Effects
the decline in Human rights
The recent increase of power for the rebel groups has left them craving more, motivating them to turn to other cruel demonstrations of power, like the utilization of child labor, and the prospect of this, is enough to drive families to seek refuge somewhere else.
Due to the poverty in DRC, most families have to force their children to work long hours, instead of attending school. This is harmful to the children emotionally, academically, and commonly physically due to the extremely poor working conditions. Miners have spoke about their experiences, recalling the “deaths because the pits were deep and there was flooding” (Nick Heath) . People worked for extremely long hours, sometimes day and night, to acquire enough money to feed their families. The poor government regulations made it possible for these conditions to exist. The rebel groups began to see themselves as being outside the law.
Due to the poverty in DRC, most families have to force their children to work long hours, instead of attending school. This is harmful to the children emotionally, academically, and commonly physically due to the extremely poor working conditions. Miners have spoke about their experiences, recalling the “deaths because the pits were deep and there was flooding” (Nick Heath) . People worked for extremely long hours, sometimes day and night, to acquire enough money to feed their families. The poor government regulations made it possible for these conditions to exist. The rebel groups began to see themselves as being outside the law.
This is Jeanine. She is a woman who lives in one of UNHCR's many refugee camps. She believes her story is very similar to many other woman across the DRC. She is a victim of sexually assault, and she was forced out of her home by armed rebels. She scrambles to find work everyday so she can pay to feed her children. She has been living in the camp for about four years and she still has fear because the park rangers around her have been known to be "violent towards women" (Medicins San Frontieres). Like Jeanine guessed, her story mirrors the ones of many women in the refugee camps.
Rape: an epidemic
This feeling of untouchable power in the rebels led to rape and sexually assault in villages. The numbers are staggering. In one camp alone, they recorded around 500 to 700 cases of sexual abuse, every month (VICE). In a survey taken by the Red Cross, 40% of people in a refugee camp in DRC fear they will be targeted for sexual assault. A shocking 79% of people can describe first hand, witnessing a situation of behavior that "unacceptable during armed conflict" like sexual assault and murder (Red Cross).
fear driven power
The fear that is instilled in the citizens because of the violence, adds to the power of the rebels. They go through villages and loot them, driving families from their homes. Another thing that supplements the displacement in DRC, is the armed conflict between the rebel groups and the DRC army. 90% of DRC is displaced (MSF Infographic), and most live in the 51 different displacement sites, which despite best efforts, are sordid and crowded.
There are many factors that stall the DRC’s recovery from this emergency. The disregard the government leaders have shown, sets a precedent for the rebels to do so as well. The lack of regulations and stability has allowed the rebel groups to make up their own rules.
Since the rebels are armed, and there are so many different organizations, it is hard to regulate the mining conditions. The situations has escalated to the point that the power in the country is so divided that there is no one group in power, just many people abusing it.
There are many factors that stall the DRC’s recovery from this emergency. The disregard the government leaders have shown, sets a precedent for the rebels to do so as well. The lack of regulations and stability has allowed the rebel groups to make up their own rules.
Since the rebels are armed, and there are so many different organizations, it is hard to regulate the mining conditions. The situations has escalated to the point that the power in the country is so divided that there is no one group in power, just many people abusing it.
“ANYONE WITH A GUN AND AN AGENDA, CAN BASICALLY HAVE HIS OWN KINGDOM”.
-VICE
This picture of children in a UNHCR camp, shows the conditions that many families have been forced into. Starving and desperate for food.