Michelle Moquin's "A day in the life of…"

I wrote about the women in Congo back in August.  And ladies I have not forgotten about you at all. The women in this world are always on my mind and when I am having a tough day, I always remember that my life is a dream compared to most. Unfortunately, right now there is only little that I can do. But it is my goal…the bigger picture in my life to do more and I am constantly working on how to improve that.  One of the ways I can help right now, is to continually write about the plight of women and bring it to light. It is not a pretty picture but it has to be painted. 

This morning I woke up and found an article that caught my eye – thank you Doug for putting it aside for me. 

I discovered that Congo has three resources that our electronics devices depend on – Congo has a good percentage of the world’s supply of Tantalite, Tungsten (you may recognize this name if you own a Palm Pilot), and Tin. Without these three, our daily electronic devices would not work.

Congo is also a country that has been torn apart by the deadliest war since World War II, where 5.4 million have perished, and an estimated 1,500 people die per day in war-related causes.  So what is this war fueled by? ….Our inexhaustible thirst for cell phones, laptops, video games, digital recorders and any other product that owes it’s existence to Congo’s contribution to the world’s mineral supply.

Why are so many people dying? Congo is a country rampant with feuding militias and a failed government.  It is a country that has been raided, looted, and raped for the past century and a half because of its vast natural resource wealth.   Kings, corporations, and countries have taken advantage of these resources, stealing whatever they can and leaving behind devastation.  

The resources are not the only thing that has, to be put mildly, been taken advantage of. The Congo has the highest rate of sexual violence globally. It is the world’s most dangerous place to be a woman or girl. These women of Congo are being used in the worst way possible.  The militia use rape as a weapon of war and they are perfecting this tool of war in a manner never seen before. The effectiveness of deploying sexual violence as a tactic of war is unquestioned. Competing forces rape in order to permanently drive communities out of contested areas. Women are so traumatized by gang rapes and other depredations that they are too scared to go home…too afraid to re-live their experiences. And because these tactics work, and the perpetrators pay no price for their horrific crimes, there is no incentive to stop. It continues daily and the women in Congo live through it daily. 

As I write this I can’t seem to contain the anger that I feel. I am disgusted and all I envision is harm and brutality enforced in ways that I can only imagine. I have always been one who believes in and eye for an eye….my feelings on this have not changed. I sit here safe in my own home…safe from harm, but I know…in my gut, that if I was in the mix of it…if I was witnessing the atrocities, I know that I would inflict harm in the same way that these men are inflicting harm on their women.  

Where are the men fighting to protect these women? – Where are the heroes willing to die for those that give us life? As I sit, I feel the tears well up in my eyes and guilt run through my heavy heart, knowing my fingers are tapping on a device that contributes to the plight of so many women. 

So what can we do?  One thing we can do is let our elected officials know that we are aware of the violence and we want it to end. Obama’s inauguration is wildly anticipated by Africans including those in Congo.  They believe Obama will have the chance to make the end of the Congo’s war one of his Policy objectives.  But it can’t stop there…we must also let the electronic companies know that it matters to us where they get their raw materials that run their devices.  

Until there is awareness and action taken, to be put bluntly, in my opinion…every electronic device you support leads to the plight of the Congo women. We as world citizens have to be more responsible about the actions that we take and the choices that we make in the products we buy, and the companies we support.

We cannot turn a blind eye, plug our ipods in and blast our music, knowing that we are drowning out the cries of women and girls in the Congo. We need to demand that these products are conflict free, and ask more questions about where their components are from. We need to care. If we do, the companies will have no choice but to change their procurement practices.  We fought against ‘Blood diamonds’. We saw the horrors that lead to the world to get serious about stopping them. We can get serious and fight against ‘conflict minerals’ too and have the same impact. The Congo women are counting on us. We cannot be irresponsible, unaccountable, world citizens when our sisters are fighting for their lives.

Want to learn more? Go to Raise Hope For Congo. What to do more? If you live in the Bay Area, attend the screening of “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo” at 4:15 pm today, at the Smith Rafael Film Center on 4th Street in San Rafael.  Get involved. 

~~~~~~~

Doug:  You had a heads-up on this one from the night before. We are on the same page :) 

Hey ZL:  Thanks! – I’ll call you today.

Hi Anonz:  My pleasure – happy that I could assist. Be well and be safe.

Hi Brenda: Thanks and keep trying – you did get in this time. :)

Peace out…. 

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: Your Bad Ass Bitch Editor

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