HBO : Rape in the Congo

[Modelworks]

I saw this program on hbo last night.
Its disgusting, alarming and sickening.

Surely we can do something for these people.
These people would welcome us with open arms.


I knew there were some instances of things like this happening there, but I had no idea it was so bad and on such a large scale. These people are raping 4 year old children daily and then bragging about it.
They are using things like sticks and weapons on the woman they rape to make sure they never can have sex again.

There is one person to handle all the cases of rape.
These woman aren't raped once, but ten or twenty times.
And then because of this their own families not longer will accept them.

I'm normally a person that can watch a documentary or news report and not be overly upset by it, but this one really got to me.

If you want to know more about these people ,
Its going to air again tonight at 8pm EST on HBO2, and 11pm EST on HBO2 west

http://www.hbo.com/docs/progra...testsilence/index.html

Shot in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this documentary feature explores the shocking plight of women and girls caught in the sexual crossfire as this giant African nation enters its second decade of internal conflict. Since 1998, a brutal war has ravaged the DRC, killing over 4 million people. Over the same time, tens of thousands of women and girls have been systematically kidnapped, raped, mutilated and tortured by soldiers - both from foreign militias and the Congolese army that is supposed to protect them. Emmy®-winning filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson, herself a survivor of gang rape, travels deep inside the DRC to understand what is happening and why. Her resultant film features interviews with survivors, activists, peacekeepers, physicians and, most chillingly, two groups of rapists who are soldiers of the Congolese Army. Above all, it highlights first-person accounts of dozens of rape survivors, who recount their stories with pulverizing honesty and immediacy. Heart-wrenching in its portrayal of the grotesque realities of life in Congo, the film also provides inspiring examples of resiliency, courage and grace, while serving as a call to action for anyone with a conscience.

 

[zinfamous]

I just threw up a little. Sadly, I don't have HBO, but I would have watched it. Just further goes to show that Africa is freaking fucked. The most depressing thing, to me, is that outside of all of the direct human rights violations, nearly 70% of the cash sent to Africa in the form of Aid is diverted to the warlords who control it, and then use it to maintain power and further pillage and rape. Either that, or it's wasted on massive boondoggles in remote areas (damns nowhere near civil or agrarian infrastructure)

Isn't the figure somewhere at 95% of the money raised by LiveAid alone was diverted in this way?

 

[daveymark]

I saw it on the guide last night and DVR'd it. will watch it soon

 

[IceBergSLiM]

yeah I get nauseous just reading about it how do you watch something like that.

 

[Feldenak]

Congo, Zimbabwe, Sudan...is there anything positive about Africa other than cool archeology sites?

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

You know as shitty as it is, we need to worry about our own problems 1st.
Also, this has been going on in 3rd world countries for a long time and will continue to go on for a lot longer. In nations where everyone wants power and wealth, but they aren't willing to work for it and make their country better for all, this shit will continue.

 

[Canai]

Damn. I'm a big docu fan, but I don't know if I want to see this one. I'll see if I can find it (no cable here), but I won't look too hard.

 

[Modelworks]

It is sad.
I think the thing that angers me the most is that these people could be helped by the USA if we gave a damn.
We could send troops and aid that wouldn't cost anything near what Iraq is costing and have such a huge impact .
These are people that want our help.
I almost cried when I saw the children in the villages calling out to the UN convoy that was passing through their village pleading for help.

The area is rich with resources.
It contains a mineral coaltan that is used to make cell phones and semiconductors.
And 85% of the worlds supply of that mineral comes from there.
They really need someone to go in there and clean it up, these people are pleading for help and no one is listening.
Sending a care package and paying off warlords isn't going to change things.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
You know as shitty as it is, we need to worry about our own problems 1st.
Also, this has been going on in 3rd world countries for a long time and will continue to go on for a lot longer. In nations where everyone wants power and wealth, but they aren't willing to work for it and make their country better for all, this shit will continue.

The thing is the people can't work for a better country.
They lack the means.
The government is corrupt, the people so poor they have nothing, and the warlords profiting and supplying the armies.
You can't fight an army of rebels with sticks.
And where they aren't scared to come into villages and slaughter the entire village, its one hell of a deterent to rise up against them.

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
It is sad.
I think the thing that angers me the most is that these people could be helped by the USA if we gave a damn.
We could send troops and aid that wouldn't cost anything near what Iraq is costing and have such a huge impact .
These are people that want our help.
I almost cried when I saw the children in the villages calling out to the UN convoy that was passing through their village pleading for help.

The area is rich with resources.
It contains a mineral coaltan that is used to make cell phones and semiconductors.
And 85% of the worlds supply of that mineral comes from there.
They really need someone to go in there and clean it up, these people are pleading for help and no one is listening.
Sending a care package and paying off warlords isn't going to change things.

That worked out real well in Somalia

 

[K1052]

Ask the Belgians to go clean it up, its their mess.

 

[skace]

Your thinking is flawed, you can't fix this easily.

 

[JS80]

The only way to fix Africa is to go in with Military and overthrow and imperialize. But there is no political willpower to do it because no one gives a shit and if someone did propose imperialization Ron Paul and the Left wingers would say we shouldn't meddle in world affairs.

edit: should = shouldn't

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: Modelworks
It is sad.
I think the thing that angers me the most is that these people could be helped by the USA if we gave a damn.
We could send troops and aid that wouldn't cost anything near what Iraq is costing and have such a huge impact .

