Visit http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/ and http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/congo-white-king-red-rubber-black-death/
I am still looking for a free link to the film The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo. It was shown on HBO. Here is that link to resources: http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/the-greatest-silence-rape-in-the-congo/index.html
4 comments:
Marie Heide
16 April 2012
Prof. Sabir
English 1B
I am ashamed to say that in the year of 1996, I did not pay attention to the current events of the world. Therefore, I isolated myself from the injustices that were being down to the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Reading the play Ruined by Lynn Nottage has made me curious about the violence that is taking place around this bar that is set in the play, and secondly by how loosely the term "ruined" has been used, as if it is a common occurrence.
I found an article from the ABA journal that gave me a bit more insight to what was going in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). I found out that a civil war had erupted in Rwanda and the violence quickly spread to neighboring towns and villages. The number of deaths caused by this war is at a staggering 5.4 million people which makes this war "the deadliest conflict since the end of World War II" (Persky,59). The most shocking fact that I found to be quite horrifying was that violent acts continue to be committed against boys and men but more commonly against girls and women. If a woman is "fortunate" enough to survive such a violent assault, "they are frequently rejected by their families and communities" (Persky,59). More often than not, these violators are never persecuted for their actions.
Now that I have been given slightly more insight to the violence and violation of human rights, it becomes easier to understand the urgency that Christian has to convince Mama that she needs to take in Sophie into the safety of her bar. Otherwise, Sophie would be rejected by her village and family members, and left to be repeatedly raped and or brutally beat and left to die. Leaving her in Mama's brothel is a bit ironic but there is no other alternative.
Many women, young and old who reside in the DRC, do not have the same rights as women in the United States. The Congo is the center of the rape crisis that the world has ever seen. In order to bring these assailants of human rights to justice, the victims "have to be willing and able to identify their assailants" (Persky 59). In a place where constant violence and turmoil is the everyday norm, it is easy to see how focusing every effort to stay alive is much more of a priority than identifying your assailant. It is very unsettling to know that until the government of the Congo can set up and adhere to guidelines that promote social rules and ethics, the rape epidemic will only continue and become worse.
Work Cited
Persky, Anna Stolley. "The capital of rape: fighting widespread sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo." ABA Journal Feb. 2012: 59+. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Apr. 2012.
Sherrlyne Apostol
Professor Sabir
English 1B
17 April 2012
Reading the play Ruined by Lynn Nottage opened my eyes to the past and present conflict in the Congo. The play focuses on the democratic republic of the Congo, which at the time was a place of “territorial violence”. Before reading this play I didn’t know much about what went on in the Congo. All of my knowledge had come from the film “Hotel Rwanda” which depicted the war between the agarian tribes native to Zaire and the Tutsi tribes from Rwanda.
The article “rape a weapon of war in Congo” by George Lerner focuses on the mistreatment of women individuals in this on going crisis in the Congo. Rape as been used as a weapon in the war, the article states, "It's the easiest way to terrorize a community." The war in the Congo has been said to be “one of the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II”. An estimate of 5 billion people has been killed by the war.
Its almost unbelievable to me that such places like the Congo exist. Based on the article I read it's shocking to read about the brutality and inhumane crimes that are taking place in Africa. Reading the play as definitely opened my eyes to world conflict. I am curious to read on and explore more of the play. It has played an interest to me that Im curious to find out what is presently going on in the Congo. I also stumbled upon a documentary about Joseph Kony and his child soldiers. It makes me wonder what other horrific violence that is presently going on in the world.
Work Cited
Lerner, George. "Rape a Weapon of War in Congo, Activists Say." CNN. 16 Oct. 2009. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. .
Great responses, esp. Marie's which incorporated an article as requested in the assignment.
Billy Russell
18 April 2012
Professor Sabir
English 1B
Honestly, I did not know much of anything about what life was like in Africa until we started reading "Ruined." I knew there was poverty, and hunger, but that was pretty much it. I never really thought of any African country as being a dictatorship or having citizens who were oppressed. The article I read to supplement my knowledge on this subject, "The Holocaust as a Paradigm for the Congo Atrocities: Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost," brings up similarities between the Holocaust in Europe and the elimination of thousands of people in the Congo by the Belgians.
The article made me realize the true scope of the cruelty and injustice that took place in the Congo because of Belgian colonial rule. The articles goal is to bring the tragedies in the Congo, which are not well known, into the light by comparing them with what conventional thinking would like us to believe is the most tragic event in human history. The similarities it comes up with are amazing. First it compares the soldiers in the Congo to Nazi soldiers, it comes to the conclusion that at their heart they are both the same, because they both follow orders without question. Then it compares the total number of people killed, and amazingly, the numbers are similar. It even draws up similarities to the psychologies of Hitler and King Leopold. It also references the Congo atrocities to Stalin's Great Purge, which was the execution of anyone who questioned the government or challenged Stalin's power.
This was a very powerful article. It makes me wonder why this is not critical information in history classes. It gave me a great deal of information and background about the history of the Congo that will help me better understand the play, "Ruined." It is mind blowing to think about how long the people of the Congo has been oppressed.
Works Cited
De Mul, Sarah. "The Holocaust as a paradigm for the Congo atrocities: Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost." Criticism 53.4 (2011): 587+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Post a Comment