Humanities 10 Bostan Nicole Claim Card Template

Research Question: To what extent has civil war hindered development in The Democratic Republic of Congo? Claim # 1 : Major Infrastructure Destruction Evidence A: DR Congo is known for its richness in natural resources, that was the cause of the first war, also called Africas World War. Because of massive destruction, the country remained indebted and foreign investments seized, they have curtailed operations due to an uncertain atmosphere, lack of infrastructure, and a non conducive and difficult work environment Transportation, electricity and water supply are still not an achievable reality in DR Congo. MLA Shekhawat, Seema. "Governance Crisis and Conflict in the Democratic Republic of
Congo." Jan. 2009. PDF file.

Evidence B: As Nations Encyclopedia says, the Congo's infrastructure is virtually non-existent and is a major impediment to economic improvement. Although roads an estimated 157,000 kilometers and railways 5,138 kilometers are still present in the country, the majority is not maintained, neither finished, nor fixed. Most of the railways were destroyed during the Congolese wars. Exactly as transportation means and ways, communication and electricity does not constitute DR Congos infrastructure, because of poor maintenance. Moreover, only about 0.7 telephones for every 1,000 Congolese exist and they are still not used and are inoperable. MLA "The Democratic Republic of Congo - INFRASTRUCTURE POWER AND COMMUNICATIONS."
Encyclopedia of the Nations. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

<http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Africa/ Congo-Democratic-Republic-of-The-INFRASTRUCTURE-POWER-AND-COMMUNICATIONS.html>.

Evidence C: A BBC newspaper article focuses on the railroads issue in DR Congo. Even though the train station is not working and transport can be delayed for more than several days, the workers still have to come because they cannot afford to resign, accepting the fact that they do not get paid: Mr Mapokopero complains that he is owed more than 60 months' back-pay. For a country of the size of two-thirds of western Europe, the transportation services do not function at all. Railways, as well as roads are old and awfully maintained, run-down, badly managed and in desperate need of an overhaul. With such a bad developed infrastructure, the development is certainly hindered and will remain in stagnation for a long period of time, if some actions cannot be overtaken. MLA Keane, Julian. "Waiting in Vain for a Train in DR Congo." BBC News [Africa] 24
Nov. 2011: n. pag.

Claim # 2 : Less Population

Evidence A: In an interview held in 2008, Dr. Brennan declares that the war in Congo as the worlds deadliest crisis since World War II. He could estimate that 5.4 million people have died since the beginning of the war in 1998, ongoing since then. Congos population stated to decrease primarily because of contact with war, meaning violence and indirect consequences of conflict. But afterwards they have concluded that war led to malnutrition another development issue such as disease. He affirms that that could be explained by the fact that in war areas , clinics stop operating, markets stop functioning, farmers cant till their land, parents cant feed their children nutritious food a consequence thread of civil war, so the biggest part of Congolese die because of easily, preventable and treatable diseases like malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia.

MLA SCOTT,

SIMON.

"War,

Disease

Create

Quiet

Crisis

In

Congo." Weekend

Edition

Saturday

(NPR) (n.d.): Newspaper Source. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

Evidence B: The wars have affected very much indeed DR Congos society and economy, development in a nutshell. According to data life expectancy dropped dramatically 49 years compared to the global average of 70 years. In parallel, child mortality rate increases too: 168 children born out of every 1,000 die. Still, malaria is the omnipresent disease in DR Congo and millions of citizens are forced to quit their homes and some of them try to flee to neighboring countries for refuge from the ongoing violence. MLA Bandera, Katie. "Poverty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo." The Borgen Project. Clint Borgen, 10 July 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://borgenproject.org/poverty-in-the-democraticrepublic-of-the-congo-2/> Evidence C: War has created dreadful things in the Congolese society and culture. Genocide, violence among people, civilians, sexual abuse, never-ending violence in the East for the natural resources, displacement of people and emigration have led the country in disaster. Rapes take place very often made by rebels groups such as Congolese Mai Mai Checka Rebels. Villages are seized and destroyed, even with the UN peacekeepers on the territory, crimes occurred within miles of the UN peacekeepers base; however the UN force was not able to protect Congolese civilians. A lot of people remain displaced within the country, approximately 2 million people, and thousands of people flee to the neighboring countries to protect themselves and their families from the horrors of the war, statistically more than 450,000 Congolese refugees. Although many peace acts, treaties have been sought or planned, they never really get in practice. The war is still continuing.

MLA "Crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo." International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/crises/crisisin-drc>.

