En Route to Congo - The MagkaSama Project

A Short History of Congo (DRC)

On this page, you will find content we have found to contain useful, revelant and interesting information: news, links, books and Twitter accounts. If you think an important resource is missing, please let us know.

In 1960 the Belgian Congo gains its independence and becomes the Republic of the Congo, the second-largest country in Africa. The country has the world’s largest reserves of cobalt and diamonds, and significant quantities of gold, copper, tungsten, tin... But slavery and decades of corruption have turned it into one of the poorest. Congo's civil war is the world's bloodiest conflict since World War II: more than 5 million people have died, millions more have been driven to the brink by starvation and disease, and several million women and girls have been raped. In 2001, self-proclaimed President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated and his son, Joseph Kabila seized power; he was elected president five years later. Since then the security situation remains volatile and the humanitarian situation has worsened. Learn more about the country, and about organizations and people working hard to make it a safer, better place.

Latest News about Congo on the MagkaSama Project

Read more news about Congo on this page.

News Digest Congo (DRC): Denis Mukwege, Vaccin Ebola, Massacres à Djugu, Athlétisme, Naufrage,…

News / Stories
Civil Society, Corruption, Health, Sports, Violence / Attacks

News Digest Congo (DRC): Denis Mukwege, Vaccin Ebola, Massacres à Djugu, Athlétisme, Naufrage,…

Published every Monday, and updated daily through the week, our News Digest Congo (DRC) is a selected compilation of recent stories on various topics to keep an eye on, from grassroots groups, major NGOs and international media sources around the world. Available in English and/or French. If you want to send a story idea or news tip, please use the form on this page. Chaque...

News Digest Congo (DRC): Enseignant en grève, Mines de Kolwezi, Ebola à Mangina, Catastrophe Ferroviaire,…

News / Stories
Conflict Minerals, Education, Health, Politics, Violence / Attacks

News Digest Congo (DRC): Enseignant en grève, Mines de Kolwezi, Ebola à Mangina, Catastrophe Ferroviaire,…

News Digest Congo (DRC): Djugu et Nizi, Kananga, Ebola, Démocratie en Afrique et Gouvernance…

News / Stories
Corruption, Health, Human Rights, Politics, Refugees / Migration

News Digest Congo (DRC): Djugu et Nizi, Kananga, Ebola, Démocratie en Afrique et Gouvernance…

News / Stories
Refugees / Migration, Violence / Attacks

The influx of more than 300 000 Congolese migrants from Angola and the situation in Kasai (IRIN)

Last week in this post we wrote about the deteriorating humanitarian and food security situation in the Kasai region, and we also mentioned another issue: in the past weeks, Angola’s crackdown on informal diamond mining had led to the expulsion of 200 000 Congolese migrants and their return could further destabilize Kasai. In an article by IRIN published a few days ago,...

Events / Agenda
Children, Human Rights, Movie / Documentary, Women

Mobile Film Festival 2018: 51 minutes for Human Rights #StandUp4HumanRights

Ten years ago, to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), our founder Max Dana launched the ’60 Signers for the 60th Anniversary’ Initiative supported by Amnesty International, UNICEF, UNHCR, Human Rights Watch, FIDH, Reporters without Borders, OMCT, UNESCO… This event gave us the opportunity to celebrate Human Rights...

More News related to Congo

Selected Internet resources (French and English) about Congo news:

Le Congolais

Visiter le site sur cette page

Radio Okapi

The Guardian

AllAfrica

France24

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Reliefweb

In Focus

Remarkable people in Congo: Denis Mukwege.

Dr. Denis Mukwege, Panzi Hospital - Congo (DRC)

Visit website: http://www.panzifoundation.org/

Dr. Denis Mukwege founded Panzi Hospital in 1996 as a response to the devastating war that surrounded his community in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a direct outcome of the war, maternal mortality was on the rise, and Dr. Mukwege, a French-trained gynecological surgeon, hoped to improve access to cesarean sections and other obstetric interventions. His first patient, however, wasn't a mother in labor, but a survivor of rape whose vagina and rectum had been destroyed with a knife. Dr. Mukwege was appalled, and as the epidemic of sexual violence flared up along with the pace of the war, he dedicated significant hospital resources to treating women with fistula...

