MAY 31 2020
When most of us think about the biggest refugee-producing conflicts, we tend to think about the Syrian civil war and the war against ISIS in Iraq—after all, those conflicts have dominated the news cycle the past few years. So most people are surprised to learn that the largest refugee population to resettle in the US over the last three years is from a country nearly 3,000 miles removed from the Middle East: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Congolese accounted for nearly 40 percent of all refugee arrivals in the US in 2018. Here in Northwest Arkansas, 56 percent of the refugees Canopy has welcomed are from the DRC and they make up the majority of cases waiting to travel to Arkansas as well. And yet, we never see stories about the Congolese conflict in the news!
Here’s a quick overview of the rich geography, fascinating history and heartbreaking conflict of the DRC.
You probably have a piece of the Congo in your pocket right now.
You probably haven’t thought about cobalt since the periodic table of elements in 11th grade, but it’s a mineral we all use every day in our cell phones and laptops. And chances are, the little piece that powers your smartphone came from the Congo.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the most mineral-rich countries in the world. You name any precious metal, gem or mineral and they’ve got it: gold, diamonds, oil, copper—and yes coltan, tantalum and even uranium. The bullet casings the US used to fight World War I? They were all made from Congolese copper. And the bomb that the US dropped on Hiroshima? It was made up almost entirely of Congolese uranium.
We as Americans are much closer to the DRC than we know. We’ve depended on them and their rich natural resources since our country’s founding, and we continue to rely on this incredible country to power our high-tech lifestyles today. Our Congolese refugee clients are very proud of this—but also heartbroken that none of the prosperity of these rich resources will ever reach them or their families.
A quick overview of 200 years of history
The Congo was first invaded by the Portuguese but it was the Belgians who really figured out how to most fully exploit Congo’s natural resources. Under King Leopold, the Congo provided a seemingly limitless supply of resources to fuel the industrial revolution in Europe and American. Congolese men and women were made to work in the mines with minimal rights and protections under slave-like conditions, even after slavery was formally outlawed.
This looting continued more or less unabated right up until the Congo was granted independence in 1960. But after centuries without access to education, rights or development, the new country was seemingly doomed to fail from the start—and with the Cold War in full swing, the US was more concerned about finding a Congolese leader who could keep the USSR at bay than a leader who was truly dedicated to democracy and freedom for the Congolese.
The World War we never learned about
Did you know there was a World War involving 9 countries that killed an estimated 5 million people from 1998 to 2002? I didn’t. But while the US was focused on Afghanistan and Iraq in the aftermath of 9-11, much of the continent of Africa was embroiled in the bloodiest war our planet has seen since World War II. This conflict—sometimes called the Second Congo War or the African World War—and the ongoing instability that resulted from it, are what have caused the majority of Congolese refugees who are now resettling in the US to flee. (And yes, if you do the math, that means that many of them had to wait as long as 20 years or more to be resettled here).
Like all wars, this one is complicated, but basically:
1. In the aftermath of the Rwanda genocide, millions of Hutus (the tribe that perpetrated the genocide against the Tutsis) fled to Eastern Congo, fearing retaliation from the new Tutsi-led government.
2. Rwanda and Uganda invaded Eastern Congo out of concern that the Hutus there were trying to regroup and make another attempt at genocide against the Tutsis. Their invasion reached as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, where they deposed Congo’s long-time dictator, Mbuto and made way for the opposition leader, Laurent Kabila to take his place. With Kabila in power, they retreated from the capital but remained in Eastern Congo.
3. Fearing that Rwanda and Uganda might try to annex Eastern Congo (one of the most mineral-rich regions of the country), Kabila, backed by Angola, Zimbabwe and several other countries, attacked the Rwandan and Ugandan forces and tried to force them out of the country. And so the African World War began. Although it involved nine countries, it took place in its entirety in one small portion of the DRC—and this is where nearly all of our Congolese families are from.
Although a treaty in 2002 formally ended the war between the nine countries, conflict continues in Eastern Congo to this day between armed groups from the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda, all vying for control over the region’s vast mineral wealth. Sadly, many electronics companies still source minerals from this region, even though doing so perpetuates the violence and empowers these militias.
The DRC is so much more than its war.
Although our Congolese neighbors were forced to flee their country because of the violence, those who are old enough to remember it speak fondly of it. They’ve told me about the rich soil, fertile and easy to farm, about their close-knit communities where all the adults looked out for all the kids, regardless of who the parents technically were, and about the beautiful landscapes, delicious fruits and temperate weather.
They hope for a day when the Congolese can enjoy the beauty and richness of their country again—and start to reap the benefits of the value they provide to the rest of the world.
To learn more about the Congo’s history, recent conflict and proud culture, we recommend the book “Congo Stories.”
You can also learn more at:
http://www.easterncongo.org/about-drc/history-of-the-conflict
Photos from UNHCR
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