Claim # 3 : Rebels Control over Resources, territory Evidence A: One of the main reasons of the war in DRC is because it is very rich in mineral resoureces such as gold, cobalt, diamond, etc and rebel groups try to capture the mining caves, resulting in fights and bloody disputes. Precisely, Rwanda, Uganda and Kabila were overwhelmed with desire for mineral wealth. Consequently a big part of the country is the hands of rebels Rwanda now allied with the Congolese Rally for Democracy and Uganda with the Congolese Liberation Front, in particular the entire eastern region of the DRC, the wealthiest in terms of natural resources. They have started to extract resources from mines also using local Congolese people for little or no pay, under guard of Rwandan and Ugandan troops. Rebel groups have also tried and succeeded to take money from DRCs banks. Therefore, Rwanda and Uganda, generally known as poor in resources have become great exporters of gold and diamonds by illegal mineral exploitation. For instance, Rwandan coltan production increased dramatically bringing the Rwandans and their rebel allies up to $20 million a month in revenue. MLA Montague, Dena, and Frida Berrigan. "The Business of War in the Democratic Republic of Congo." Third World Traveller. N.p., July 2001. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Africa/ Business_War_Congo.html>. Evidence B: The rebel group named M23, plans to overtake the main city in North Kivu, then in South Kivu and then a direct attack on the capital Kinshasa. The rebels groups are mainly a creation and an

instrument of Rwanda and Uganda. These groups may not have been successful in the whole country, but they met high appreciation in the east, which was also their economical interest. They have complete control over that region, over the mines, and eventually, they were incorporated into the Congolese Army through processes called brassage and mixage. Although Rwanda denies any tangency with any revolutionary group, their leaders and members are clearly from Rwanda and even have committed amply documented war crimes and crimes against humanity. For instance, the leader of M23 is Ntaganda, who before joining M23,was also member of other Congolese rebellious groups, opposing the Congolese government. MLA Podur, Justin. "Congo: Goma Falls to Rwanda." Global Research. N.p., 25 Nov. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.globalresearch.ca/ congo-goma-falls-to-rwanda/5313102>. Evidence C: According to a report on the crisis in CDR, rebel forces led by Laurent Nkunda, have taken control over the eastern part on Congo, totally uncontrollable for the government or UN peacekeepers. Nkundas purpose is to protect the Rwandan Hutu militias, who created this conflict in Africa. He is supported by Rwanda, of course, but he started to threaten to take the fight all the way to the capital, Kinshasa. The roots of this conflict still prevail there. The main problem is that the government cannot control its own territory and take care, protects its population, while rebel groups to prosper from illicit trade in natural resources and complex regional alliances. MLA "Roots of the Crisis - Congo." Enough. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.enoughproject.org/conflict_areas/eastern_congo/roots-crisis>. Claim # 4 : Inadequate housing/Low standards of living

Evidence A: War has made DRC the most under-developed country and most desperate countries in Africa. As the countrys infrastructure is destroyed and damaged, so the standards of living get lower, making it impossible to survive in DRC. According to IMA World Health, living standards practically do not exist as they are very low, living conditions are dismal. Disease and malnutrition overwhelm Congo, but the access to health care is nearly impossible. The article backs up the information with some data of one of United Nation reports. So, DRCs standards of living are characterized by 75% people who live below the poverty line and the vast majority cannot access drinking water or healthcare. Though DRC has plenty of natural resources, that still constitute a basis for the future, DRC is still in dire need of economic and social reconstruction. MLA "Democratic Republic of Congo." IMA World Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.imaworldhealth.org/where-we-work/ democratic-republic-of-congo.html>. Evidence B: Conflict, war destroys all kind of infrastructure, so all housings in villages were burnt or damaged by the soldiers. According to World Bank estimates, 71 % of the Congolese population lives in poverty, already describing the standard of living patterns. Poverty and conflict have combined to create a dire humanitarian situation. Not being able to rebuild housings, people generally construct poorly or dont even finish the building. Therefore, not having a house, civilians are made to survive otherwise, therefore catching different diseases, which consequently lower even more the standards of living. Poverty and a lack of basic health care mean that 20% of all children in DRC die before the age five. MLA "Democratic Republic of Congo." Dec. 2012. PDF file. Infoasaid Claim # 5 : Lack of food, malnutrition