Learn more about the Situation and the Conflicts in Congo

Video to watch and share, organizations and campaigns to support.

Crisis in the Congo: Uncovering The Truth

Friends of the Congo

Millions of Congolese have lost their lives in a conflict that the United Nations describes as the deadliest in the world since World War Two. United States allies, Rwanda and Uganda, invaded in 1996 the Congo (then Zaire) and again in 1998, which triggered the enormous loss of lives, systemic sexual violence and rape, and widespread looting of Congo’s spectacular natural wealth...LEARN MORE

The High Price of Gold

by Ross Domoney & Diane Taylor

The harrowing plight of women and children in the Eastern DRC is exposed in this powerful short doc. Driven from their land, they work in mines as slaves in a desperate bid to protect themselves from rape. "They came into houses and raped and killed children. They raped my two-year-old daughter," recounts Irene, who is now living in the UK. Since 1997, various militias have been fighting for Congo's vast mineral wealth in a bitter conflict for which women are largely paying the price... LEARN MORE

Blood in the Mobile, a documentary by Frank Poulsen

Why phones are financing war in Congo

We love our cell phones and the selection between different models has never been bigger. But the production of phones has a dark, bloody side. The main part of minerals used to produce cell phones are coming from the mines in the Eastern DR Congo. The Western World is buying these so-called conflict minerals and thereby finances a civil war that, according to human rights organisations, has been the bloodiest conflict since World War II... LEARN MORE

I'm a Mac... and I've Got a Dirty Secret

Raise Hope For Congo, A campaign of the Enough Project

Hello, I'm a Mac, and I'm helping fuel the war in the Congo -- the deadliest war in the world. So are PCs, cell phones, digital cameras and other electronics. That's what Apple's famous ads don't tell you. So actor/activist Brooke Smith and cinematographer Steven Lubensky teamed up with actors Joshua Malina and John Lehr to create a version that sets the record straight... LEARN MORE

Messages for Congo

You can share your experience or show your support by sending a Message. View more on this page.

A shame conflict minerals are still on the market

I didn’t know about conflict minerals but I think we should talk more about them and the people dying to get them. It’s a shame they are still on the market, we must do something!

Annie (Montpellier)

Congolese people are strong but our leaders are weak

Thank you for supporting Congo and the Congolese people!! We are not poor, we are rich but our resources are stolen, women are raped, children are trained to kill…. Congolese people are strong but our leaders are weak and corrupted we deserve better, our children deserve better. Thank you for raising awareness about our problems, we need people like you who want to help, not to steal from... READ MORE

Aminata (Congo)

Book recommendations

List of books from our previous reading groups, suggested by our Members and/or submitted by readers of the MagkaSama Project. We welcome your suggestions (here) for books to be added to this list!

Congo: The Epic History of a People By David Van Reybrouck

Blood River: The Terrifying Journey Through The World's Most Dangerous Country by Tim Butcher

Consuming the Congo: War and Conflict Minerals in the World's Deadliest Place

A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman

Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe

Le viol, une arme de terreur : Dans le sillage du docteur Mukwege by In Koli Jean Bofane

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa By Jason Stearns

Journey to the Heart of Darkness: Remembering Congo's Forgotten By Trésor Yenyi

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Paperback By Adam Hochschild

Congo on Twitter

We created a Twitter List: En Route to Congo. We added many Twitter accounts from Congolese civil society groups, organizations working in Congo, as well as other organizations abroad, and campaigns to support. We invite you to follow them to learn more about Congo!

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Mukwege Foundation

@MukwegeFound

The psychosocial assistants in all four centres work together with members of the national survivors network, MOSUCA. They care for and accompany victims of #SGBV to overcome traumas in a survivor-centred way. #holisticcare #Centralafricanrepublic #CAR #bangui #banguirca pic.twitter.com/KxaB0pAF5X

En Route To Congo (DRC)