In the news: tragedy and comedy

Congo's tragedy: the war the world forgot

“In a country the size of Western Europe, a war rages that has lasted eight years and cost four million lives. Rival militias inflict appalling suffering on the civilian population, and what passes for political leadership is powerless to stop it. This is Congo, and the reason for the conflict - control of minerals essential to the electronic gadgetry on which the developed world depends - is what makes our blindness to the horror doubly shaming. Johann Hari reports from the killing fields of central Africa.

This is the story of the deadliest war since Adolf Hitler's armies marched across Europe - a war that has not ended. But is also the story of a trail of blood that leads directly to you: to your remote control, to your mobile phone, to your laptop and to your diamond necklace. In the TV series Lost, a group of plane crash survivors believe they are stranded alone on a desert island, until one day they discover a dense metal cable leading out into the ocean and the world beyond. The Democratic Republic of Congo is full of those cables, mysterious connections that show how a seemingly isolated tribal war is in reality something very different.

This war has been dismissed as an internal African implosion. In reality it is a battle for coltan, diamonds, cassiterite and gold, destined for sale in London, New York and Paris. It is a battle for the metals that make our technological society vibrate and ring and bling, and it has already claimed four million lives in five years and broken a population the size of Britain's. No, this is not only a story about them. This - the tale of a short journey into the long Congolese war we in the West have fostered, fuelled and funded - is a story about you.”

(The full article can be purchased for £1 from The Independent Online.)

On an aside, the same message was given by Jean Carbonare to the French people in 1993 during a prime time television interview about Rwanda. (Carbonare was a member of the International commission investigating human rights abuses in Rwanda.) Over a year before the genocide of spring 1994, he told thousands of spectators sitting in their couches, preparing or eating their dinners, listening distractedly to this horror story about a faraway land, shaking their heads sadly or shrugging their shoulders at it all, that they could make a difference. He looked straight into the eyes of his interviewer, and told him that he too could make a difference:

“Notre pays, qui supporte militairement et financièrement ce système, a aussi une responsabilité. (…) J’insiste beaucoup, nous sommes responsables. Vous aussi, monsieur Masure, vous pouvez faire quelque chose, vous devez faire quelque chose pour que cette situation change, parce-qu’on peut la changer si on veut.”

Unfortunately, no one wanted to listen, no one wanted to take the time to write a letter that would probably never be read, an article to the press that would not be printed. Would it have made a difference?

Oxfam criticises DR Congo donors

While we’re in the business of kindling guilt, here are some extracts from an article that was published on BBC News sometime last week, whilst I was in France.

“The aid agency Oxfam has criticised donor countries for failing to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Oxfam says donor countries have contributed only $94m (£50m) to a $682m special appeal launched in February. It says more than 100,000 people have died in the three-month period from diseases that might have been cured. Countries singled out for criticism by the agency include the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the UK. Oxfam says DR Congo is a forgotten disaster zone in which 3.9m people have died over the past eight years.

(…)

Oxfam's representative in Congo, Juliette Prodhan, said it was good that donors had agreed to help finance the forthcoming polls, but that the country's problems would not be cured by voting alone. "Rich country governments have a moral obligation to act when 1,200 people are dying every day from conflict-related causes," she said. "The stark reality is that humanitarian needs in the DRC are receiving one sixtieth of what was contributed to alleviate suffering after the 2004 tsunami."”

(Full article)

BBC News 'wrong Guy' is revealed

For good measure, some more amusing news, also from the BBC:

“Guy Goma, a graduate from the Congo, appeared on the news channel in place of an IT expert after a mix-up. But Mr Goma, who was wrongly identified in the press as a taxi driver, was really at the BBC for a job interview.

Mr Goma said his appearance was "very stressful" and wondered why the questions were not related to the data support cleanser job he applied for.

The mix-up occurred when a producer went to collect the expert from the wrong reception in BBC Television Centre in West London. The producer asked for Guy Kewney, editor of Newswireless.net, who was due to be interviewed about the Apple vs Apple court case. After being pointed in Mr Goma's direction by a receptionist, the producer - who had seen a photo of the real expert - checked: "Are you Guy Kewney?" The economics and business studies graduate answered in the affirmative and was whisked up to the studio.

Business presenter Karen Bowerman, who was to interview the expert, managed to get a message to the editor that the guest seemed "very breathless and nervous". Mr Goma was eventually asked three questions live on air, assuming this was an interview situation. It was only later that it was discovered that Mr Kewney was still waiting in reception - prompting producers to wonder who their wrong man was.

Mr Goma said his interview was "very short", but he was prepared to return to the airwaves and was "happy to speak about any situation". He added that next time he would insist upon "preparing myself".

A BBC spokeswoman said: "This has turned out to be a genuine misunderstanding. "We've looked carefully at our guest procedures and will take every measure to ensure this doesn't happen again."”

(Watch the video - well worth it!)