what they want with thepopulation, laments minister Buta Muiso. But British businessmanKetankumar Kotecha sees nothing wrong in buying casiterite from themilitias. If I didnt do it, someone else would. I am not here assome kind of moral saviour. (Ref 3095)


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