Evidence A: The Democratic Republic of Congo affected by consecutive wars, made a lot of children suffer from malnutrition, not receiving the reasonable amount of food, vitamins and vital resources in order to survive. Because of war, people are forced to leave their homes and fields providing food. Moreover, during the war, soldiers overtake the arable land and set it as a battlefield. The number of children suffering is increasing everyday dramatically, now reaching 30% of all children under five MLA "Democratic Republic of the Congo." Action against Hunger. ACF International, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/africa/democratic-republic-congo>.) Evidence B: According to World Vision, this number has increased ten-fold. Sadly, this organization recognizes that before the start of the conflict malnutrition cases were one or two per day at the World Vision nutrition center. After the exploding of the brutal conflict, number of under-nourished children got up to eight and ten children arriving every day. Likewise, they state that now not only poverty is the cause, but also the fact that so many people are displaced; they don't have land to grow crops. Additionally to the fact that poverty has increased much more, arable land cannot be used to grow nourishing crops. MLA "Child Malnutrition Soaring in Eastern Congo." World Vision. N.p., 20 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.worldvision.org/news.nsf/news/ congo-crisis-20081028>. Evidence C: In Save the Children (UK) report research, the province East Kasai of Democratic Rep. of Congo which was most affected by the ongoing wars. Five years of interminable conflicts have left peoples houses burnt, their farmlands damaged and all of their livestock, animals killed. Moreover, houses and buildings need repairing, which cannot be done, as not everyone can afford the expense. These damages have led to food production decrease and malnutrition. For most families, the conflict has inflicted a level of damage that is virtually impossible to recover from. Resources for rebuilding and

starting a new agricultural job are scarce. Poverty is widespread, consisting about two-thirds of the total population cannot maintain a nutritious life style for the adults and for the children, and therefore they are unable to keep a healthy life, which defines food security. Nonetheless, the Democratic Republic of Congo has a great potential for agriculture, being a large country, but it has no future growth because of limited infrastructure, lack of effective policies and investments in rural development and poverty reduction. MLA Berton, Helene, et al. "Malnutrition in a Land of Plenty." Ed. Kathryn O'Neill. Aug. 2010. PDF file. Save the Children UK Claim # 6 : Disease Rate Increase Evidence A: Again, The International Rescue Committee states that the unstopping decrease rate of population is due to the major fact of diseases. The war, as Dr. Les Roberts, an epidemiologist and director of health policy says, made people leave their homes because of soldiers and hide outside during not only days but weeks they're out on the bush without blankets, without food and consequently die of malaria or diarrhea. Also, as the country is at war, in difficult struggling years, there is no development and even health system is just in a shambles, as the majority either takes part in the war, or has already been stricken by the wars horrors, so there is no one to take care of the sick, leading to more diseases, bigger death rate and malnutrition. MLA NOAH, ADAMS. "Interview: Dr. Les Roberts Talks About The High Number Of Deaths From Disease And
Starvation In The War-Torn Congo." All Things Considered (NPR) (n.d.): Newspaper Source. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

Evidence B: One of the major social problem the ongoing DR Congo conflict faces is using rape as a weapon in the war. In recent political conflicts including wars, sexual abuse was regarded as a tool of warfare becoming a conspicuous phenomenon. This fact relates to disease consequence of civil war

due to the fact that rape was also followed by HIV/AIDS rate increase especially for the victims of this abuse. Moreover, it is considered a social issue because this act was deliberate, the emergence and willful transmission of HIV to the victims. This statement is backed up by several womens report, living and experiencing this war. It is outrageous that infection of HIV was used with the purpose of a weapon in African wars. These actions are controversial subjects and raise serious human security issues in post-conflict societies. HIV/AIDS are the diseases considered the most important challenges for development. Because of HIV people are unable to raise the country, so it declines and gets into crisis and lack of working hands. In case of war, hospitals are not able to support patients, so the disease problem cannot get fixed and its consequences continue in destroying the country. MLA Aginam, Obijiofor. "Rape and HIV as Weapons of War." United Nations University. N.p., 27 June 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://unu.edu/publications/ articles/rape-and-hiv-as-weapons-of-war.html>. Evidence C: War and disease go always together hand in hand. The DRC was particularly stricken by malaria. It is generally widespread during the war because of people displacement within the country. In DRC malaria still remains an epidemic disease. As more than half of the population lives below poverty line, many cannot afford healthcare and do not get treated. The greater part of the people live in miserable conditions where they are most likely to catch a disease and get bitten by a mosquito. Still, in the hospitals they lack the supplies necessary for coping with a new outbreak. Although mosquito nets are distributed among the population, they still dont end in the most vulnerable areas of the country. Moreover, as hospitals lack necessary supplies such as rapid diagnostic tests, drugs, and equipment for carrying out blood transfusions, children under 5 years old often die.

MLA "DRC: Urgent Action Needed to Prevent Malaria Deaths in Orientale Province.Doctors without Borders. N.p., 25 Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/release.cfm?id=6738>.