That worked out real well in Somalia

I'm not referring to some UN run peace corps type crap.
But full deployment.
Ousting the warlords, not funding them, like the cia did in somalia.
We can do it with iraq, a country that doesn't want us there, and isn't even trying to work with us, but not somewhere that really wants help.

I guess there is just no profit in africa .

 

[uhohs]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
It is sad.
I think the thing that angers me the most is that these people could be helped by the USA if we gave a damn.
We could send troops and aid that wouldn't cost anything near what Iraq is costing and have such a huge impact .
These are people that want our help.
I almost cried when I saw the children in the villages calling out to the UN convoy that was passing through their village pleading for help.

so you're angry at the USA for not getting involved? what about the UN and the european countries that have ties to this region?

 

[Auryg]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: Modelworks
It is sad.
I think the thing that angers me the most is that these people could be helped by the USA if we gave a damn.
We could send troops and aid that wouldn't cost anything near what Iraq is costing and have such a huge impact .

That worked out real well in Somalia

I'm not referring to some UN run peace corps type crap.
But full deployment.
Ousting the warlords, not funding them, like the cia did in somalia.
We can do it with iraq, a country that doesn't want us there, and isn't even trying to work with us, but not somewhere that really wants help.

I guess there is just no profit in africa .

Oh FFS, there's no profit in Iraq either. Look how much we're spending there.

The people do have the means to help themselves, but as long as we keep holding at least the promise of helping them, they won't. Give a man a fish and all that. I think we should cut all aid off from Africa, at least for a little while (and say we're doing it forever). Obviously, what's being done right now isn't working anyways, and the only real way the country is going to change isn't going to be through military force, but through the people.

Hopefully the internet making it's way there will help things along, but past that, they'll have to go through the same hardships almost every civilization has.

 

[Ktulu]

When I clicked on the link the guy in the middle sort of looked like Dave Chappelle as that crackhead Tyrone Biggums.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
I'm not referring to some UN run peace corps type crap.
But full deployment.
Ousting the warlords, not funding them, like the cia did in somalia.
We can do it with iraq, a country that doesn't want us there, and isn't even trying to work with us, but not somewhere that really wants help.

I guess there is just no profit in africa .

Depending who you ask, we are wanted everywhere and not wanted everywhere at the same time. There are 2 sides. Right now we are wanted in Africa, if you go there and start stirring shit up you will find out exactly which side doesn't want us, and when they start killing our troops, the media will be sure to remind you day in and day out about the people that don't want us there. And when the country doesn't change as fast as imagined (since the imagined speed at which we can change a country is always a magical fake number) people will start calling it a failure.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: uhohs

Originally posted by: Modelworks
It is sad.
I think the thing that angers me the most is that these people could be helped by the USA if we gave a damn.
We could send troops and aid that wouldn't cost anything near what Iraq is costing and have such a huge impact .
These are people that want our help.
I almost cried when I saw the children in the villages calling out to the UN convoy that was passing through their village pleading for help.

so you're angry at the USA for not getting involved? what about the UN and the european countries that have ties to this region?

So we do nothing because the other countries aren't?

Thats whats wrong with the attitude of the USA in things like this.

The stance "Its not our problem" when something isn't going to provide benefits back to us.

Where "These people need our help. Its the right thing to do", is the stance when it does benefit us.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Auryg

Hopefully the internet making it's way there will help things along, but past that, they'll have to go through the same hardships almost every civilization has.

$100 laptops and internet access isn't going to do jack crap to fix this.

We'd be better off making air drops of weapons with step by step directions on how to use them so they at least have a chance of defending themselves.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: K1052
Ask the Belgians to go clean it up, its their mess.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: uhohs

Originally posted by: Modelworks
It is sad.
I think the thing that angers me the most is that these people could be helped by the USA if we gave a damn.
We could send troops and aid that wouldn't cost anything near what Iraq is costing and have such a huge impact .
These are people that want our help.
I almost cried when I saw the children in the villages calling out to the UN convoy that was passing through their village pleading for help.

so you're angry at the USA for not getting involved? what about the UN and the european countries that have ties to this region?

So we do nothing because the other countries aren't?

Thats whats wrong with the attitude of the USA in things like this.

The stance "Its not our problem" when something isn't going to provide benefits back to us.

Where "These people need our help. Its the right thing to do", is the stance when it does benefit us.

We spent 60 years creating the united nations for shit like this. Its their responsibility really. The USA cannot be everyone baby sitter especially when our country is royally fucked and needs immediate attention.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Short of outright imperialism, there's no future unless the countries as a whole make it for themselves. And sadly, there are a very large number of countries that are just flat definitions of third world countries. Examples are Burma, and Sierra Leone where slavery and warlords are funded by the forced mining of precious gems. The problem is that nobody wants the imperialism solution, and the improve yourself solution is so far off track that the light at the end of the tunnel isn't even visible. Not us, not them, not other countries want to see a return to imperialism.

 

[FDF12389]

There is no immediate way to fix this.

 

[Baked]

Too bad there are no mega oil reserves underneath Africa, or else we would be over there in 2 secs flat. Since there are no riches to be exploited in Africa, who gives a rats ass about the billions of refugees. Funny how the world makes a big deal about China's human rights policy and people who want Tibet to go back to the good old days of slavery, but don't say anything about the really bad shit in Africa. Talk about your fucked up priorities.