Today, had the honor to hear from Dr. Denis Mukwege, a physician in the Eastern DRC and internationally-renowned champion of human rights for victims of sexual violence, through my brother's global health network in NYC.
I guess I knew rape and sexual assault were problems in the DRC....but, I didn't know they were calculated acts of psychological terrorism. Dr. Mukwege's told us about the scores of mutilated women he saw on a day-to-day basis. On any given night, an entire village of upwards of 100+ women could be sexually assaulted by vigilantes, rebels, and even members of the national army. But worse than the physical damage incurred was the everlasting psychological trauma. Systematic rape is cheaper than systematic machine-gun fire, and is just as successful (if not more) in destroying social cohesion. Listen to Dr. Mukwege in the video below:
Look, this is just one part. Millions have been murdered in the Congo. Armies of child-soldiers are being amassed (and murdered) continuously. Why all this violence? According to Dr. Mukwege, it starts with minerals. In a resource-rich nation (full of coltan, gold, tin, etc.), destroying the moral conscience of a nation through violence and assault gives oppressors some semblance of control. The worst part is...we create the demand through our hunger for consumer electronics. Watch the Mac vs. PC commercial below, and you'll understand:
The biggest hope? Students have been able to make a difference. Kids at Stanford STAND (an anti-genocide coalition) have successfully lobbied their Board of Trustees to pressure electronics companies to trace their supply chain of minerals.
From the kids I've met at Duke, I'd say it's definitely possible to do the same on our campus. Two good friends of mine have already explored the issue: David, who rode his bike across the country last summer on behalf of Falling Whistles, and Braveen, who wrote this feisty op-ed in our major newspaper.
There are step-by-step guides to make this happen! We just need to step-up and do it.
I guess I knew rape and sexual assault were problems in the DRC....but, I didn't know they were calculated acts of psychological terrorism. Dr. Mukwege's told us about the scores of mutilated women he saw on a day-to-day basis. On any given night, an entire village of upwards of 100+ women could be sexually assaulted by vigilantes, rebels, and even members of the national army. But worse than the physical damage incurred was the everlasting psychological trauma. Systematic rape is cheaper than systematic machine-gun fire, and is just as successful (if not more) in destroying social cohesion. Listen to Dr. Mukwege in the video below:
Look, this is just one part. Millions have been murdered in the Congo. Armies of child-soldiers are being amassed (and murdered) continuously. Why all this violence? According to Dr. Mukwege, it starts with minerals. In a resource-rich nation (full of coltan, gold, tin, etc.), destroying the moral conscience of a nation through violence and assault gives oppressors some semblance of control. The worst part is...we create the demand through our hunger for consumer electronics. Watch the Mac vs. PC commercial below, and you'll understand:
The biggest hope? Students have been able to make a difference. Kids at Stanford STAND (an anti-genocide coalition) have successfully lobbied their Board of Trustees to pressure electronics companies to trace their supply chain of minerals.
From the kids I've met at Duke, I'd say it's definitely possible to do the same on our campus. Two good friends of mine have already explored the issue: David, who rode his bike across the country last summer on behalf of Falling Whistles, and Braveen, who wrote this feisty op-ed in our major newspaper.
There are step-by-step guides to make this happen! We just need to step-up and do it.
